HANCOCK — The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) will be immediately applying for nearly $390 million from the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund portion of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARE) Act, the MDE announced recently.

Hancock Schools Superintendent Steve Patchin said in a Friday email that the use of the funds can be used to address challenges associated with the COVID-19 virus outbreak and its impact on Hancock students.

The MDE applied for the funding to the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund portion of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the MDE said in its announcement.

State Superintendent Michael Rice said the funds will help in further narrowing the divide between districts that have the requisite technology in the homes of students and staff, and those that do not.

“These funds will be very helpful for local school districts to help meet the needs of students and staff during the pandemic, and we appreciate them as such,” said Rice in the Thursday release.

The MDE application announcement came Thursday, soon after U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced that more than $13.2 billion in emergency relief funds are now available to state and local education agencies to support continued learning for K-12 students whose educations have been disrupted by the coronavirus.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, the funding is allocated by CARES Act, which was signed by President Donald J. Trump less than a month ago.

Education leaders will have the flexibility to use funds from the ESSER Fund for immediate needs, such as tools and resources for distance education, ensuring student health and safety, and developing and implementing plans for the next school year, stated the USDE.

“Such applications include education technology, planning and implementing activities related to summer learning and supplemental after-school programs for students who are served by the local school district,” Patchin said. “We will keep you informed of new innovative and dynamic programming our team will be developing to engage your students as funding is provided.”