Dear Superintendent Truitt — ARP ESSER State Plan, North Carolina (September 13, 2021)

Summary

A September 13, 2021 letter on Secretary of Education letterhead to Catherine Truitt, Superintendent of Public Instruction at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, approving North Carolina's ARP ESSER State plan and stating that the remaining one-third of the State's allocation will be released immediately. It says North Carolina indicated that it has not yet identified its interventions and is awaiting appropriation of the State-level reservations from the North Carolina General Assembly. The approval is conditioned on amending the plan to describe evidence-based interventions, with an update on progress within 30 days of receipt of the letter.

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Issuer: Congressional materials
Document type: Department Of Education Pdf Www Ed Gov 71D710F76B
Case: Department Of Education Pdf Www Ed Gov 71D710F76B

Cite this document

“Dear Superintendent Truitt — ARP ESSER State Plan, North Carolina (September 13, 2021).” Original at www.ed.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/department-of-education-pdf-www-ed-gov-71d710f76b/, SHA-256 670c2ec4917d4a9b54ab900137ca750091eacaf85f1f2ac2a0d4cc36c4fae571.

Full text

                                        THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION
                                             WASHINGTON, DC 20202




                                              September 13, 2021


The Honorable Catherine Truitt
Superintendent of Public Instruction
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
6301 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-6301

Dear Superintendent Truitt:

I am pleased to approve North Carolina’s American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary
School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) State plan. This plan, together with the unprecedented
funding available under ARP ESSER, will help ensure that districts and schools in your State can
continue to reopen safely; support sustained access to in-person instruction throughout the
summer and into next school year; and address the social, emotional, mental health, and
academic needs of students due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19),
particularly those students most impacted by the pandemic.

Except as described below, North Carolina’s plan is consistent with all ARP ESSER statutory
and regulatory requirements and addresses all of the ARP ESSER State plan elements. This
letter, along with North Carolina’s approved ARP ESSER State plan, will be posted on the U.S.
Department of Education’s (Department’s) website, and the Department will immediately release
the remaining one-third of your State’s ARP ESSER allocation for your use.

In its ARP ESSER State plan, a State education agency (SEA) must describe how it will use the
funds it reserves under sections 2001(f)(1)-(3) of the ARP Act on evidence-based interventions
to address: (1) the academic impact of lost instructional time, (2) summer learning and
enrichment programs, and (3) comprehensive afterschool programs; and must describe how the
interventions it identifies will address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on certain
groups of students. In its ARP ESSER State plan, North Carolina indicated that it has not yet
identified its interventions and is awaiting appropriation of the State-level reservations from the
North Carolina General Assembly. As a result, this approval is conditioned on North Carolina
amending its ARP ESSER State plan to provide the requisite descriptions to meet the
requirements in section D.1.i-iii, D.2.i-iii, and D.3.i-iii of the ARP ESSER State plan template.
In addition, North Carolina must provide an update on its progress selecting evidence-based
interventions to meet these requirements within 30 days of receipt of this letter, and additional
updates as required by the Department.

As part of the ARP ESSER State plan, each State assured that it would provide the
Department the URLs for information related to ARP ESSER requirements. First, by June 21,
2021, each State was required to post publicly on its website, for the most recent time
period available, data on mode of instruction and enrollment for all students, disaggregated
by student subgroups. The State assured that it would provide to the Department the URL(s)
Page 2 – The Honorable Catherine Truitt


where the public can readily find this data. The Department will follow up separately with you
regarding this requirement, if necessary. Second, your State assured that it would provide to the
Department the URL(s) for the SEA and/or local educational agency (LEA) websites where the
public can find the LEA plans for: (a) the safe return to in-person instruction and continuity of
services; and (b) use of ARP ESSER funds. Please submit the URL or URLs to the Department
via email to your State mailbox at NorthCarolina.OESE@ed.gov.

Please be aware that approval of North Carolina’s ARP ESSER State plan is not a determination
that all the information included in the State plan complies with Federal civil rights
requirements, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title II of the Americans
with Disabilities Act, and requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It
is North Carolina’s responsibility to comply with these civil rights requirements.

The Department is committed to working in partnership with your State so that your ARP
ESSER funds are quickly put to work to ensure students have sustained access to in-person
instruction as well as the comprehensive supports they need to recover fully from the impacts of
the COVID-19 pandemic. As you implement this plan, we expect you to continue meaningfully
engaging with stakeholders and the public and revising your plan, as necessary, to best meet the
needs of students, parents, and educators. Ongoing engagement with all stakeholders is vital to
ensuring that implementation of your plan is transparent, effective, equitable, inclusive, and best
meets the needs of your State. The thoughtful, evidence-based, and timely use of ARP ESSER
funds will have a lasting impact on our Nation’s schools and help to address the inequities in
resources, services, and opportunities available to our students.


                                      Sincerely,

                                      /s/

                                      Miguel A. Cardona, Ed.D.

File and source

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Size: 129,633 bytes
SHA-256: 670c2ec4917d4a9b54ab900137ca750091eacaf85f1f2ac2a0d4cc36c4fae571
Our copy: department-of-education-pdf-www-ed-gov-71d710f76b.pdf
Original: www.ed.gov