K-12 Education

This page will be updated continuously to reflect the most recent information. This page was last updated on March 23, 2021.

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Congress has passed several rounds of financial assistance and relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including most recently the American Rescue Plan.  The American Rescue Plan includes the following assistance for K-12 schools.

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The American Rescue Plan provides for more than $125 billion for K-12 education, which can be used to help reopen schools safely, address learning loss, support high-quality afterschool and summer enrichment programs, and acquire education technology.  Details are below.

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Under the American Rescue Plan, the Congress appropriated $125.8 billion to supplement the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSERF).  These funds will be awarded to states based on their relative share of ESEA grants for fiscal year (FY) 2020.  At least 87.5% of the funds must be awarded as subgrants to local education agencies (including charter schools) in proportion to the amount received under ESEA in FY 2020.  Hawaii’s state educational agency, the Hawaii Department of Education, functions as the local educational agency for the state.  States may not reserve more than 0.5% for administrative costs.  Additional information about the ESSERF can be found here.

In addition, the American Rescue Plan included a maintenance of effort (MOE) requirement as a condition for receiving funding.  States must maintain support for elementary and secondary education, and state support for higher education in FYs 2022 and 2023 at least at the levels of such support that is the average of such state’s support for elementary and secondary education and for higher education provided in FYs 2017, 2018, and 2019.  The American Rescue Plan also included a maintenance of equity provision to support high-need and high-poverty area schools.  Additional information on the MOE can be found here. 

Hawaii will receive $412,328,764 under the American Rescue Plan, of which not less than 20 percent, or $82,465,752, must be used to address learning loss.  More information on the ESERF under the American Rescue Plan can be found here.

Previously, Hawaii received $183,595,211 under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 (COVID relief law).  The notice for the availability of funds can be found here.  A factsheet on the COVID relief law ESSERF can be found here.  The allocation under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to Hawaii can be found in Table 1 and here.  The allocation under the COVID relief law to Hawaii can be found in Table 2 and here.  The allocation under the American Rescue Plan can be found in Table 3 and here.

A local education agency may use these funds to:

The Congress appropriated an additional $1.3 billion under the COVID relief law to be used to supplement the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEERF) awarded to each state with an approved GEERF application under the CARES Act.  Additional information about the GEERF can be found here.

An additional $2.75 billion was set aside for the Emergency Assistance for Non-Public Schools (EANS) program, which provide services or assistance to eligible K-12 private schools to address the impact that COVID-19 pandemic has had, and continues to have, on non-public school students and teachers.  The American Rescue Plan provides an additional $2.75 billion of the EANS.  The EANS certification and agreement can be found here.

Previously, Hawaii received $14,270,980 through theCOVID relief law.  The allocation under the CARES Act to Hawaii can be found here.  The allocation under the COVID relief law can be found here.

A governor may use the funds to:

The American Rescue Plan includes an additional $3.03 billion in funding for the following programs under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA):

These IDEA programs support special education and related services for children with disabilities.

Hawaii will receive an estimated $11,215,000 in supplemental IDEA funding, broken down as follows:

The IDEA Part B, Section 611 program authorizes the “grants to states” program, which supports special education for school-age children.  The IDEA Part B, Section 619 program authorizes the “preschool grants” program for children with disabilities ages three through five.  The IDEA Part C program assists states in operating a comprehensive statewide program of early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities, ages birth through age two, and their families.