House Republicans Probe Alleged Misuse of COVID-19 Education Funds

Republicans conduct Congressional inquiry into alleged misallocation of COVID-19 education funds. The Select Subcommittee investigates potential misuse of billions intended for school reopening and learning recovery efforts, aiming to ensure transparency and accountability.

Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) in Washington on June 13, 2023. Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images

Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) is looking into the possible waste and misuse of funds allocated for educational purposes from legislation passed during the pandemic. The funds were allocated to make up for lost learning time, help schools reopen safely, and stop the spread of COVID-19.

The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, chaired by Mr. Wenstrup, has launched an investigation into the possible misuse of billions of taxpayer dollars set aside for the reopening of schools through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE).

In a letter (pdf) addressed to DOE Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, Mr. Wenstrup formally requested documentation and information relating to the use of ESSER funds for the years 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Mr. Wenstrup asked the DOE for information about how ESSER funds were used by state and local education agencies. The lawmaker said he hopes to find out if the program helped students in any way and if taxpayer money was used for unrelated, non-academic programs or pet projects of politicians.

“This is especially concerning in light of mounting evidence that America’s students are continuing to fail academically and struggling to recover [from] pandemic-related learning deficits,” the lawmaker said in his letter.

According to a press release from Mr. Wenstrup’s office, due to COVID-19-related school closures and government policies, American children continue to experience the worst learning loss in history, higher rates of emotional distress, and worse physical health than ever before.

The Select Subcommittee chairman voiced concern that education agencies didn’t use ESSER funds to help kids who were hurt but instead used the money to push a leftist goal.

Program Effectiveness in Question

According to the letter, since the onset of the pandemic, Congress has authorized over $190 billion in aid to support schools in their efforts to reopen and mitigate the impact of pandemic-induced learning losses safely.

This financial support was initially provided through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act of 2021.

Under the American Rescue Plan (ARP), an additional $122 billion was allocated to the ESSER fund to aid in the safe reopening and continued operation of schools, aiming to address the educational challenges posed by the then-ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

However, according to the lawmaker, mounting concerns have arisen regarding the effectiveness of the program and the allocation of funds to ensure academic success for students.

The letter cited a report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which indicated that performance in math and reading by 13-year-olds had reached their lowest levels since 1990 and 2004, respectively.

“For example, none of the eighth-grade students enrolled at Lebron James’s I Promise School in Akron, Ohio, have passed the state’s standardized math test in three years. This is unconscionable and unacceptable,” Mr. Wenstrup said.

According to the letter, the committee’s investigation is addressing concerns by critics that the relatively loose restrictions on the fund’s usage, combined with limited accountability measures implemented by the Department of Education, have resulted in inadequate oversight.

Additionally, the letter pointed to concerns that funds have been expended on initiatives unrelated to academic achievements, such as upgrades to sports facilities and the promotion of ideological tenets, raising concerns about potential waste and misuse of taxpayer resources.

Call to Action

The subcommittee is calling for increased transparency and accountability regarding the administration of ESSER funds, especially in relation to State Educational Agencies and Local Educational Agencies.

Mr. Wenstrup’s committee has underscored the importance of timely data collection, particularly through the ESSER Fund Recipient Data Collection Form, which was completed by the DOE for the past year.

The Select Subcommittee cited their request as acting within its authority as granted by H. Res. 5 (pdf), which empowers it to investigate the efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of taxpayer funds and relief programs in addressing the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The committee requested that the DOE provide the requested documents and information no later than Aug. 24, 2023.

“[M]any critics—including concerned parents—have questioned the efficacy of the program and how much of these funds went toward helping students succeed in the classroom,” Mr. Wenstrup said, according to his office’s press release.

“Unfortunately, the fund’s seemingly few restrictions, coupled with the Department’s limited accounting, has meant that Congress has largely been without the information necessary for it to assess the program’s benefit for students academically (if any) and ensure that funds were neither wasted nor abused. Still, there’s been numerous credible reports of funds being expended for questionable programs and projects—not related to academic success in the classroom—including for upgrades to sports facilities and to indoctrinate children in core tenets of leftist ideology,”

The Department of Education confirmed to The Epoch Times via email that they had received the letter and will review it.