States will now be responsible for federal COVID-19 emergency payments before seeking reimbursement from the U.S. Department of Education, the agency said in updated guidance issued on February 19, 2025. However, shortly thereafter schools were informed that he deadline has now been extended for an extra 14 months — or until March 30, 2026 — to spend down the funds allocated by Congress in 2021 to help schools respond to impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, including through academic interventions.
The USDE said $4.4 billion remains across the three allocations provided by Congress to help K-12 schools and colleges recover from pandemic-related setbacks.
That money represents a very percentage of the federal allocations in the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund.
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