The Friends of the Institute of Education Sciences, which includes AAU, sent a letter to House and Senate leaders to request they include the $200 million provided for the Institute of Education Sciences in the RISE Act in the forthcoming “phase four” COVID-19 relief measure. According to the letter, the funding would provide “relief and flexibility for faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students who have had their research disrupted by school closures; ensure the continued collection of education statistics essential to monitoring the educational impacts of COVID-19; and support the development of evidence-based resources for educators and families facing an expected elongated period of continued distance learning into the upcoming school year.”