COVID Relief Funding FAQ

Starting in March of 2020, congress authorized COVID-19 relief funds, which helped to provide money for state, local, and tribal governments who are navigating the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Much of these funds went into aspects such as unemployment help, funding for schools at both the state education level and the local education level, among many other important things.

The CARES act, which stands for Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, established the $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund. The CARES funding can be used for any necessary expenditures that arise from the COVID-19 public health crisis. Amounts paid to government entities had to do with the population size of the specific state.

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Here is a link to the Coronavirus relief fund FAQ page: Coronavirus Relief Fund Frequently Asked Questions.

The CRRSA act, which stands for Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations, borrows much from the previous CARES act. This bill holds approximately $900 billion in total and was passed in late December of 2020. The money from this bill can be used in the same ways as the previous CARES act, with a section on upgrading projects to improve air quality in school buildings. 

Please see the following link for a few more details regarding the CRRSA act: CRRSA Act. 

For more information on the differences between the CARES act and the CRRSA act, click here: Differences in ESSER I and II from CARES and CRRSA acts.

ESSER stands for Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund. Departments award these funds to State Educational Agencies (SEAs) who apply for these funds, who then award at least 90% of the funds they receive to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs). ESSER funds come from the CARES act and ESSER II funds come from the CRRSA act. The CARES act provided $13.2 billion to the ESSER fund. The CRRSA act provided $54.3 billion to the ESSER II fund. ESSER and ESSER II funds are used for LEAs to provide personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning supplies and sanitizing materials, among other things to maintain school operations throughout the duration of the COVID-19 public health crisis. 

Please see the following link to see a state-by-state breakdown of ESSER funds as well as an FAQ page regarding these funds per state: 

CARES Act Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund Tracker 

Here is another link to the California Department of Education with ESSER funds FAQs: ESSER Fund Frequently Asked Questions - CARES Act Funding (CA Dept of Education) 

If you are from an LEA (Local Education Agency) and want more guidance on how to apply for ESSER funds, please see this video posted by the Arizona Department of Education for an example of the application process for Title I-A schools: FY20 Elementary & Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund Grant Application Guidance for FY20 Title I-A LEAs or see the first link above for an application page in your specific state.

The US Department of Education states that “Title I, Part A (Title I) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESEA) provides financial assistance to local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards”.

Most LEAs applying for funds from the coronavirus relief packages are classified under the Title I-A schools. 

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If you would like more information regarding this, please see the US Department of Education page: Title I, Part A Program 

The following link provides an interactive map of the states, where if you click on a specific state, the total amount of funding from the COVID-19 relief packages along with the amount that has been spent and the amount remaining can all be seen: Education Stabilization Fund 

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You can also view this link on COVID-19 funding and grant FAQs: General Funding and Grants Frequently Asked Questions | COVID-19 | Grants