ESSER Funds

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief federal pandemic relief funds

Explainer

Everything You Need to Know About Schools and COVID Relief Funds
How much did your district get in pandemic emergency aid? When must the money be spent? Is there more on the way? EdWeek has the answers.
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Education Funding ESSER Isn't the Only School Funding Relief That's Disappearing Soon
Federal relief aid, policies to prevent schools from losing enrollment-based funding, and support for vulnerable families are expiring soon.
Mark Lieberman & Lauraine Langreo, February 13, 2024
10 min read
Black female teacher or tutor explaining something to a Black male high school student.
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Student Well-Being Counselor-to-Student Ratios Show Improvement, But Looming Fiscal Cliff May Threaten Gains
School counselor ratios have improved, but advocates warn schools could lose mental health resources as pandemic-relief dollars dissipate.
Alyson Klein, February 12, 2024
3 min read
Conceptual image in blue: puzzle-shaped 100 American dollar banknote and red-colored question mark symbol.
Liz Yap from Education Week via iStock/Getty
Budget & Finance 4 Financial Headaches Schools May Not Be Able to Avoid This Year
Hiring challenges, new and potentially expensive state laws, and intensive audits are on the horizon.
Mark Lieberman, February 6, 2024
6 min read
Vector illustration of 4 professionals looking through a large magnifying glass at charts and large upward arrows.
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Student Achievement Q&A Learning Recovery Efforts Worked. New Data Show Why States Must Not Let Up
Student learning recovered in record numbers, but improvements were uneven—and exacerbated some longstanding academic gaps.
Olina Banerji, February 2, 2024
8 min read
Roll of dollar banknotes with colored pencils on the shelf.
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Budget & Finance Most Districts Say They Don't Need More Time to Spend ESSER Dollars
Only 13 percent of districts surveyed by ASBO International said they plan to seek approval to spend the federal aid past the deadline.
Mark Lieberman, February 1, 2024
2 min read
Illustration of a large dollar sign with small people running, jumping and climbing to get to end.
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School & District Management Superintendents Share the Lessons They've Learned From ESSER—and Look Ahead
The four finalists for the 2024 National Superintendent of the Year award reflected on the lessons they learned from pandemic relief aid.
Caitlynn Peetz, January 17, 2024
5 min read
Chicago charter school teacher Angela McByrd works on her laptop to teach remotely from her home in Chicago, Sept. 24, 2020.
Chicago charter school teacher Angela McByrd works on her laptop to teach remotely from her home in Chicago, Sept. 24, 2020. In Montana, a district hopes to save a virtual instruction program by converting it into a charter school.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
School Choice & Charters How a District Hopes to Save an ESSER-Funded Program
As a one-time infusion of federal funding expires, districts are searching for creative ways to keep programs they funded with it running.
Mark Lieberman, January 10, 2024
6 min read
Conceptual illustration of business people, a roll of paper, and the people using computers, a magnifying glass and telescope with the year 2023 as a shadow below them.
Liz Yap/Education Week and iStock/ Getty.
Budget & Finance 2023 in School Finance: Legal Fights, School Choice Debates, Persistent Inequities
Highlights of the year in school finance coverage include school funding lawsuits, private school choice legislation, and the looming financial storms brewing.
Mark Lieberman, December 22, 2023
6 min read
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School & District Management 5 Challenges School District Leaders Will Face in 2024
District leaders will face challenges with finances, absenteeism, and politics in the next year.
Evie Blad, December 15, 2023
7 min read
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Budget & Finance From Our Research Center When ESSER Funds Are Gone, Here's Where Districts May Turn to Fill Gaps
Districts will look to a range of funding sources to cover the services they've paid for in recent years with a surge of federal money.
Mark Lieberman, December 5, 2023
4 min read
Multi-ethnic preschool boys playing with blocks.
E+ / Getty
Student Well-Being How Districts Can Keep After-School and Summer Learning Alive After ESSER Dries Up
Roughly 8 in 10 school districts spent some of their federal COVID relief funds on after-school or summer learning.
Alyson Klein, December 4, 2023
4 min read
Michael Crowder, 11, right, reads to Tim McNeeley, left, during an afterschool literacy program in Atlanta on April 6, 2023. McNeeley, director of the Atlanta based Pure Hope Project, hosts the daily program for children in kindergarten through fifth grade.
Michael Crowder, 11, right, reads to Tim McNeeley, left, during an after-school literacy program in Atlanta on April 6, 2023. McNeeley, director of the Atlanta-based Pure Hope Project, hosts the daily program for children in kindergarten through 5th grade.
Alex Slitz/AP
Student Well-Being Districts Make Tutoring a Top Priority in After-School Programs Funded by COVID Relief Aid
Roughly 8 in 10 school districts spent part of their federal COVID relief funds on afterschool or summer learning.
Alyson Klein, October 25, 2023
3 min read
Illustration of a piggy bank with falling clocks entering the bank.
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Budget & Finance Need More Time to Spend ESSER Funds? Contact Your State Now, Ed. Dept. Says
Many school officials have been seeking more time to spend the billions in one-time funds they received from federal COVID-relief packages.
Mark Lieberman, October 23, 2023
3 min read
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his office at the Department of Education on Sept. 20, 2023 in Washington.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his office at the Department of Education on Sept. 20, 2023, in Washington. In an interview with Education Week, Cardona said "there hasn’t been another president in our lifetime that has spoken so much on providing dollars for education but also having education be central to the growth of this country."
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Federal Q&A Miguel Cardona: There's No 'Magic Strategy' to Help Students Get Back on Track
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said he's focused on supporting schools on work they're already doing to help students achieve.
Libby Stanford, October 19, 2023
8 min read