Dive Brief:

• No requests from states to extend spending deadlines for COVID-19 federal emergency funds for K-12 schools have been denied so far, according to the U.S. Department of Education, which has been reviewing the requests. About half the states requested spending extensions from one or more of the federal COVID emergency allocations offered for K-12. 

• The spending extensions approved up until this point represent just a fraction — $1.7 billion — of the nearly $200 billion provided from Congress to states and local school districts to help with pandemic recovery efforts.

• The Education Department has begun to approve Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief spending extension requests for American Rescue Plan Act funds — the last and largest federal COVID-related appropriation. So far, Delaware and Puerto Rico have received ESSER-ARP spending extensions.

Dive Insight:

States and districts with spending extensions have an extra 14 months beyond the spending deadline to liquidate their allocations.

Spending extension requests were submitted for every allocation under the Education Stabilization Fund available for K-12. Those allocations include ESSER, Governor's Emergency Education Relief and Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools. 

The Education Stabilization Fund was established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, at the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. Subsequent allocations to the fund were delivered through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, or CRRSA Act, and the ARP Act.

Collectively, the nearly $200 billion in flexible federal funding supported many pandemic recovery activities in education. With the earlier funds, schools targeted efforts to safely resume in-person learning after pandemic-related building closures and to plan for school infrastructure upgrades. With later appropriations, schools focused on tutoring, engagement and summer programs for academic recovery.

School administration organizations had asked the Education Department for a process to request spending extensions, saying that supply chain struggles and labor shortages disrupted districts' plans to spend the money.

Obligation and spending deadlines for school pandemic relief have been staggered based on the allocation. For ARP, states and districts face a Sept. 30 deadline for committing to use the funds and a Jan. 28, 2025, deadline to spend the money if they don't have a spending extension. States and districts with ARP spending extensions have until March 30, 2026, to liquidate their allocations.

Any unspent money will be returned to the Education Department.

The Education Department has allowed states to request spending extensions for each of the allocations under the Education Stabilization Fund. State education agencies can make extension requests on behalf of their own agencies and for districts. 

While there are no formal deadlines for making late liquidation requests, the Education Department has advised states and districts to be mindful of when extension periods end for each funding stream in order to best plan for the use of the funds.

Here's the status of the spending extension requests as of Aug. 15:

CARES Act

For ESSER allocations to districts, the Education Department approved 12 extension requests from states for a total of $15.7 million. An additional extension request from the U.S. Virgin Islands was approved for $521,939.

For state GEER funds, nine states were approved to extend $11.2 million in funding. The U.S. Virgin Islands was permitted to also extend $2.7 million. 

CRRSA Act

The Education Department approved 25 states' requests to extend a total of $365.7 million in ESSER allocations to districts. Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Central Northern Mariana Islands were allowed to extend $17.8 million.

For state GEER funds, 13 received approval to extend a total of $25.5 million. American Samoa, Central Northern Mariana Islands, and Virgin Islands are extending $11.1 million.

Twelve states received $207.6 million in spending extensions for allocations under Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools.

ARP Act

Delaware and Puerto Rico received spending extensions for $907.8 million in ESSER funds. Nebraska currently has a request under review. 

California and Colorado are allowed to extend ARP EANS funds totaling $110.1 million. Missouri and Texas have pending requests for spending extensions for ARP EANS.