Gov. Doug Burgum today announced that $2.48 million in emergency grant relief has been awarded to North Dakota education entities serving K-12 students and families to support all learners during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund, created by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), allows the governor to provide support to education entities and institutions of higher education. North Dakota received approximately $5.93 million in GEER funding from the U.S. Department of Education; $3.4 million was made available to K-12 facilities across the state. Of that amount, $2.48 million was made available to K-12 through a competitive grant process. Throughout the pandemic, more than $98 million of relief funding has been provided to support K-12 education across North Dakota.
“These grants will help ensure our students and families continue to have the educational supports they need to navigate the pandemic disruptions,” Burgum said. “These funds provide a financial lift for schools to transform learning, and we look forward to seeing how these proposals grow into future student-driven opportunities.”
Several awards were provided to schools that serve a high population of Native American students. Over 20 percent of North Dakota’s Native American K-12 population is enrolled in districts receiving GEER funds.
More than 35 proposals were reviewed through the competitive grant process. Grants awarded will provide resources to support behavioral health needs of students and families, technology assistance for individuals receiving distance learning, additional staff to support student learning and tutoring services provided outside of the typical school day. A list of the grant awards is available here.
For more information on North Dakota’s COVID-19 response, visit www.health.nd.gov/coronavirus or www.ndresponse.gov.