Following the December ice storms, 52 Arkansas counties were designated as disaster areas by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Arkansans in those identified counties are eligible to receive federal assistance. However, to apply for assistance, those citizens in the identified counties will need to contact FEMA. Therefore, FEMA and the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (ADEM), in conjunction with the Arkansas Department of Education, needs the assistance of local school administrators and teachers in helping to make students and parents aware of the availability of the special assistance.
To obtain assistance, Arkansans will need to apply by calling 1-800-462-9029. Administrators and teachers in the identified counties are asked to announce this telephone number to their students. A flyer printed in English and Spanish will be included in the Department's weekly mailing to superintendents. School administrators are asked to post the flyer in prominent places in their schools. These flyers can be copied and distributed as needed. An alphabetical listing of counties that have been designated as disaster areas as of January 5, 2001, is attached to this Director's Memo. As the recovery effort continues, more counties may be added to the list, according to representatives of FEMA. If additional counties are added to the list, the Department of Education will notify districts in those areas.