[4] As schools began to close in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, U.S. lawmakers looked to provide funding to make sure students would return to classrooms quickly and safely.
Just two days after the Idaho closures, the U.S. federal government passed the CARES Act, which started multiple programs to offer assistance to employers, workers, and public education.
A third round of relief funding, ESSER 3.0, sent $122 billion to K-12 public education on March 11, 2021 through the American Rescue Plan Act signed by President Joe Biden.
The Metro Nashville Public Schools paid for a $14 million dollar contract with relief funding to a newly created private entity.
[2] Even with this oversight, reports have published multiple spending items that have little relation to the pandemic or learning loss, including budgeting relief funds on walk-in coolers, retractable bleachers, administrator travel, and imitation cash and coins.