Department of Education Changes the Rules for ESSER Reimbursement

The United States Department of Education has announced a change to its policies around Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. In an effort to increase transparency and accountability around federal expenditures, all funds spent on ESSER-approved services must now be paid for by the states in advance and then submitted to ED for reimbursement, the department said in a press release.

Under previous guidelines, states could utilize existing awards without providing proof that the funds were used for authorized purposes, ED pointed out. "The Department is changing the requirements to ensure taxpayer funds are expended responsibly, and will require states to keep the receipts to confirm this."

While most states have already spent the majority of their ESSER funds, a handful (Alabama, Delaware, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, and Puerto Rico) have received ESSER deadline extensions through March 30, 2026.

In a statement on the policy shift, AASA, The School Superintendents Association, cautioned that "It is … unclear if [the change] will influence states' willingness or ability to reimburse districts, as not all states can advance funds to LEAs without being certain of federal reimbursement."

Whiteboard Advisors co-founder Anna Edwards observed that there is a growing focus on evaluating the use and impact of these funds: "As pandemic-era relief funds approach full disbursement, attention is shifting toward assessing their long-term impact. Education leaders and policymakers continue to call for further analysis of how these funds were utilized and whether they effectively supported learning recovery and school infrastructure improvements."

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

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