News Update

Feds extend time for schools to spend Covid relief funds

The U.S. Department of Education last week extended the deadline an additional 18 months for school districts to spend their Covid relief funds from the American Rescue Plan.

The original deadline was Sept. 30, 2024, but now school districts have until spring 2026 or even longer if they’re encountering “extraordinary circumstances,” according to the department. The extension is to help school districts whose efforts to spend their grant money have been hampered by staffing shortages, inflation and other obstacles.

“Given inflation, supply chain issues and labor shortages, we know that districts want to invest these funds wisely, and the knowledge that they have 18 additional months to liquidate funding will hopefully provide them with the assurance needed to move forward with using ARP funds for these contracts and obligations,” Daniel Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators,  said, according to K-12 Dive.