The purpose of this flash report was to share with the Department our observations regarding States’ Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund initial 45-day reports and annual reports. Our review sought to determine how States plan to allocate funds to entities within the three authorized categories: local educational agencies (LEA), institutions of higher education (IHE), and education-related entities, and the criteria upon which these decisions were based; and review GEER Fund annual reports to identify changes to and progress made from the initial plans in the 45-day reports.
Within the three authorized entity categories, 45 States (87 percent) planned to allocate GEER funds to LEAs, 39 States (75 percent) planned to allocate funds to IHEs, and 36 States (69 percent) planned to allocate funds to other education related entities. Further, we found that 41 States (79 percent) planned to allocate GEER funds among more than one entity category. We also noted that 46 States (88 percent) identified criteria and processes used to determine which LEAs, IHEs, or other education-related entities were “most significantly impacted by coronavirus” or “essential for carrying out emergency educational service.”
The report did not include any recommendations.
Implementing Pandemic Relief Laws
See related work on our Pandemic Aid page.