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Luzerne County&rsquo;s 11 school districts and lone brick and mortar charter school are eligible for a total of $478,829 in grant money to help special needs students during the pandemic.
				Gov. Tom Wolf announced the &ldquo;Special Education COVID-19 Impact Mitigation Grants&rdquo; Thursday. School entities must apply for the money, but the state has already allocated the amounts. According to the state Department of Education website, the money can be used for two broad purposes:
				&#8226; Provide enhanced synchronous (real-time) instruction to bolster remote services and supports for students with complex needs.
				&#8226; Provide services and supports to students with disabilities who experienced a loss in skills and behavior and/or a lack of progress due to the mandatory school closures.
				Wilkes-Barre Area School District got the biggest single grant locally, $130,301, with Hazleton Area nabbing the second biggest at $84,323.
				The state is providing a total of $20 million overall to help schools provide compensatory education services with special needs who may have been negatively impacted by COVID-19 mitigation efforts and may face additional challenges through the new academic year.&rdquo;
				Of that, $5 million will be available to preschool early intervention programs. The other $15 million covers the grants announced Thursday.
				All the money is from the federal government, with $15 million from the &ldquo;Governor&rsquo;s Emergency Education Relief&rdquo; Fund, part of the larger federal &ldquo;Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.&rdquo; The other $5 million is allocated through the federal &ldquo;Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.&rdquo;

Area schools get grants to help special needs students in pandemic