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FORESIGHT LAW + POLICY
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Summary of the Education Provisions of the Coronavirus Response
and Relief Supplemental
Appropriations Act
December 22, 2020
On December 21, Congress approved a $900 billion pandemic emergency response bill titled the Coronavirus
Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (the "Response and Relief Act"). The long-awaited
emergency bill provides $82 billion for K-12 schools and postsecondary institutions to be distributed, with some
important modifications, through the three education emergency programs established by the CARES Act (P.L.
116-136) in March 2020: (1) the Governors Emergency Education Relief (GEER) fund; (2) the Elementary and
Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund; and (3) the Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEER) fund.
This memorandum summarizes the Response and Relief Act's treatment changes to the GEER, ESSER, and HEER
funds and briefly describes other items relevant to schools and higher education institutions such as the law's
broadband, nutrition, and childcare provisions. The paper also addresses the law's extension of key CARES Act
milestones, such as the deadline when education entities must use resources provided by governors from the
Treasury Department's Coronavirus Relief Fund. Given the breadth of this sweeping law, Foresight will update
this memorandum, as needed, after our team completes a deeper analysis of its text.
