Unless Congress acts soon, many programs that are helping America's families get through the pandemic will stop by the end of the year. For example:

• Self-employed or part-time workers will lose their Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation;

• The nationwide eviction moratorium put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will expire;

• Student loan forbearance for 32 million Americans will expire; and

• The Families First relief package that required many employers to provide workers with two weeks of Coronavirus-related sick leave at full pay and up to 12 weeks of family and medical leave to care for family members at two-thirds pay will end.

Schools that have been off to a rocky start this fall still need $200 billion to support education funding, including special education, distance learning, Title I for low-income students, and other programs.

California State PTA and the following organizations stand together in their quest to ensure that the next COVID relief bill includes badly needed funds for families and schools:

• National Education Association : “Hour by hour, working families’ desperation grows. On behalf of the 3 million members of the NEA, who teach and support students in communities across our nation, we urge you to pass a COVID relief bill that truly meets the significant needs that exist and finally puts America on the path to recovery."

• Council of Great City Schools: "...Support an additional federal allocation of $175 billion in Educational Stabilization Funds distributed to the local level through the Title I formula. We also urge Congress to provide an additional $13 billion for IDEA, $12 billion in additional Title I program funding, $2.0 billion for E-Rate, and emergency infrastructure funds that include public schools.”