One way to lift millions of children out of poverty

Plus some Black History Month magic ✨ LA Johnson/NPR The COVID-19 relief bill working its way through Congress is full of big ideas to help people. But there’s one idea that’s so big, it was politically unthinkable not that long ago. President Biden and Democratic lawmakers want to fight child poverty by giving U.S. families a few hundred dollars every month for every child in their household — no strings attached. A kind of child allowance. If this proposal survives the wrangling in Congress and makes it to Biden’s desk, experts say it could cut child poverty nearly in half. The idea even has some bipartisan support. Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, of Utah, has pitched [his own, smaller version]( of a child allowance. More than 10 million of the nation’s children lived below the federal poverty line in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And the pandemic has made life even harder for those already vulnerable families. Compared to other wealthy nations, the United States does little to reduce child poverty. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the U.S. [ranks 37th among OECD nations]( — second to last — for how little it spends on family benefits. “Right now, less than 3% of families [in the U.S.] receive any kind of cash assistance,” says C. Nicole Mason, who heads the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. “The social safety net has all but eroded and dissipated over the last two decades or so.” To begin to repair that safety net, Democrats would give caregivers $300 a month for each child under 6, and $250 a month for older kids — for at least the next year. [Romney's benefit]( would last beyond the one-year window and be more generous for younger kids, $350 a month, while also reaching higher-income families. Because his proposal also cuts other programs, though, economists estimate it could have less overall impact on poverty. The monthly benefit is designed to help families manage unpredictable incomes and unpredictable expenses, like a child’s illness or a car repair. Bradley Hardy, a professor of economics at American University. "My view is that it's the right thing to do, but also that it's sound economic policy." [Read More Here]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- On to the news… Five million children in the U.S. rely on public schools to teach them English, and those kids have been hard hit by online schooling. Children learning English are more likely to struggle in school and drop out, and school districts in several states, including Maryland, Virginia and California, already have data showing these students are falling further behind. [Read more here.]( — [Kavitha Cardoza]( WAMU Special Correspondent The U.S. Education Department says states must resume the annual testing of students that was suspended a year ago amid the pandemic. For the past two decades, federal law has required schools to test students once each year in math and reading, in grades three through eight and once in high school. And they are required to publicly report these standardized test results, broken out by racial and ethnic group and disability status, and in some cases, hold schools accountable with various sanctions if their students score too low. [Read more here.]( — [Anya Kamenetz]( NPR Ed Education Correspondent They were hailed as the first Black students to integrate public schools in Tennessee, in 1955. But until recently, the brave acts of the students, known as the Oak Ridge 85, were relatively forgotten. That started to change last year – and now the local school board is moving to add the history of the Oak Ridge 85 to its classrooms' curriculum. [Read more here.]( — [Bill Chappell]( NPR Newsdesk Daniel Fishel for NPR When you think of the history of Black education in the United States, you might think of Brown vs. Board of Education and the fight to integrate public schools. But there's a parallel history too, of Black people pooling their resources to educate and empower themselves independently. Enslaved people learned to read and write whenever and wherever they could, often in secret and against the law. "In accomplishing 
this, I was compelled
 to resort to 
various
 stratagems," like convincing white children to help him, wrote Frederick Douglass. "I had
 no regular 
teacher." After the Civil War, says educator Kaya Henderson, Black people started "freedmen's schools" to teach former slaves literacy and the other skills they would need to participate as citizens. "In the 12-year period that is Reconstruction," she adds, "we started 5,000 community schools. We started 37 historically black colleges and universities." A century later, during the civil rights movement, educators founded "freedom schools" combining basic literacy with civic skills, like how to register to vote. "We have a tradition of educating ourselves and we've forgotten that," Henderson says. Now, she's started her own effort, dubbed Reconstruction.us, as a way of continuing that tradition. [​​​​​​​Read more here.]( See you next week. --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. --------------------------------------------------------------- What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [npred@npr.org](mailto:npred@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Music, Politics, Code Switch and more! [Facebook]( [Twitter]( You received this message because you're subscribed to Education emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( [NPR logo]