Latest ESSER Update Shows $35 Billion Still Remains Unspent

According to the latest U.S. Department of Education figures released on June 7, more than $35 Billion delivered to states as part of the COVID-19 American Rescue Plan – Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund – remains unallocated or unspent as of April 30, 2024.

Local education agencies (LEA) have until Sept. 30, 2024 to allocate their remaining ESSER funds and Jan. 31, 2025 to spend the funds. Anything unallocated or unspent by those deadlines will be returned to the U.S. Department of Education.

The latest update shows that:

• 7 states (Florida, New York, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Texas and California) have more than $1 Billion still to allocate/spend
• Another 16 states have at least $500 Million still to allocate/spend
• An additional 12 states have at least $200 Million still to allocate/spend

All told, 29.6% of the original $119 Billion allocated to the 50 states plus Washington DC remains unspent as of the latest update.

In the period between March 31 and April 30, schools spent approximately $11 Billion of their ESSER III allocations.

While the fiscal school year ends at the end of June and many school districts are closed for the summer, there should still be time for teachers seeking to purchase items with ESSER funding to submit their proposals and be considered prior to the deadline or district’s exhausting all their allocated funding.

Teachers seeking ESSER funding to purchase items such as IHT ZONE heart rate monitors to be used in physical education or emotional self-regulation programs should be prepared to submit their ESSER III requests as soon as the new year begins. IHT offers resources to help teachers build requests for funding to purchase its heart rate monitors. Click here to get started.

Boost Student Wellness with the IHT ZONE heart rate monitor: