Covid Relief for Education

Overview

On March 27, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the largest and most notable of Congress’ coronavirus stimulus packages, was signed into law. Among the many allocations was $30.75 billion for an Education Stabilization Fund to support states, schools, and higher education institutions during the pandemic. These funds are disbursed as grants through six different programs.

In addition to the Education Stabilization Fund, some schools, like charter and private schools, had access to forgivable payroll-incentive loans through the Paycheck Protection Program.

The $900 billion stimulus passed as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act on December 21 also allocated an additional $82 billion to the Education Stabilization Fund and $284 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program.

 

The Education Stabilization Fund

The CARES Act appropriated $30.75 billion for The Education Stabilization Fund to support states, schools, and institutions of higher education impacted by Covid-19.

The $900 billion stimulus passed as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act on December 21 also allocated an additional $82 billion to the Fund.

The following programs are funded through the Education Stabilization Fund.

Charter Schools

Although government and public entities were prohibited from accessing the PPP, charter schools, which walk the line between public and private, and charter management organizations (CMO) were allowed to access these fund. Previous research by Good Jobs First has found over 1,200 charter schools and CMOs that recieved over $1 billion in PPP loans.

In addition to PPP loans, charter schools recieved grants through the Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief Fund, which provided grants to public schools adversley affected by the pandemic.

Use the chart below to view the charter schools in your state that receieved PPP loans.

Charter School Recipients by State

Private Schools

Previous research by Good Jobs First found that over 5,400 private schools recieved $4.5 billion in PPP loans. Our analysis also revealed that private and charter schools received $855,000 per facility compared to $134,500 for public schools. Only loans of $150,000 or more are included in this data.

Good Jobs First has also found similar trends in several states, including Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Private School Recipients by State

Higher Education

The CARES Act, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRSSA), and ARPA appropriated $14.25 billion for the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), $22.7 billion for the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II (HEERF II), and $39.6 billion for the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund III (HEERF III) respectively. Both programs allow higher education institutions to use certain funds allocated by the Department of Education to support students and higher education institutions with expenses and financial needs related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

All HEERF grants include institutional portion funds that must be used for costs that are associated with the significant changes to the delivery of instruction due to the coronavirus and other expenses associated with the coronavirus like lost revenue, reimbursement for expenses already incurred, technology costs associated with a transition to distance education, faculty and staff trainings, and payroll. 

Use the map below to see which higher education institutions in your state received institutional HEERF funds of $500,000 or more.