PR could lose over $150 million in federal education funds tied to COVID relief

By The Star Staff

The U.S. Education Department has stopped the final distribution of federal COVID relief funds to state governments, Puerto Rico and school districts, reversing a previous decision by the Biden administration that allowed local officials to request extended deadlines for spending the funds.

The exact amount of money affected is still unclear. Puerto Rico has some $150 million in such funds that it could lose as it has allocated but not disbursed them. The move mirrors a recent decision by former President Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services to reclaim COVID relief funds initially allocated to states for addressing mental health concerns.

Originally, schools had until September 2024 to finalize plans for spending the remaining COVID-19 relief funds, amounting to almost $130 billion. The deadline for liquidating those funds was January 2025, unless an extension was granted by the Biden administration. Such extensions would have allowed schools to spend the federal money on approved projects through early 2025.

In a letter, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon notified state school officials that she had reconsidered the extension requests, concluding that further extension of the liquidation period was unjustified since it would be well past the performance period.

McMahon emphasized that extending deadlines for COVID-related grants years after the end of the pandemic contradicts the department’s priorities and is an unwise use of its discretion. However, governments can still reapply to the department for extensions on individual projects if they can demonstrate the need for additional funding to mitigate ongoing effects of the pandemic on students.