New federal COVID relief bill includes additional emergency support for higher ed

Yesterday President Biden signed into law the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package that passed Congress earlier this week.  The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 includes $40 billion in federal aid for colleges and universities across the country that will be disbursed through the Department of Education’s Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.  Funds will be distributed in a manner similar to the previous federal stimulus packages using a formula based on the percentage of Pell Grant eligible students attending institutions.  Institutions will be required to provide at least half of funding received for emergency financial aid grants to students.

The pandemic relief package also includes funding for vaccine distribution, direct economic payments, extension of federal unemployment benefits, childcare, K-12 education, and more.  The plan includes $350 billion in aid for state and local governments, of which the State of Washington is expected to receive $4.253 billion.