[Education Funding] What’s in President Biden’s American Rescue Plan for Schools?

With the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, signed into law by President Biden on March 11, $126 billion has been allocated for K–12 education. This significantly increases the amount of money provided from the two previous stimulus packages in hopes to get schools reopened safely. In a February 24 webinar, we unpacked the education funding landscape and answered frequently asked questions. During that conversation, we shared what you can expect from each stimulus package, how they differ, what the money can be used for, and why partnering with the right digital learning partner matters. Let’s dig into some of those key takeaways.

What is in the three COVID-19 stimulus packages? How do they differ?

The CARES Act

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was the biggest stimulus package in U.S. history, with over $2 trillion in economic relief provided. Of that $2.2 trillion, about $30.75 billion went directly to education, with $13.2 billion going to K–12 schools under the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund. Another $3 billion was assigned to the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Funds, going directly to state governors (and the mayor of the District of Columbia) to be distributed in states to either K–12 or postsecondary schools. For more info on the CARES Act specifically, check out the following resources:

• Breaking Down the CARES Act for Educators
• CARES Act Funding: How Governors Are Spending the Money

The CRRSA Act

The second stimulus package, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 (CRRSA), passed in late December 2020, was smaller than the CARES Act in terms of economic relief, but it provided four times the amount of money set aside for K–12 schools. The amount provided in the CRRSA Act is almost equal to the annual K–12 federal funding budget. The funds of both the CRRSA Act and the CARES Act were distributed through a title formula.

The American Rescue Plan Act

Lastly, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, signed into law by President Biden on March 12, 2021, includes $126 billion for K–12 education to help reopen schools. It is expected that this will be distributed through the same title formula as the previous two stimulus packages. Another important aspect of this act is that it also includes $219.8 billion for state, local, tribal, and territorial aid, which is significant when we consider that these budgets are an important aspect of school funding. Overall, this is an exceptional amount of money. When you combine these three stimulus packages, you end up with six times the amount of funding for K–12 education than the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) stimulus package to help the economy recover from the existing recession at the beginning of the Obama administration. You can use this tool from the National Conference of State Legislatures to see how your state has used past stimulus funds.

How can the stimulus funds be used?

An important distinction with these stimulus funds is that they are not annual; they are a one-time funding source to provide support through the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying economic downturn.

The stimulus funds in the American Rescue Plan Act are purposely vast, as the main goal is to provide schools with the necessary resources to get students back to in-person classrooms safely. With this in mind, the funding can be used for a range of costs, including but not limited to:

• Providing technology to assess and close the gaps in learning loss and assist educators in meeting students’ academic needs

• Counseling and addressing the social-emotional learning needs of students, as well as academic needs

• Implementing personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning costs, and associated activities necessary to maintain the operation of schools and reduce the risk of virus transmission and exposure

These funds will include requirements that states adequately fund low-income communities and areas hit hardest by COVID-19. COVID-19 education support from the other stimulus packages has helped provide after-school and summer learning opportunities as well.

Should we expect further funding?

The Biden administration's proposed education plan has five main pillars which aim to reinforce education at its roots through increased federal spending. This means putting funds where they do the most to provide equity of opportunity to a high-quality education and to success in career and life.

Research tells us that money matters—it makes a difference. We know that the income achievement gap is growing—getting worse, not better. We know that a 10 percent increase in income can significantly reduce adult poverty and can increase future wages by an average of over 7 percent. School closures have disproportionately impacted the learning of Black and Hispanic students, as well as students with disabilities and English language learners. For these and many other reasons, Biden’s education policy has plans to triple Title I funds. This would have Title funds go from about $15 billion to $45 billion annually, a game-changing unmatched increase with the opportunity to make significant progress in closing the socioeconomic and academic learning gaps in education and providing sustainable education equity.

Another big Biden policy and funding initiative is in IDEA, the Individual with Disabilities Education Act. When IDEA became law in 1990, the promise from the federal government was to fund 40 percent of the additional cost of special education. This promise was never fulfilled, and today, IDEA only covers about 14 percent of the cost. The Biden administration proposes an increase IDEA annually over the next 8 to 10 years until the federal government fully funds that original promise. This would increase IDEA from $13.6 billion to over $40 billion annually. 

You can read further on President Biden’s Education plan in our blog post “What’s Next for Education? A Dive into President Biden’s Education Plan.”

How can Edmentum help?

We believe that all students have the right to experience success at their level based on their unique needs and within an environment that works best for them. Learning during the era of COVID-19 has only further necessitated these principles and created unique challenges around equity, achievement gaps, and mental health and wellness.

Edmentum empowers educators to transform their approach and build school around the needs of each individual learner to make personalized learning an achievable reality in every classroom. Our curricula, assessments, and services can help you address unfinished learning, integrate a digital curriculum, maintain a fully virtual learning program, and lead with a whole-learner model that prioritizes social-emotional learning (SEL). Learn more about how we can partner with your school or district to provide personalized programs that meet your needs.

For additional the details of the COVID-19 stimulus packages and to find out how Edmentum can help, check out our recent OnDemand webinar, The Education Funding Landscape: Stimulus and Beyond.

The federal funding landscape can be daunting to navigate, so we created this Federal Funding Crosswalk to help state and local education agencies align their priorities to federal funding streams. This chart provides a crosswalk of the allowable uses and flexibility of activities authorized by a variety of federal funding sources and includes specific references to each act’s language as it pertains to the desired solution. Download it now!