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COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a catalyst for meaningful action on long-ignored challenges in public schools ranging from rebuilding our infrastructure to providing universal pre-K.
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By: National Education Association
Published: January 2, 2025

COVID-19 forced America to see the faces of the Black, brown, and Indigenous students stranded by the digital divide, the students who go hungry, the students who have no place to call home, the LGBTQ students who are bullied, the differently abled students who are denied the support they need.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 included the single largest federal investment in education in our nation’s history. It also revamped the child tax credit to cut poverty in half for U.S. children under age 18.

Bethany Jarrell
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated education inequities—especially for younger students who are experiencing speech, language, and other developmental delays—and that has made the need for universal pre-K and programs like Head Start even more critical.
Quote by: Bethany Jarrell, preschool teacher, Alamogordo, N.M.
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The National Education Association (NEA), the nation's largest professional employee organization, is committed to advancing the cause of public education. NEA's 3 million members work at every level of education—from pre-school to university graduate programs. NEA has affiliate organizations in every state and in more than 14,000 communities across the United States.
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