Emergency Education Relief Spending Needs Transparency

Last week marked the year anniversary of the World Health Organization’s declaration of a global pandemic. For many American children, it also marked the anniversary of the last time they have been in a classroom.

After Congress authorized another $130 billion in emergency funding for state public education systems, states have nearly $200 billion in additional funding for schools. With many school districts remaining closed to in-person learning, Congress and the Department of Education have a responsibility to monitor how states are using those tax dollars.

According to Burbio, 20 percent of American students were attending “virtual-only” schools as of March 15th. Half were attending school in-person and every day.

After twelve months of experience during the pandemic, growing evidence shows that schools can reopen safely if appropriate precautions are taken. For example, a new journal article published by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) reviewed testing data of more than 230,000 people tested in New York City public schools last fall. The authors “found that in-person learning in New York City public schools was not associated with increased prevalence or incidence overall of COVID-19 infection compared with the general community.”

In January, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported that “schools have not been a significant driver of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in their communities when they take safety precautions.” In February, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky declared,“there is increasing data to suggest that schools can safely reopen.”

Congress has appropriated $190 billion for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund

Last week, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a spending package that included $123 billion in funding for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund. The Department of Education is directed to appropriate those funds to state education agencies, which in turn are required to distribute 90 percent of those dollars to local education agencies. LEAs are allowed to spend funding in a manner consistent with federal education laws, while reserving 20 percent of funding to address the learning losses of at-risk children.

Altogether, Congress has provided $190 billion for the ESSER funds since last March, including $13 billion through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and another $54 billion through the Coronavirus Relief and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021. According to the Department of Education, only $3 billion of states’ ESSER funds (or approximately 24 percent) had been spent as of November 30, 2020. Based on the slow rate of how CARES Act funds have been spent to date, it is likely that at least $175 billion remains unspent as of March 2021.

How these funds are spent will significantly affect the futures of a generation of children. Prolonged school closures are likely to have resulted in learning losses for affected students, particularly those from lower-income households. The consequences of these learning losses from school closures may be felt for decades. For example, UCLA researchers have predicted that school closures will broadly result in lower life expectancies for affected children. A recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco projected that the nation’s annual economic output would be a quarter of a percent lower on average over the next 70 years due to pandemic-related learning losses.

Congress should require transparency about how ESSER funds are being spent

Congress has a responsibility to students and the public to require transparency about how ESSER funds are used. In November, the Department of Education established a website to monitor and publicly report how states were spending emergency funds. However, the website currently shows expenditures only through November 30th. According to the Department of Education’s website, spending data was last retrieved on January 19, 2021. It has not been updated during President Biden’s administration.

To ensure that the $190 billion is used to safely reopen American schools and address learning losses of students affected by prolonged school closures, Congress should pass a law to require public reporting.

Specifically, Congress should require the Department of Education to:

1. Establish and maintain a website tracking states’ expenditures of ESSER funds, including providing monthly updates to ensure that spending data is up to date;
2. Collect data from state education agencies and local education agencies to establish a national database to document public school closures that have occurred during the pandemic; and
3. Report semiannually on state education agencies and local education agencies’ compliance with federal education laws, including the American Rescue Plan Act’s requirement that 20 percent of ESSER funds be used to address learning loss of children from low-income communities, students with disabilities, children experiencing homelessness, and youth in foster care.

This transparency will be critical for federal, state, and local policymakers moving forward to ensure that funds are used in a timely manner to safely reopen schools and to provide immediate support to at-risk children. Moreover, collecting and reporting data about schools’ operating status during the pandemic will help current and future policymakers understand how or whether prolonged school closures have affected specific communities.