Ensuring Next COVID Relief Bill Helps Schoolkids

04 Feb 2021
Around the OU

As legislators begin to move forward with a plan for the next COVID-19 relief bill, organizations who have been actively lobbying for new legislation are busy behind the scenes trying to shape the actual proposal. In addition to signing onto a letter spearheaded by the National Council of Nonprofits outlining broad goals for the bill, the Orthodox Union and the Jewish Federations of North America are advocating for specific programs and policies.

The proposal touted by the Biden administration calls for $100 million for both K-12 education and higher education, and the Orthodox Union is focused on trying to earmark some of that pot for Jewish K-12 schools, said Nathan Diament, executive director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center. In December, when the last package was passed, the group and its allies successfully lobbied to designate $2.75 billion of the $50 billion pot for K-12 schools specifically to non-public schools. That money pays for COVID-related expenses, like masks and distance-learning equipment.

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The words of this author reflect his/her own opinions and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Orthodox Union.