Study of District and School Uses of Federal Education Funds

Federal funds account for less than 10 percent of K–12 education spending nationally but can play an important role, particularly in communities that are lower-income or have lower-performing schools. Although each federal education program has unique goals and provisions, they often allow funds to be used for similar purposes and services or overlapping populations. Congress provided state and local education agencies greater flexibility in their use of federal funds through the 2015 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). As the COVID-19 pandemic began to disrupt schools in 2020, Congress also created new programs to provide funding and flexibilities for states and districts to respond to the emergency. Because policymakers remain interested in how federal dollars are spent, this study will examine the distribution and use of pandemic relief funds and explore the possibility of examining those issues for five ”core” federal education programs that represent the vast share of the Department’s K-12 grant making: Part A of Titles I, II, III, and IV of ESEA, and Title I, Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

The latest form for Study of District and School Uses of Federal Education Funds expires 2027-05-31 and can be found here.