The decision to remain closed is likely to have long term consequences for the nation. Standardized test scores fell dramatically this year, even after accounting for the huge number of students who didn’t participate in testing. In the Spring, WILL estimated an economic cost to the state of more than $7 billion over the lifetime of kids in school today as a result of lost learning.
Apparently, the ED recognizes that a loss of in-person instruction is a problem. By their very language denying Wisconsin the ability to use the funding in this manner, they admit that keeping students out of classrooms will mean that they need extensive ‘catching up.’ Yet they’ve created a catch-22 situation in which states are unable to incentivize reopening in order to provide funds to schools that failed to do so.
If this option is indeed completely off the table, the legislature should consider some alternative, creative means for these funds. While these funds must be directed to school districts, the state (and districts) could still be creative with how to use these additional funds. Dr. Marguerite Roza, an education funding expert, recently highlighted some possibilities. Among them, paying students to take summer courses to help overcome growing achievement gaps, or providing funds directly to families struggling to purchase school supplies at a time of economic upheaval. Another possibility might be mandating that districts create a supplemental Education Savings Account (ESA) to fund educational opportunities for students that aren’t currently offered in the district.