US Ed Dept adds reporting requirement for small colleges asking additional CARES aid

The U.S. Department of Education has announced new details on how it will distribute a $350 million pot of federal coronavirus relief funds among colleges that didn’t initially receive a significant amount of aid. To get their share of the funding, some of the schools will need to submit information to the department about the financial stresses the virus has caused. The new reporting requirements follow criticism the department did not carefully allocate the money. This is the latest update in a months-long saga over the distribution of funding set aside for colleges through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Of the roughly $14 billion of CARES funding allocated to higher education, about $350 million was earmarked for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to give to colleges she determines have been substantially disadvantaged by the coronavirus. The law instructs her to prioritize those that didn’t receive at least $500,000 in other CARES aid.