BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho State Board of Education (ISBE) announced an extension of the deadline to apply for reimbursement from the statewide Strong Families, Strong Students grant, which is designed to help families pay for costs associated with remote learning.
The original deadline was set for Dec. 31, 2020, but has been extended to Jan. 8, 2020. The deadline was extended to give Idaho parents additional time to track down all necessary documents and receipts, according to ISBE spokesperson Mike Keckler.
“People who applied for the grant are being informed right now or have received their notification as to whether or not they were awarded the grant," he said. "Those who have, have also received or are in the process of receiving a follow-up email with their account information from Class Wallet."
Families can use their digital wallets to purchase goods or services that will be used to assist their children while learning remotely.
“Overall, we were able to, through these funds provided by Gov. Little, to make a difference for a lot of folks," Keckler said. "We certainly understand that we weren’t able to do that for all who applied. The funds were limited and we think that they were put to good use. It's unfortunate that we weren’t able to help more people, because cause there's certainly a tremendous need out there and the state board recognizes that and so does the governor."
Nearly 40,000 applications were received for the grant program. Of that number, more than 18,000 applicants were given a grant. Many of the people who did not receive a grant did not complete the paperwork associated with the application, according to Keckler.
The state board was only able to award grants in two waves because of the overwhelming number of applications. No new grant applications are being accepted. Families have until June to use the funds.
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