School districts should begin receiving billions of dollars in stimulus funding within a few weeks, and administrators are advised to "spend carefully" and keep detailed records of their expenditures, the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) said on March 10.

As part of a weekly series of webinars on the stimulus package and its implications for schools, AASA Associate Executive Director Bruce Hunter described the three kinds of stimulus funding for education and revealed new insights from the federal Education Department (ED) about how the money will be disbursed.

The first pool of money is for established formulas such as Title I, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program. Hunter said federal officials will release the first half of these funds to state education departments by the end of March, and school systems should see this money by the end of April.

For IDEA, this first installment will total nearly $6 billion, and districts will qualify based on their eligibility for IDEA funding in fiscal year 2008. The second round of IDEA stimulus funding will be released to states Oct. 1, and schools are obligated to spend all the money by Sept. 10, 2010.

For Title I, the first installment of stimulus funding will be $5 billion. To get the second half of the money, however, states will have to submit a report showing how this first half was used.

"You will have new record-keeping and reporting requirements along with the new money," Hunter told webinar participants. For that reason, he said, AASA recommends spending the money wisely.

"They want this [process] to be as transparent as they can make it," Hunter said of federal officials. He added that the stimulus money is in addition to the education funding contained in the omnibus spending bill for fiscal 2009 that Congress aimed to finish in mid-March.

ED is cautioning school leaders that the stimulus marks a large, one-time increase in federal education funding--and they shouldn't count on having this much funding every year. Hunter said federal officials are billing these funds as a "unique opportunity to make short-term investments with the potential for long-term benefits."

In other words, he said, these formula-based stimulus grants are intended to fund sustainable projects and activities that will improve teaching, learning, and educational outcomes for all students, and especially those with disabilities.

Suggested uses for IDEA funds include buying assistive technology (AT) devices for students; training students and staff members to use AT devices; and improving data collection and reporting abilities, Hunter said. These recommendations come directly from ED officials.

Suggested uses for Title I funds include purchasing online courseware to supplement traditional school offerings; investing in staff development; and implementing longitudinal data systems to better track and improve student achievement.