Giving Compass' Take:

• Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, and Maine are all receiving emergency relief funds from the U.S. Department of Education to spend on either K-12 or higher education. 

• What are some of the most pressing needs for school districts right now? 

• Read more about how school districts can prepare for coronavirus. 

Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland and Maine are the first states to apply for and receive emergency education funds totaling nearly $3 billion they can use for either K-12 or higher education, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

The fund, part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, is separate from the $13.2 billion available to state and local education agencies. The Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund is essentially a block grant giving governors wide discretion in using the money to support “needs related to COVID-19.” The amounts available to states range from more than $355 million for California to about $4.4 million for Vermont.

It’s unclear, however, whether governors intend to split their allotment evenly between K-12 and higher education or direct the funds to the needs they see as most pressing.

Michael Magee, CEO of Chiefs for Change, urged governors to “work with their state education chiefs to ensure funding goes where the research and evidence suggest it will do the most good for students.” He said the organization is preparing some recommendations meant to guide state leaders.

But he added Congress shouldn’t be putting governors in a position to choose between their K-12 and higher education systems. “We will need more stimulus,” he said.

On Wednesday, the Council of the Great City Schools also sent its own letter, calling the $13.2 billion a “down payment” and warning “dark clouds are forming on the educational horizon that will spell disaster if Congress does not intervene.” Superintendents of 62 large, urban districts signed the letter.

Read the full article about relief funds for school districts by Linda Jacobson at Education Dive.