Three congressional committees are investigating whether $190 billion in relief funding for elementary and secondary schools after the COVID-19 pandemic was used to advance social agendas rather than learning loss, as intended by lawmakers.
The House Committees on Oversight and Accountability and Education and the Workforce, as well as the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, asked Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to produce a trove of documents related to the approval, disbursement, and oversight of money from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund.
Congress authorized ESSER spending in three rounds of funding over the first year of the pandemic.
ESSER I, which provided $13.2 billion to schools, was authorized in March 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to provide emergency relief for schools dealing with the coronavirus.
ESSER II (also called ESSER ARP) added $54.3 billion in December 2020 through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act.
ESSER III expanded the fund by $122 billion in March 2021 through the American Rescue Plan Act to help safely reopen and sustain school operations and address problems in the student population caused by the disruption.
“Reports indicate billions of allocated taxpayer dollars are now being used by State Democrat leaders to push left-leaning ideologies in public schools rather than to fix the significant academic gaps caused by school closures,” the committee chairs wrote.
As possible examples of misuse of funds, the letter cited a Massachusetts school district that allegedly spent $56,800 in ESSER funds to hire a consultant who coached a high school principal to use a racial slur in a faculty meeting in an apparent exercise to demonstrate courage and vulnerability.
“This activity appears to have nothing to do with COVID-19 mitigation. Moreover, under no circumstances should the American people fund the ‘coaching’ of educators to use racial slurs for any purpose and/or at any time,” the letter stated.
“This is both a waste and a misuse of taxpayer dollars.”
While the request for information included documentation relating to all state and local education agencies’ use of ESSER funding, the committees specifically requested information on the use of ESSER III funds by California, New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts.
The letter also specifically asked for documentation on the use of ESSER funds “to facilitate professional development or teaching on subjects related to Critical Race Theory; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and/or other professional development on bias and/or programs.”
The committee chairs gave Cardona until April 17 to produce the requested materials, which they said were previously requested by Comer and Foxx on Sept. 14.
The Epoch Times requested but did not receive comment from the Department of Education by the time of publication.
