As part of Maryland's Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding allotment, the Maryland State Department of Education created the Maryland Leads initiative, which committed the state's set aside funds to local education agencies to implement at least two of seven high-leverage strategies. In February 2022, 23 LEAs were…

This report summarizes findings from the School Meals Operations Study (SMO), part of an ongoing series to assess school meal operations on a school year (SY) basis. This volume of the study covers July 2021 through the end of September 2022 and includes SY 2021-2022. When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, the Families First Coronavirus…

Purpose: We used data from the National Survey of Children's Health to (1) examine differences in economic hardship and safety net program use after the implementation of federal relief efforts, and (2) assess whether the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated autism-based disparities in hardship and program use. Methods: We examined five dimensions of…

High-impact tutoring is a research-based approach to providing individualized instruction for students and accelerating learning. It was one of the most popular uses of federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) dollars, with 10 states spending a portion of their funding on large-scale tutoring initiatives. Illinois was one…

In 2021, China issued the "Double Reduction" (DR) policy to reduce the within- and outside-school burden on students. The policy requires all compulsory education schools to provide after-school services such as homework tutoring and well-rounded development activities for willing students. Based on student survey data from 13 schools in…

Three primary rounds of COVID relief funding were provided to Colorado between March 2020 and March 2021. These federal funding sources were: (1) the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in March 2020; (2) the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act in December 2020; and (3) the American Rescue…

Increases in mental health needs resulting from traumatic events have brought challenges that affect students' ability to fully engage in learning. The School-Based Mental Health Services (SBMH) Grant Program aims to address these challenges by increasing the number of credentialed mental health services providers providing school-based mental…

This statutory report presents the activities and accomplishments of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Inspector General (OIG) from October 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025. The audits, investigations, and related work highlighted in this report are products of OIG's mission to identify and stop fraud, waste, and abuse; and promote…

Federal Student Aid (FSA) processes more than 17.6 million Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms each year to help students pay for college and provide students with approximately $120.8 billion in grant, work-study, and loan funds. The FAFSA Simplification Act of 2021 required FSA to overhaul its systems and processes to…

Background: Since 2010, there has been significant growth in the United States in the number of students with intellectual disability accessing higher education, driven by federal legislation and funding. Currently, over 340 institutions of higher education provide programs of study for students with intellectual disability. Of these programs, 134…

Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC) introduced the College Cost Reduction Act (CCRA) in the 118th Congress. The act introduced a set of proposed changes to federal higher education policy, including new annual and aggregate limits on federal lending. Some stakeholders have speculated that the Republican majority in the 119th Congress might advance…

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) provide federal funding for school lunches and breakfasts served to nearly 30 million children daily in close to 94,000 schools. Because federal spending on NSLP and SBP depends in part on student participation in school meals, it may be of interest to Congress to…

The Federal Pell Grant program is the largest program providing need-based grant aid to postsecondary students. In FY2023, the program made $31 billion in grant aid available to approximately 6.5 million low-income undergraduate students. Congress has considered several legislative proposals concerning Pell Grants in recent years, and it may…

Single Stop is a U.S. nonprofit organization that offers U.S. colleges services and tools to help students achieve economic security. Its portfolio of options includes an online platform that screens students' eligibility for public benefits programs, a search tool that connects students to community and college resources, and case management…

In this edition of "Voices From the Field," we explore practical strategies for maximizing the impact of Title I, Part D funds through effective, efficient, and timely spending. We highlight common challenges that programs face in utilizing these funds and offer actionable solutions to overcome them. Three experienced coordinators share…