Overview of Education Stabilization Fund in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES), which is the third federal COVID-19 stimulus package, takes a first step toward supporting the P-12 and higher education systems at the state and institutional levels.[1] Passed in March 2020, the CARES Act is the largest stimulus bill in U.S. history – totaling $2 trillion dollars overall.[2]

Within the CARES Act, the Education Stabilization Fund provides $30.75 billion nationwide for education through three main funding streams – the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund.[3] Additionally, Congress allocated 1 percent of total education stabilization funds to be made available to the Education Department for grants to outlying areas, Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools and states with the highest coronavirus burden (for which Michigan could be eligible to apply).[4] States, institutions and governors, respectively, must submit the applicable application and/or certification forms in order to receive the available funding.

Each of the three education funding streams in the CARES Act are described below:

The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund includes $13.2 billion nationally, of which Michigan is eligible for nearly $390 million.[5] The use of these funds is relatively flexible, including planning for long-term closures, purchasing technology, school sanitization and mental health supports.

Funds will be distributed to states and then to districts based on their respective shares of funding received under Title I of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) – which is used to allocate federal funds to educate students from low-income families. This means that in Michigan, the Michigan Department of Education is required to distribute the dollars to intermediate school districts (ISDs) based on the percentage share of Title I they receive under ESSA. All funds must be used by September 30, 2021.

The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund consists of $14.25 billion nationwide to be distributed directly to higher education institutions based on their overall and Pell Grant recipient enrollment.[6] At least half of the funding received by an institution must go directly to students as emergency grant aid.

The Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEERF) totals $3 billion nationally and will be distributed to governors across the country to use on discretionary spending for K-12 or higher education purposes.[7] Michigan is eligible for almost $90 million dollars in GEERF funding.[8] To receive these funds, governors must submit an outline of how they will spend the dollars in their application. Within 45 days of receiving the funding, governors must report on their process for awarding dollars, including the criteria and process for determining those entities most significantly impacted by COVID-19 and/or essential for carrying out emergency educational services, and all funds must be spent within a year of being received.[9]

[1]  Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020

[2]  Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020

[3] U.S. Department of Education, Education Stabilization Fund Discretionary Grants. Retrieved from https://oese.ed.gov/offices/education-stabilization-fund/states-highest-coronavirus-burden/

[4] U.S. Department of Education, Education Stabilization Fund Discretionary Grants. Retrieved from https://oese.ed.gov/offices/education-stabilization-fund/states-highest-coronavirus-burden/

[5] U.S. Department of Education, Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund: State Allocation Table. Retrieved from https://oese.ed.gov/files/2020/04/ESSER-Fund-State-Allocations-Table.pdf

[6] U.S. Department of Education, Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/programs/heerf/index.html; Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020

[7] U.S. Department of Education, Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund. Retrieved from https://oese.ed.gov/offices/education-stabilization-fund/governors-emergency-education-relief-fund/

[8] U.S. Department of Education, Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund: State Allocation Table. Retrieved from https://oese.ed.gov/files/2020/04/GEER-Fund-State-Allocations-Table.pdf

[9] U.S. Department of Education, “Certification and Agreement for Funding under the Education Stabilization Fund Program Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund,” (Washington, D. C.: U.S. Department of Education, 2020). https://oese.ed.gov/files/2020/04/GEER-Certification-and-Agreement.pdf