With the expiration of COVID-relief funding approaching in September 2024, many school districts and states are starting to plan for the coming “fiscal cliff” that may bring tough choices for school budgets. That’s why we collaborated with the Federal Education Group, to prepare this report, “Beyond Recovery: Funding High-Impact Tutoring for the Long Term,” which explores the many federal funding opportunities available to help school districts sustain their in-school tutoring programs even after ESSER funding expires.
High-impact tutoring is a strategy backed by research that has great potential to close learning gaps and accelerate student achievement, and yet, fewer than 1 in 10 students in the US today is receiving it. By embedding tutoring into the school day at least three times a week, schools can dramatically expand access and improve outcomes for the students who stand to benefit the most.
With so many school districts just beginning to launch their high-impact tutoring programs, it’s more important than ever for states and districts to ensure these programs have the funding required to deliver results. While federal education programs explored in this report provide between 8-10% of public school funding nationwide, with state and local funds providing the rest, federal funds play a vital role in helping school districts provide equitable instruction to all students. This report explores the major U.S. Department of Education grant programs school districts can use to sustain tutoring initiatives after COVID-19 relief programs end, and offers the following recommendations:
- Policymakers should pursue opportunities to allocate additional funding towards in-school day, high-impact tutoring, in time for the 2025 fiscal year. In tandem, policymakers could streamline policies to provide clarity and guidance for local system and school leaders’ use of federal funding.
- State and district system leaders should consider carry-forward dollars in federal funding streams that may have grown with the availability of ESSER. Tutoring programs could be further prioritized by using state and district set-asides across these funding streams.
- School leaders should use their Title I allocations to support their students’ learning needs by leveraging tutoring as an evidence-based intervention.
Download the report to learn more.
