Students and Educators
Stay up to date with the Arizona Department of Education, HERE.
RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS:
Student loans:
If you are concerned about your studies or loan repayment, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid has an informational page on their website. The website is updated regularly with information for students, borrowers, and families. Visit, HERE.
The Department of Education announced all borrowers with federally held student loans will have interest rates set at 0% for a period of at least 60 days. Borrowers will also have the option to suspend their payments for at least two months. For more information, click HERE.
The CARES Act, signed into law on March 27, 2020, provides temporary relief for federal student loan borrowers with federally-held loans (Direct Loans and FFEL loans) through September 30, 2020. Borrowers will not be required to make any payments toward outstanding interest or principle. Borrowers with these loans do not need to do anything to receive these benefits, they will be applied to your account automatically. Borrowers may still make payments if they wish, but there will be no penalty for missing payments for the next six months.
If you are not sure whether your student loans may be eligible, please contact your loan servicer. It is important to note that these benefits do not apply to Federal Perkins Loans or private student loans. Borrowers with these loans should contact their loan servicer, many of whom are offering relief programs for borrowers.
The CARES Act also suspends interest accrual for such loans and prohibits forced collections and negative credit reporting during this period. Student borrowers will still receive credit toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Income-Driven Repayment forgiveness, and loan rehabilitation.
School meals:
Food assistance resources can be found on my website, HERE.
Other resources for students:
Smithsonian Institution Digital Resources for Students, HERE.
Library of Congress Digital Resources for Students, HERE.
Library of Congress family-specific programming and activities, HERE.
Library of Congress Programming page, HERE.
RESOURCES FOR EDUCATORS AND ADMINISTRATORS:
The U.S. Department of Education has developed a landing page for COVID-19 information and resources for schools and school personnel, HERE.
The Arizona Department of Education information can be found HERE. AZ Department of Education has also compiled a Virtual Resource Hub for educators. Those resources can be found, HERE.
If you are wondering how to talk to your kids about coronavirus during these uncertain times, visit the CDC's website, HERE, for resources.
If you're looking for activities and tips you can use to help kids play and learn at home, sign up for PBS KIDS Daily Newsletter HERE.
For more digital K-12 educational resources, click HERE.
Arizona Public Media and Arizona PBS are working together to roll out a unified approach for all Arizona school districts, classroom teachers, and parents who are working at home to keep their children educationally engaged. This will include broadcast programming and accompanying digital resources that adhere to our state curriculum to provide continued at-home learning. Information HERE and HERE.
If you are a teacher seeking online course material, click HERE for resources from the Library of Congress. More Library of Congress education resources HERE.
CARES Act benefits, explained:
A fact sheet on provisions for students, educators, and institutions under the CARES Act from the House Education and Labor Committee is available, HERE.