School districts have nine months to spend billions in unused COVID relief funds
by Jeremiah Poff, Education Reporter
December 24, 2023 05:00 AMThe last batch of COVID-19 relief funding for public schools allocated by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 is set to expire at the end of September 2024 — and states and school districts still have billions in unspent funds.
According to data from the Department of Education, not a single state has managed to spend all of its allocated funding for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, which was first created by the CARES Act of 2020 and bolstered by two subsequent allocations, including the American Rescue Plan Act enacted in the first months of President Joe Biden's administration.
The total allocation for schools from the three laws is roughly $189.5 billion, including $121.97 billion that came from the American Rescue Plan alone. But as the calendar turns to 2024, states and school districts have an increasingly condensed time frame in which to spend their remaining funds, which are set to expire on Sept. 30.
According to the Department of Education's COVID-19 relief funding tracker, Iowa is the only state that has even spent more than 80% of its allocated funds. The state was given $1.19 billion and has spent $977 million to date. But Iowa still has more than $200 million in funds to spend over the next nine months.
The state with the least amount of ESSER money is not even a state. Washington, D.C., was allocated $600 million in ESSER funds across the three relief packages, including $386 million from the American Rescue Plan. To date, the public schools in the nation's capital have spent 40%, or $240 million, of their allotted funds.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/education/school-districts-spend-billions-in-unused-covid-relief-funds
