Secretary of Education ARP ESSER Letter to Chief State School Officers

Summary

A template letter dated March 17, 2021 from Secretary of Education Miguel A. Cardona to chief state school officers, with unfilled placeholders for the commissioner's name, the State and the dollar award, announces State allocations under the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund after the Act's enactment. It lists uses such as mitigation strategies in line with CDC guidance, addressing interrupted instruction, summer and afterschool programs, early childhood education and avoiding layoffs. Funds are to be made available this month through a Grant Award Notification in G5, and allocations follow each State's share of fiscal year 2020 Title I Part A funds. An ARP ESSER fact sheet is attached.

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Full text

                                    THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION
                                               WASHINGTON, DC 20202



                                                 March 17, 2021


Dear [Commissioner] XXXXX:

As we take a historic step forward together in helping schools reopen and remain open safely with enactment
of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021, I want to recognize the extraordinary, ongoing efforts of
you and your colleagues in confronting the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. We appreciate the work
you have done to continue to ensure that America’s students receive the high-quality education they deserve.

On Thursday, President Biden signed into law the ARP, which will deliver critical aid to States (as well as
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia), districts, schools, educators, students, and
families as the country continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, the U.S. Department of
Education (Department) is announcing the allocation that each State, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and
the District of Columbia will receive under the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School
Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund. We will move quickly to get these vital resources to you.

It is with this same sense of urgency that State educational agencies (SEAs) and school districts should plan
to expend these funds to safely reopen schools as expeditiously as possible this spring, sustain their healthy
operations, and address the significant academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of their students.

I am pleased to announce that the Department will award $XX,XXX,XXX to [State] in ARP ESSER
funds. ARP ESSER funds will allow SEAs to take additional steps to safely reopen schools for in-person
instruction and keep them open, and to address the disruptions to teaching and learning resulting from the
pandemic. This includes using funds to enact appropriate measures to help schools to invest in mitigation
strategies consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Operational Strategy for
K-12 Schools to the greatest extent practicable; address the many impacts of COVID-19 on students,
including from interrupted instruction; implement strategies to meet students’ social, emotional, mental
health, and academic needs; offer crucial summer, afterschool, and other extended learning and enrichment
programs; support early childhood education; invest in staff capacity; and avoid devastating layoffs at this
critical moment, ensuring that all students have access to teachers, counselors, and other school personnel to
support their needs.

The Department is committed to supporting SEAs in implementing these unprecedented resources. ARP
ESSER funding will enable SEAs to promote safe school operations and equity-driven, sustainable,
evidence-based programs to serve students – especially those who are the furthest from opportunity – and to
continue to strengthen teaching and learning. You have my promise that the Department will do everything
in its power to respond efficiently to your questions, provide robust technical assistance and guidance to
support evidence-based local decision-making, and put students first as we assist SEAs and local educational
agencies in utilizing the ARP ESSER funding.
Recognizing the immediate challenges facing our schools and students, the Department will begin to make
ARP ESSER funds available to States this month. You will soon receive a Grant Award Notification (GAN)
through the Federal grants management system (G5) providing access to ARP ESSER funds as well as the
terms and conditions for their use.

It is particularly important that ARP ESSER funding will enable State and local educational agencies, as well
as schools, to support students who have been most severely impacted by the pandemic, which has even
further exacerbated the inequities in our education system. Consistent with specific set-aside requirements at
the State and district level and provisions for maintenance of equity, Federal relief funds can be used to
equitably expand opportunities for the students who need the funds most, including students from low-
income backgrounds, students of color, students with disabilities, English learners, students experiencing
homelessness or trauma, and students without access to technology.

The attached table shows State allocations for ARP ESSER funds. These allocations are based on the
proportion of funds that each State received under Part A of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 in fiscal year 2020. If you or your staff have questions, please reach out to us directly
or submit questions to your State’s program officer using your State’s Office of Elementary and Secondary
Education (OESE) Mailbox: [State].oese@ed.gov.

With ARP ESSER and other funds, the American Rescue Plan represents an extraordinary commitment to
the Nation’s students from early childhood to postsecondary education – and to our shared future. You can
find the ARP ESSER Fund fact sheet attached.

Thank you for your hard work and continued commitment to students in your State.

                                                      Sincerely,



                                                      Miguel A. Cardona, EdD
                                                      Secretary
                                                      U.S. Department of Education


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