The American Rescue Plan: Higher Education Funding

Congress has passed (and President Joe Biden has now signed into law) the American Rescue Plan Act, the third major pandemic related stimulus package. The $1.9 trillion bill is the largest of the three aid packages.

As part of this package, higher education institutions will receive $40 billion in additional aid—which exceeds the $14 billion received in last March’s CARES Act and the approximately $23 billion received as part of last December’s relief package. The money will be distributed to public and private institutions in a manner consistent with the first two relief packages, which is generally focused around the number of full-time Pell Grant recipients each institution has. Consistent with the first two relief packages, the American Rescue Plan requires institutions to spend at least 50% of the funds on emergency student grants.

Stay tuned for a more in-depth analysis on how the American Rescue Plan Act will impact higher education entities. In the meantime, please contact our higher education and collegiate athletics CPAs if you have any questions about the latest stimulus package.

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