SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is one of seven states that will receive additional pandemic relief funds, to the tune of $205 million, for its public schools.
And the Utah State Board of Education already knows the three areas where the money will be put to use: summer school, re-engaging students and mental health.
Mark Peterson, with the State Board of Education, said educators plan to employ long-term solutions to help students catch up on what they missed out on during the pandemic.
“That doesn’t mean because it’s over everything just goes back to normal,” he told KSL-TV. “We had a lot of kids who missed out on a lot of learning.”
The Utah State Board of Education will require each district to apply for the pandemic relief funds to make sure it goes to schools that need it the most.
“I know this sounds funny that we are talking in July about summer education programs,” Peterson said. “But we also understand that this is not going to be something that by September everything will have been corrected.”
Peterson also reiterated schools will not require masks this fall.