US Dept. of Education provides Connecticut schools over $1 billion to reopen

The U.S. Department of Education wants Connecticut students back in the classrooms quickly and safely, and it's providing the state more than $1 billion to help do it.
U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona shared the breakdown Wednesday morning for the $122 billion of school funding in the American Rescue Plan. He also announced a national summit on reopening schools next Wednesday.
The Connecticut Education Association says reopening might not be the right word, as some Connecticut students have been in class since the start of the school year.
CEA president Jeff Leake says if students are going to adjust to their new normal, part of this funding has to be for counseling and social-emotional support.
Leake hopes the American Rescue Plan funding is applied along with, not instead of, money from the state's Education Cost Sharing program.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced this week it's giving states a total of $10 billion in funding nationally for COVID-19 testing in schools.
The Next Normal: State of Our Schools will be airing March 24 at 7 p.m. on News 12 Connecticut.