In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to traditional schooling. In response to the, then, relatively unknown threat of COVID-19, Congress sent emergency relief funding to schools. They did so again, sending much more money. Then, they did so again, sending much much more money.

These funds, known as the Elementary and Secondary Schooling Emergency Relief funds, or ESSER for short, totaled nearly $200 billion, making it the largest federal expenditure for public education in American history.

So, where did these funds go, and for what? Here to discuss is the Director of Georgetown University's Edunomics Lab, Marguerite Roza.

Show notes:

Marguerite's latest Education Next article: Punishment for Making Hard Choices in a Crisis: Federal Prison