Last month, the U.S. Department of Education contacted State Education Agencies (SEA) about an immediate end to the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER). The federal agency told state education agencies that were using ESSER funds that those funds were now terminated. In her letter, Education Secretary Linda McMahon described how states could apply for reconsideration of this decision, which could allow tutoring programs to continue. SEAs should consider acting on this appeal quickly.
Background
- On 8/23/23, in preparation for the scheduled end of ESSER funding in September 2024, Accelerate published, “Beyond Recovery” – a federal resource guide.
- To support the ongoing academic recovery, on 1/9/24, the U.S. Department of Education published a set of materials (letter and FAQ) that name “high-quality tutoring”, among several academic recovery strategies, as a key evidence-based strategy that they consider “permissible” use for additional 18 months of ESSER funds usage, if an extension request is approved to the SEA by 12/31/24.
- On 2/9/25, USED issued a statement changing the implementation of the remaining $4.4 billion: “…allowable expenditures must be paid by the states in advance and then submitted to the U.S. Department of Education for reimbursement.”
- Media reports found that over 40 states had received extensions for “late liquidation” from the department, some as early as August 2024, to spend remaining funds through March 2026. A recent state by state table showed a range of $0 to $232 million remaining to be expended (0% to 11% of total state ESSER allocations), with most states having at least $10 million in funds remaining.
Update
On 3/28/25, in a letter to state chiefs of education, Secretary McMahon modified the timeline for the remaining extended ESSER funds to end that same day. However, the letter stated “the Department will consider an extension to your liquidation period on an individual project-specific basis. To obtain an extension, please submit a statement to the email address listed below explaining (1) how a particular project’s extension is necessary to mitigate the effects of COVID on American students’ education, and (2) why the Department should exercise its discretion to grant your request.”
Further communication on 4/3/25 from the Department provided a list of 10 items that an SEA would need to provide for consideration of an extension request sent to ESSERF@ed.gov. Items 1-7 ask for basic project characteristics, but Items 8 and 9 request further evidence around tutoring – and we have provided some key resources that can help staff complete the appeal if tutoring funds are involved:
Item 8: A brief description of how a particular project’s extension is necessary to mitigate the effects of COVID on American students’ education.
- The National Student Support Accelerator (NSSA) at Stanford University has provided some specific research in response to this item.
- Accelerate’s research resources available here that can supplement state and district tutoring research examples.
- A March column in The 74 co-authored by University of Chicago Education Lab’s Sadie Jackson and Accelerate’s Kevin Huffman provides substantial case-making content in support of high-dosage tutoring.
Item 9: A justification of why the Department should exercise its discretion to grant your [SEA] request.
- Administrative response: the SEA may have had this in the budget, contracted and obligated with vendors and/or through local education agencies (LEA) for months.
- Academic response: the SEA can emphasize the academic recovery focus of funds for high-dosage tutoring – enabling the state to support LEA’s in assisting their lowest performing students catch up. Research demonstrating improved student outcomes in response to tutoring will be helpful.
