Understanding the CARES Act: A Guide for Educators
By Divya Sridhar, Ph.D., Policy Advisor at McGraw Hill
Given the severe economic distress impacting the community during the coronavirus health crisis, in March of this year, Congress passed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the nation’s third stimulus funding package (~$2 trillion) focused on responding to the coronavirus crisis. The CARES Act focuses on boosting the US economy and supporting the country to a path of recovery, by providing additional aid across healthcare, travel, defense, education, and other industries during the coronavirus pandemic.
The third stimulus package includes specific measures that provide relief to schools and institutions of higher education, as they expand virtual and online instruction to their students who are now completing their schoolwork remotely. This is a potentially important and relevant development for the education community, since the two previous stimulus packages, which were focused on aid and resources to the healthcare sector, did not provide direct relief to the education community.
The CARES Act supports schools in several ways, two of the most prominent being through the additional infusion of funding through an Education Stabilization Grant fund to schools, and through additional flexibility to school districts in using existing technology and infrastructure-related funding to support distance learning.
To support educators as they review the parameters of the education funding and regulatory relief, we share our interpretation and understanding of the CARES Act in this two-part blog series. Part 1 of this blog explains the purpose, allocation, and uses of the federal CARES Act education funding stream, and Part 2 of the blog series shares the regulatory relief provisions in the CARES Act that will create additional flexibility to use federal funding on COVID-19 related expenses.
I. What are the CARES Act Education Stabilization Grant Funds?
The CARES Act allocates over $30 billion to the Department of Education to support relief efforts across the K-12 and higher education community. Of the $30.75 billion, $13.5 billion was designated to the Elementary and Secondary School Education Relief Fund (ESSERF), which provides the K-12 ecosystem designated, relief dollars during COVID-19. Separately, the Governor’s Education Relief Fund (GEERF) provides an additional $3 billion in funding, which is directed at a combination of schools and colleges, which face the greatest need and the most severe repercussions from COVID-19.
Since the ESSERF is one of the significant sources of federal funding under the CARES Act, we review how schools and educators may be supported by the funding. The information in the blog may not directly apply or relate to the use of the GEERF funds. The blog also does not discuss separate sources of federal funding that were allocated to other federal agencies (such as the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Federal Communications Commission, or the Department of Labor), which received funding for education-related purposes under the CARES Act.
Of note, the ESSERF prioritizes funding for schools based on their “Title I” funding formula, which means that schools that receive more funding have a significant share of students who are impoverished and therefore receive significant federal aid to support their students. The funding flows to districts that have received Title I dollars in the past, but, it is important to note that the funding is not Title I dollars and is governed by different rules.
The DOE requires that the $13.5 billion be split across all the states, with 90 percent of the funds going to schools based on the proportion of Title I funding they receive, and the remaining 10% being reserved for relief projects (including the Rethink Education Models Grant) dedicated to the state.
Since the percentage of Title I funding an eligible school receives will determine how much of the CARES Act funds they could get, it is particularly important that school administrators and technology directors are aware of the additional funding the school is privy to, and are identifying next steps in the process to apply for funds. Figure 1 below depicts the way that the ESSERF allocates funding across the K-12 ecosystem
II. How Can Schools Qualify for Education Stabilization Grant funds?
The following are the steps being taken by the DOE in distributing CARES Act funds, specifically the ESSER funds, to the states and their respective schools:
- The federal DOE shares the streamlined application for each state to apply for the ESSER funds.
- Each state will fill out the application to get the funds.
- DOE will approve the application within three days of receiving the application.
- The state will be awarded funds. At least 90 percent of the awarded amount goes to schools based on Title I funding applications; Up to 10 percent of the remaining funds can be reserved by the state.
- Each state will determine its process for allocating the funding.
- States determine their timeline for disbursing funds to the Local Education Agency (School districts).
- Schools may need to apply for the funds.
Note: The DOE is taking the position that the emergency started on March 13, and schools can look to use funds on eligible expenses in responding to coronavirus dated back to March 13. The state-by-state allocation of ESSER funding can be found here.
III. How Can Schools Use the Education Stabilization Grant Fund?
“Learning Loss” is a very real phenomenon that will impact the majority of students who are away from a school setting. The effects are exacerbated for students at schools that cannot smoothly transition their students to distance learning. To support schools as they transition, the CARES Act funding is one source of monetary relief to support schools as they determine the types of instructional materials — both hardware and software — that may be beneficial to support students in keeping to a remote learning plan.
Our understanding is that most schools are building a remote learning plan for the summer and possibly the fall, and are working to incorporate education technology and professional learning in response to COVID-19, into the plan. In some cases, including in large districts like Chicago Public Schools, influential school leaders have recommended that their districts use CARES Act funding on education technology.
An important question that has a somewhat elusive answer is: what are eligible uses of the CARES Act funding?
While the answer varies across states and guidelines crafted by state and school officials, the parameters set by the federal law states that school districts can choose to use the CARES Act funding on one of many school-related purposes in responding to the transition to remote learning, including:
- Preparedness/response and sanitation of schools
- Training staff
- Professional development
- Online learning
- Hardware/software purchases
- Connectivity and related products
- Mental health services
Some caveats regarding the CARES funding include:
• Schools have the discretion to use funds on a variety of operational expenses: sanitation, personnel/staff, mental health, training, hardware, software, and online learning expenses, due to COVID-19.
• Funds expire in Sept. 2022 and therefore, schools may choose to wait to use funds.
• Possible state budget declines from closed business and revenue shortfalls could impact state funding to schools, and the CARES funding may be used to fill these budget holes.
• Existing state RFP procurement process may shift, to be replaced with emergency procurement RFPs and guidelines.
Another frequently asked question is: do education technology purchases qualify as an eligible use of the Education Stabilization Grant funds? The answer in a nutshell is yes. The exact language from the CARES Act can be found in the Appendix of the blog. *
IV. Caveats to CARES Act Funding
Some schools may be planning to use their CARES Act funds to boost their school operating budgets that were likely reduced because of a decline in tax revenue as a result of the economic downturns in many states. With that being said, some local district officials and policymakers are cautioning schools against repurposing federal CARES Act funding and instead, replenishing the schools’ operating budget, as it may have long-term repercussions on schools, especially there is less focus on supporting the schools’ existing remote learning infrastructure needs.
Many groups believe the third package funding is nowhere near enough to close the budget and infrastructure needs that will grow during COVID-19. For example, a recent analysis by the Association of School Business Officials International and the Superintendents Association suggests that a typical school district could spend nearly $2 million to reopen schools, given the increased need for cleaning and transportation costs. This data point emphasizes the gaps that will likely persist even with the infusion of federal CARES funding for the coming school year.
While CARES Act allocates $13.5 billion in Stabilization funds to K-12 schools, the ESSER funds are split unevenly across the ~ 50,000 public schools in the US (which is approximately 14.9 million or 64 percent of all students) that receive Title I funds, as well as across charters and private schools. Therefore, the funding is unlikely to cover the full extent of schools’ expenses and plans to transition to remote instruction, related to COVID-19. There is a clear need for additional, federal stimulus funding, which has been the common theme in the advocacy led by many associations, including the School Superintendents Association (AASA), Council of Great City Schools, National Education Association, and many other K-12 education associations.
Key Takeaways
If your school is unsure about the purpose of the CARES Act and how its funds can be used to overcome COVID-19 related challenges, here are some important points to remember:
1) Federal Education Stabilization Grant funds from the CARES Act can be used for a variety of purposes, including education technology, to support the transition for students to use online and remote learning during COVID-19.
2) Schools are encouraged to do all they can to use CARES Act funds to support schools most appropriately, particularly as it relates to shielding students from the learning losses that will likely surface this year.
3) We hope that Congress is working to pass a fourth stimulus package that would include additional, designated funding for schools on delivering high-quality education technology and further flexibility to use the funding on remote learning.
To learn more about the CARES Act, find information here:
*Appendix
In federal law, a few examples of references to the allowable use of CARES Act funding for education technology purposes include:
- “Purchasing educational technology (including hardware, software, and connectivity) for students who are served by the local educational agency that aids in regular and substantive educational interaction between students and their classroom instructors, including low-income students and students with disabilities, which may include assistive technology or adaptive equipment.”
- “Planning for and coordinating during long-term closures, including for how to provide meals to eligible students, how to provide technology for online learning to all students, how to provide guidance for carrying out requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.) and how to ensure other educational services can continue to be provided consistent with all Federal, State, and local requirements.”
- “Planning and implementing activities related to summer learning and supplemental after school programs, including providing classroom instruction or online learning during the summer months and addressing the needs of low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care.”
Read on to discover other ways you can utilize CARES Act funds to benefit your school.
Divya Sridhar, Ph.D., is the Policy Advisor for Government Affairs at McGraw Hill. McGraw Hill is a learning science company, serving students, teachers, and faculty with customized print and digital educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. In her role, Divya supports thought leadership on the company’s education policy priorities, relationship building with federal state and local policymakers, and strategic advocacy for the company’s business units. Divya has 10 years of combined experience in healthcare and education policy and has worked on issues such as interoperability, district digital transformation, educational equity, student data privacy, and funding for instructional materials.
