Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Friday told states that their time to spend COVID relief money had suddenly come to an end—canceling extensions the department had previously granted to states to allow schools more time to spend the money on previously planned projects and services.
McMahon alerted state education chiefs in a letter dated Friday that the deadline to spend all remaining funds was that same day at 5 p.m. EST.
She said the additional time “was not justified” and that states and school districts “have had ample time to liquidate obligations.”
Because the department can reconsider its decisions, McMahon wrote in the letter obtained by Education Week, “you could not rely on the Department adhering to its original decision.”
“By failing to meet the clear deadline in the regulation, you ran the risk that the Department would deny your extension request,” McMahon said. “Extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion.”
The decision mainly affects funds schools have budgeted—but not yet spent—from the last round of COVID relief funding of about $130 billion that Congress approved in March 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan Act.
Schools had until Sept. 30, 2024, to commit the dollars to particular expenses. States and schools were to spend the funds by Jan. 30, 2025, but some states requested extensions on behalf of districts that generally allowed schools up to another 14 months to finish spending the money.
Districts mainly sought extensions so they could finish paying down contracts—like for tutoring services, construction projects, and mental health supports—that they signed during the grant period.
The letter came as at least seven states have reported in recent weeks that the federal government has delayed reimbursing them from their pools of remaining COVID relief funds. The Education Department over the past two months has both changed the reimbursement method for remaining COVID relief funds and cut most staffers from the office that worked with states on those funds.
McMahon said in her letter to state schools chiefs that it would now consider extensions “on an individual project-specific basis.” It asked states to submit a statement explaining why an extension is “necessary to mitigate the effects of COVID on American students’ education” and “why the Department should exercise its discretion to grant your request.”
Carissa Moffat Miller, the chief executive officer for the Council of Chief State School Officers which represents the interests of state education chiefs nationally, said in a statement that she was “highly concerned” by the department’s letter.
“States and districts have already committed or spent these funds to help students recover from the effects of the pandemic and have been promised reimbursement,” she said. “Today’s action creates new barriers and will have a negative impact for students across the country. We urge the Department to restore the previously agreed upon liquidation period so services can continue for students.”
The pandemic relief funds, awarded in three rounds in 2020 and 2021 and totaling roughly $200 billion, were meant to help schools cover the pandemic-related costs of shifting to online instruction, reopening school buildings, then helping students recover from learning loss. Schools could also spend the funds on a range of other expenses, from construction and renovations to mental health services.
The last of those three rounds of funds, which was the largest, was former President Joe Biden’s most significant mark on education during his presidency.
