The Secretary of Education to the Honorable Pender Makin — Maine (September 13, 2021)

Summary

This is a letter dated September 13, 2021 from the Secretary of Education to Pender Makin, Commissioner of Education at the Maine Department of Education, approving Maine's American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) State plan. It says the Department will immediately release the remaining one-third of the State's ARP ESSER allocation. It states that Maine has not yet finalized the selection of its evidence-based interventions or its plan for awarding the funds. It adds that the approval is conditioned on Maine submitting an amendment to its plan describing how it will meet the requirements in section D of the template.

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                                        THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION
                                              WASHINGTON, DC 20202




                                              September 13, 2021


The Honorable Pender Makin
Commissioner of Education
Maine Department of Education
23 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0023

Dear Commissioner Makin:

I am pleased to approve Maine’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, Maine’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 Maine’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 educational agency (SEA) must describe how it will use
the funds it reserves under sections 2001(f)(1), (2) and (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. Although Maine describes several examples of how it might use these funds,
Maine indicated that it has not yet finalized the selection of its evidence-based interventions or,
to the extent it is awarding these funds, its plan for awarding these funds (i.e., contracts or
discretionary or formula grants). As a result, this approval is conditioned on Maine submitting an
amendment to its ARP ESSER State plan for the Department’s review and approval that
describes how it will 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. Maine 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
Page 2 – The Honorable Pender Makin


by student subgroups. The State assured that it would provide to the Department the URL(s)
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 Maine.OESE@ed.gov.

Please be aware that approval of Maine’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 Maine’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.


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