Author: Nicky Jackson, Marketing Campaign Manager, MCA
In response to the unique educational needs and concerns during COVID-19 the government created the CARES Act Education Stabilization Fund to support K-12 schools and colleges and universities during the Coronavirus [COVID-19] Pandemic. The fund includes roughly $30 billion in relief that has been broken into three categories or programs:
- Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund ($13.2 billion)
- Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEER) Fund ($14.25 billion)
- Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund ($3 billion)
These programs are being administered though the U.S. Department of Education and are intended to support efforts by states, schools, and institutions of higher learning to prevent, prepare for and respond to coronavirus. Each fund has a different focus and are subject to different eligibility requirements.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
ESSER Fund
Q: What is the deadline to apply?
A: July 1, 2020
Q: Who can apply for this fund?
A: State Education Agencies (SEA) apply and must allocate at least 90% as subgrants to Local Education Agencies (LEA), including school districts and charter schools.
Q: What can the funds be used for?
A: ESSER funds can be used for the following:
- Any activity authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Act, and other education statutes.
- Coordination of preparedness and response efforts for coronavirus.
- Providing principals and other school leaders with the resources necessary to address the needs of their individual schools.
- Activities to address the unique needs of disadvantaged children.
- Developing and implementing procedures and systems to improve preparedness and response efforts of local educational agencies.
- Training and professional development for staff of the local educational agency on sanitation and minimizing the spread of infection diseases.
- Purchasing supplies to sanitize and clean the facilities.
- Planning for and coordination during long-term closures, including for how to provide meals to eligible students and how to provide technology for online learning to all students.
- Purchasing educational technology for students who are disadvantaged.
- Providing mental health services and support.
- Planning and implementing activities related to summer learning and supplemental afterschool programs.
- Other activities that are necessary to maintain the operation of and continuity of services and continuing to employ existing staff.
HEER Fund
Q: What is the deadline to apply?
A: August 1, 2020
Q: Who can apply for this fund?
A: Institutions of Higher Education (IHE)
Q: What can the funds be used for?
A: HEER funds can be used for the following:
- Costs associated with significant changes to the delivery of instruction due to the coronavirus.
- At least 50% of the funding must go toward emergency financial aid grants to students for expenses related to disruption of campus operations related to coronavirus.
GEER Fund
Q: What is the deadline to apply?
A: July 1, 2020
Q: Who can apply for this fund?
A: Governors apply and make subgrants to the most significantly impacted LEAs and IHEs in the state.
Q: What can the funds be used for?
A: GEER funds can be used for the following:
- Provide emergency support through grants to local educational agencies and institutions of higher learning that are deemed to have been most significantly impacted by coronavirus to support their ability to continue to provide educational services and to support their on-going functionality.
- Provide support to any other institution of higher education, local educational agency, or education related entity within the state that the Governor deems essential for carrying out emergency educational services to students.
More than 30,000 customers trust Mobile Communications America (MCA) to provide wireless communication solutions for a safe, secure and more efficient workplace. As your trusted advisor, we reduce the time and effort needed to research, install, and maintain the right solutions to make your workplace better. MCA offers a variety of solutions that can be deployed to help education agencies in their coronavirus response and mitigation efforts. Contact an MCA representative today at 1-866-958-7821.
Download the FREE Summary Guide to see the solutions you may be able to use your Education Stabilization Fund grant on. Please consult your SEA if you have questions.