The latest stimulus package passed by Congress is one of the longest bills to be pushed so quickly through the Senate and the House. The final bill was handed to lawmakers just hours before they voted on it.

“This bill is too long, too complicated,” said Thea Lee, president of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

EPI expects the $900-billion package will provide an instant jolt to our economy by extending unemployment benefits and enhancing them by $300 a week. It also includes a $600 stimulus check for millions of Americans and $25 billion for housing and eviction protection.

There are hundreds of billions of dollars for Paycheck Protection Program loans, intended for small businesses. However, those touted benefits only take up a couple of pages in the nearly 5,600-page bill.

"There are things in there that don’t belong in there,” said Lee.

In fact, as more experts and government watchdog organizations start to sift through the stimulus bill, which was also tied to an ominous spending bill, the list of non-pandemic related funding and measures grows.

“Some of it is things like horse-racing commissions [funding] and so on, but some of it shouldn’t be in there because it is helping either people or businesses that don’t need the help,” Lee explained.

For example, there’s a tax break on alcohol, and Lee pointed out the alcohol industry is one that has actually thrived during the pandemic. Legislators also included a tax break for what has been dubbed the Three Martini Lunch.

“It’s a deduction for business people who are having expensive lunches out. That has been extended in this bill,” said Lee. "That is not the best way, the most targeted way to help the restaurant industry.”

For all of the non-pandemic-related measures squeezed into this latest deal, there is a surprise in what did not make it in.

“The most important thing that is not in the stimulus bill is aid to state and local governments,” said Lee. "If they don’t get enough aid from the federal government, they will have to start laying off workers.”

Another thing not in the stimulus bill was an extension on the student loan payment pause. Many student loan borrowers will have to start repaying loans in January and interest will begin accruing again.

There is also, notably, no transparency requirement tied to small business PPP loans. Watchdog organizations, like U.S. Public Interest Research Group, have been calling for it for months, given all the issues seen with the first round of PPP loan funding.

"The Department of Justice has actually indicted 57 people so far from stealing over $175 million from the PPP loan program,” said RJ Cross with U.S. PIRG.

Also, lawsuits filed by several news organizations forced the Small Business Administration to reveal more names of companies that have received the forgivable loans. The result has shown that most of the PPP loans issued in the first round, more than $250 billion, went to larger than intended business. The smallest businesses, in which the loans were intended for, actually struggled to get the funding they needed.

U.S. PIRG has fought for months to get transparency requirements tied to PPP loan money to prevent further fraud and corruption in the program, and the group was surprised that was not included in this latest stimulus package.

“If folks are very clear on the fact that information about their loans, their application, and their businesses will be made public, it helps to deter a lot of fraudsters in the beginning,” Cross added. “Congress largely squandered that opportunity to strengthen those measures that would increase public trust in the PPP program.”

Congress is expected to immediately begin working on yet another stimulus bill in January and could address some of the concerns with this latest bill.

"I hope that Congress can come back in 2021 and take up the elements that are missing from this bill,” said Lee.

Video above: New Hampshire Department of Education outlines spending plan for relief funds

Congress authorized more than $190 billion to help America's schools reopen and stay open during the pandemic — and while a lot of the funds were used to buy PPE, upgrade ventilation and boost summer school programs, there are still billions of dollars left to be spent.

Many local school boards haven't yet decided how to use the most recent round of funds released in March. In most states, districts are required to submit a spending plan between mid-August and mid-September and will be reimbursed after they use the money.

"I'm both sympathetic and frustrated with the rate of district spending at the moment," said Marguerite Roza, professor at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy and director of the Edunomics Lab research center.

The COVID-19 relief money — which came from three different pieces of legislation — is a huge federal investment equal to roughly six times the amount of fiscal year 2021 base funding. Congress gave schools more than three years to spend the latest and biggest round of money, with few strings attached. It's unlikely to be spent all at once, especially if it's used for teachers' salaries or capital improvements that are paid for over time.

The money was meant to help schools provide safe, in-person instruction for all students and while a majority of schools have reopened, many are facing new challenges to keeping kids in classrooms this fall as the delta variant spreads and families await vaccine approval for children under 12.

Schools in Texas have already surpassed the highest COVID-19 case weekly total from last year. A shortage of bus drivers in Chicago, partly due to resignations over a vaccine mandate, have left families scrambling to find transportation. Parents are frustrated and in some places have thrust school boards into the heated debate over masks and vaccines, fueling interest in local elections.

Here's what we know about what schools are getting and how they're spending it.

How much money are schools receiving?

Not every school will get the same amount of money. The law directs states to disburse the money like it does Title I funding, which means more money goes to districts with more low-income families. Some districts, those with very low poverty rates, won't receive any direct COVID-19 relief funding — but may be eligible for some funds that are left up to the state's discretion.

When the pandemic first hit, the CARES Act authorized about $13 billion for K-12 schools, or about $270 per pupil. The bill that passed in December delivered about $54 billion, or $1,100 per pupil, and the most recent and biggest package, the American Rescue Plan, allowed for $128 billion in spending, that amounts to $2,600 per pupil, according to an analysis by FutureEd, another non-partisan think tank at Georgetown University.

Schools spent a big portion of the money from the first relief bill, passed a year ago, on PPE, cleaning supplies, technology and learning management systems that helped students learn from home, and salaries and wages — according to a survey from the Association of School Business Officials conducted in February.

How are schools allowed to spend the money?

About 20% of the money a district receives must be used to address learning loss — which can include tutoring programs, summer school or extended school days going forward.

But there are few other restrictions on the funding, so it's largely up to the local school boards to decide how to spend it on a broad range of pandemic-related needs.

The law notes that it can be spent on things like sanitation supplies, technology, mental health services and ventilation systems, to name a few. But it's not certain all the plans will be fully executed — especially when it includes hiring more teachers and counselors who may be hard to find.

Districts are required to seek public input on how to spend the money, though outreach efforts vary. Many school boards have discussed the spending at public meetings throughout the summer. On agendas, the topic is often referred to as the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds, or ESSER.

States are allowed to keep 10% of the COVID-19 education aid and decide how to disburse the money. They were required to submit an application to the Department of Education earlier this year and will receive the last third of the money once it's approved. The department has approved 33 to date.

Spending plans: tutoring, mental health counselors, renovations

The decentralized nature of the U.S. school system makes it difficult to track how exactly districts are spending the money. A recent survey from the School Superintendents Association found that a majority of districts are planning to use the funds for support staff, technology to access the internet, and professional development for educators. Other top priorities include high-intensity tutoring, adding learning time by compensating staff to work longer and renovating facilities.

The Detroit public school district, for example, plans to use COVID-19 relief funds to give teachers a one-time bonus, provide tutoring, expand mental health services, make facility improvements and reduce class size by hiring more teachers.

But not every proposed use can be justified. The Illinois State Board of Education recently rejected a district's plan to use COVID-19 relief dollars towards an artificial surface on its football field.