Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES)

  • On March 27, 2020, Congress passed, and the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act provides funding to prevent, prepare for and respond to the coronavirus, and consists of the following:

    • The Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER) as outlined in Section 18002 of the CARES Act, provides grants to Governors for the purpose of providing educational agencies with emergency assistance to address the impact of impact that Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19); and
    • The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) as outlined in Section 18003 of the CARES Act, provides grants to State Educational Agencies (SEAs) for the purpose of supporting local educational agencies (LEAs), including charter schools that are LEAs, with emergency relief funds to address the impact that COVID-19 has had, and continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools.

    The Rochester City School District has been allocated over $29 million in CARES funding. The District has prioritized initiatives to be implemented using CARES funding by taking into account student need, and existing improvement planning processes.  The documents linked below provide detailed information about the District's plan to utilize CARESfunds.