President Biden Signs the American Rescue Plan Act, Delivering Relief for Education

On March 11, President Biden signed into law the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (APR) Act of 2021 (H.R. 1319), which includes roughly $170 billion in COVID-relief funding for education. The APR contains provisions beneficial to educational institutions including:

• Institutional Aid – Building on previous COVID-19 relief packages, APR delivers nearly $170 billion in funding to support K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and students.

1. $125 Billion for K-12 Schools – Allocates $125 billion for the Elementary and Secondary School Education Relief Fund (ESSER). States are required to provide at least 90 percent of ESSER funds to school districts for reopening purposes. Note that APR also includes $2.75 billion for states to provide services to private schools that serve a significant percentage of students from low-income families.
2. $39.6 Billion for Higher Education – Dedicates $39.6 billion to colleges, universities, and students. Half of the funding must be spent on emergency financial aid grants to students and the other half to institutions to support lost revenue, increased costs from declining enrollment, and other pandemic related items.   

• State and Local Government Funding – Provides $350 billion in direct aid to states and local governments for COVID-19 related purposes and to offset revenue losses. An additional $10 billion in funding is included for critical infrastructure projects related to work, education, and health monitoring.
• Student Loans – Excludes from gross income student loan debt forgiven from 2021 through 2025.
• Employee Retention Tax Credit – Extends the ERTC from June 30, 2021 through the end of 2021.
• Paycheck Protection Program – Increases the program by $7.25 billion, for a total of $813.7 billion. Additionally, APR expands PPP’s eligibility to include most types of tax-exempt organizations, including religious educational groups, and adjusts requirements to allow participation by 501(c)(3) organizations with as many as 500 employees per location.

The plan also includes another round of direct payments, extended unemployment insurance, and public health measures such as funding to support COVID-19 vaccines and the reopening of schools. Prior to the bill’s passage, CASE joined letters led by the American Council on Education (ACE) and the nonprofit community expressing support for the measure. 

Visit the American Rescue Plan Act’s section-by-section summary for more information on the latest COVID-19 relief package, and subscribe to the CASE Advocacy Network to stay updated on legislative developments affecting educational advancement.  

Lawmakers Introduce the Universal Giving Pandemic Response and Recovery Act

On March 9, a bipartisan and bicameral group of lawmakers, led by Senator James Lankford (R-OK), introduced the Universal Giving Pandemic Response and Recovery Act (S. 618, H.R. 1704). Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Tim Scott (R-SC), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mike Lee (R-UT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) joined Lankford as original sponsors of S. 618. In the House, Reps. Chris Pappas (D-NH) and Jackie Walorski (R-IN) introduced the companion bill..

If enacted, the legislation would raise the $300/$600 cap on the universal charitable deduction in the year-end COVID-19 relief bill to roughly $4,000 for individuals/$8,000 for couples, extend the availability of the deduction to the 2022 tax year, and eliminate the current exclusion of gifts to donor-advised funds.



CASE worked closely with our Hill champions to introduce the legislation, which would help to incentivize more giving to nonprofits, including schools, colleges, and universities, as they continue to address and recover from the effects of COVID-19.

“Expanding and extending this important charitable giving incentive will empower our member institutions to better reach their goals, support their students, and serve their communities. Securing philanthropic support is critical to educational institutions and we look forward to continuing to work with the lawmakers to strengthen the universal charitable deduction,” CASE President and CEO Sue Cunningham said.



See full statements from CASE President and CEO Sue Cunningham and the Charitable Giving Coalition on the universal charitable deduction bill.

As CASE continues to work with the Charitable Giving Coalition to build support for the legislation and strengthened charitable giving incentives, visit the CASE Advocacy Network to stay informed on the latest updates.