State Plan for the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund — Tennessee
Summary
This is Tennessee's State Plan for the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund, completed on the Department of Education template issued April 21, 2021. The cover page lists Eve Carney as the SEA contact and carries the printed text Digitally signed by Penny Schwinn. The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) says it produced toolkits for school reopening and gave LEAs four academic options. The plan reports that before the pandemic just over 33% of 3rd graders and 27% of 8th graders were meeting grade-level expectations for English Language Arts.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
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Cite this document
“State Plan for the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund — Tennessee.”
Original at www.ed.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/department-of-education-pdf-www-ed-gov-dba3eaa933/
, SHA-256 56d78b37a72293d52984f30c103951c56c2ac12ebe83ee3931d4c8c625c3cc16.Full text
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control number for this information collection is 1810-0754. Public reporting burden for this collection of
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existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of
information. The obligation to respond to this collection is required to obtain or retain benefit under Section 2001 of
the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP Act). If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time
estimate, suggestions for improving this individual collection, or if you have comments or concerns regarding the
status of your individual form, application or survey, please contact Britt Jung, Office of State and Grantee
Relations, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue,
SW, Washington, DC 20202-6450, email: SGR@ed.gov directly.
State Plan for the
American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund
U.S. Department of Education
Issued: April 21, 2021
OMB Number: 1810-0754
Expiration Date: October 31, 2021
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Introduction
The American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (“ARP
ESSER”) Fund, authorized under the American Rescue Plan (“ARP”) Act of 2021, provides
nearly $122 billion to States to support the Nation’s schools in safely reopening and sustaining
safe operations of schools while meeting the academic, social, emotional, and mental health
needs of students resulting from the coronavirus disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) pandemic. It is
particularly important that ARP ESSER funding will enable States and local educational
agencies (“LEAs”), and more directly schools, to support students who have been most severely
impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and are likely to have suffered the most because of
longstanding inequities in our communities and schools that have been exacerbated by the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.S. Department of Education (“Department”) is committed to working in partnership with
States so that these unprecedented resources are quickly put to work to ensure students have
sustained access to in-person instruction and that the resources are used to provide the effective
support students need as they persist through and recover from the impacts of the COVID-19
pandemic. The thoughtful and timely use of these 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.
This template presents an opportunity for States to share their plans for the use of ARP ESSER
funds with the public. The Department must approve a State educational agency’s (“SEA’s”)
plan in order to make the State’s remaining ARP ESSER allocation available for use. Please note
that the Department intends to issue ARP ESSER reporting requirements separately.
Instructions
Each SEA must provide descriptions and other information that address each requirement listed
below. An SEA may use this template or another format as long as every item and element is
addressed in the SEA’s response. Throughout this document, questions that refer to an SEA’s
ARP ESSER funding are referencing the total allocation to be received by the SEA, including
that which it allocates to its LEAs.
Each SEA must submit to the Department by June 7, 2021, either: (1) its ARP ESSER plan or
(2) the State requirements that preclude submission of the plan by that date and a date by which
it will be able to submit its complete ARP ESSER plan.
To submit the SEA’s plan, please email the plan to your Program Officer at
[State].OESE@ed.gov (e.g., Alabama.OESE@ed.gov).
In order to ensure transparency, the Department will post each plan on the Department’s website
when it is received and will indicate each plan’s approval status.
This template also allows States to fulfill the requirement of the Coronavirus Response and
Relief Supplemental Appropriations (“CRRSA”) Act ESSER II 6-month reporting requirement
in section 313(f) of the CRRSA Act.
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Cover Page
Grantee and Contact Information
ARP ESSER PR Award Number (e.g., S425U2100XX):
SEA Contact: Eve Carney
Telephone: 615-532-1245; 615-854-9598
Email address: Eve.Carney@tn.gov
By signing this document, I agree to each of the assurances listed in Appendix C and
further assure that:
To the best of my knowledge and belief, all information and data included in this plan
are true and correct.
Chief State School Officer or Authorized Representative (Printed
Name)
Dr. Penny Schwinn, Ph.D.
Signature of Authorized SEA Representative Date:
6/7/21
Penny Digitally signed by Penny
Schwinn
Schwinn Date: 2021.06.07 15:48:14
-05'00'
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A. Describing the State’s Current Status and Needs
The Department recognizes the extraordinary efforts made by States, LEAs, and educators to
support students during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this section, SEAs will describe the
progress they have made, the priorities and student needs guiding their ARP ESSER funding
decisions, and their current and projected operating status.
1. Progress and Promising Practices: Provide your assessment of the top 2-3
strategies that have been most effective in supporting the needs of students in
your State during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for students most impacted
by the COVID-19 pandemic. Please include, if applicable, how your State will
submit and encourage its LEAs to submit lessons learned and best practices to the
Department’s Safer Schools and Campuses Best Practices Clearinghouse so that
they can be shared with other States and LEAs.
In Tennessee, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted every community across our state but in
varying degrees – and often with unique, local challenges. In assessing the most effective
strategies implemented over the past 14 months, Tennessee invested early in several key
areas designed to support districts in addressing student and teacher needs in this
unprecedented health crisis, including Communication (guidance, frequent touch points, and
feedback groups) and Flexible Academic Options.
Communication
Guidance: The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) produced a series of individual
toolkits for school reopening, similar to the significant number of toolkits produced when
school buildings needed to close in Spring 2020. The toolkits were comprehensive and
included detailed planning guidance. In effect, TDOE worked to outline potential risks,
scenarios, and options for districts to consider within each of the topics identified in relation
to work at the district and school levels. This was provided to LEAs, public charter schools
and the general public, for consideration in the midst of reopening safely and employing best
practices. The toolkits addressed a host of topics including academics, health, nutrition,
safety and operations, child well-being, and supports for students with disabilities; as well as
other topics requested by or important for our stakeholders. Further, it is worth noting that
within each planning document, guidance page, or FAQ produced by TDOE, a specific staff
member point of contact was offered for direct contact and questions. These were especially
important for smaller and rural districts that might not have the same size central office staff
to do the level of strategic thinking and planning as larger districts. The workstream-specific
toolkits also gave districts the option to provide district directors with ready-made resources
to advance their work on behalf of students. Each of the guidance toolkits was focused on
how to best meet the needs of all students (with specific callouts for specific student groups)
and provided roadmaps for districts to use to open schools safely and ensure continuity of
services.
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Frequent touch points: In March of 2020, the Commissioner began tri-weekly calls with
Tennessee superintendents to disseminate information in real time, which was especially
beneficial given how quickly the information was changing. Each week, TDOE hosted
officials from partner agencies (including Tennessee Department of Health, Tennessee
Department of Health and Human Services, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency,
Tennessee Secondary School Athletics Association among others) to address available
supports and services. Further, Q&A hotlines were made open for direct inquiries on topics at
hand or for future planning. Slide decks, notes, and email blasts followed these engagement
calls to collect the information for relevant parties to review and address. Tri-weekly calls
continued into the 2020-2021 school year and are now being hosted twice per week.
In addition, regular office hours were hosted by TDOE to support districts on the allowable
use of the CARES Act relief funding designed to address the immediate needs of students,
families, teachers, and districts. These office hours allowed TDOE staff to provide specific
tailored support and technical assistance for districts.
These frequent touch points provided a clear opportunity for district leadership to ask
questions related to how best to support their students, within the specific contexts they were
facing. They further provided options and opportunities for individual follow-up and often
created a needs assessment for the state for additional resources to produce.
Feedback Groups: In spring 2020, TDOE also developed three superintendent engagement
groups and hosted monthly feedback sessions. These groups provided TDOE leadership
with critical information and feedback to surface the issues that schools, districts and
communities were facing. Each group focused on one of Tennessee’s strategic priorities:
Academics, Whole Child/Student Readiness, and Educators. This group has been especially
beneficial in the following areas:
• Risk assessment: direct communication about potential flags, gaps, or issues with
decisions, feedback, input, etc.
• Review: real-time review and feedback delivered on department grants, supports, and
initiative roll outs
• Ideas and innovation: qualitative and quantitative feedback on district
implementation, efforts, and impact
These three engagement groups have transformed TDOE’s relationship with districts and
fostered more district-to-district collaboration and sharing of best practices of the best ways
to support all students and individual student groups throughout the pandemic. These
strategies have also provided insight into student groups that have been most impacted by
the pandemic. For example, we heard directly from districts in late spring specific needs for
economically disadvantaged students including food service, technology, as well as
communication challenges. With these direct feedback loops and frequent touchpoints,
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TDOE personnel has been able to respond with specific resources and support in real time –
with the state equipping districts with information and materials needed for local
implementation.
Flexible Academic Options
In its Reopening Schools – Overview Guide for LEAs document, TDOE also provided flexibility
to LEAs based on the local impact of the pandemic. Even within these four options, TDOE
provided additional flexibility related to implementation – knowing that we must keep people
safe and strive provide as much opportunity as possible for students to benefit from in-classroom
learning. While opening decisions rest with the local district, TDOE provided LEAs with the
four academic options below to help guide their planning and decision-making:
1. All students physically in school buildings: This option is the most straightforward,
assuming that it is safe to open schools and classrooms in a traditional format. LEAs also
had flexibility within this option to return all students simultaneously, implement
staggered student return or scheduling, or offer year-round option.
2. All students participate in virtual and distance education: This option addressed
LEAs offering either full-time distance learning or self-paced/semi-independent
instruction. This could be done either through an existing platform provided by the
LEA/school or when students are enrolled in a virtual school. As a note, full sets of
instructional materials, with videos and assessments have been provided at no cost to all
districts in Tennessee in order to provide an option for distance education, should it be
needed.
3. Some students in physical buildings and some students virtual: Within this option
students attend half days at school and half days virtually – either with split days,
alternating days or physical attendance based on need.
4. Cyclical or intermittent physical and virtual education: This option was intended to
prove a more flexible option to families and staff to accommodate health and level of
comfort with physical attendance. LEAs may opt for families and staff members to select
the form of education in which they would like to participate, including an option for
families to choose learning from home (while still being enrolled in the district).
Similarly, teachers who are unable to return to work may be those teachers who also
participate in distance instruction. This option also met the need for a contingency plan
based on emergent or responsive situations.
This flexibility was especially helpful and well-received by LEAs who were facing both health
and education crises simultaneously.
2. Overall Priorities: Provide your assessment of the top 2-3 issues currently facing
students and schools across your State as a result of or in response to the COVID-
19 pandemic including, to the extent possible, data illustrating why these are the
most critical and/or most widespread issues facing schools and students.
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Schools and students across Tennessee are facing a number of academic and non-academic
issues as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As noted above, this pandemic surfaced some
distinctive challenges in communities; however, there were other issues that were more
widespread across the state.
• Achievement Gaps: Overall, Tennessee’s achievement gaps have not closed in the
last 15 years and school building closures, extended quarantines, or disrupted learning
environments are expected to widen those gaps further. This is not a new challenge,
but the pandemic has served to more poignantly highlight existing gaps in student
achievement and opportunity.
• Rural Communities: School building closures have continued to highlight the
disparity that exists statewide related to connectivity and broadband, access to more
community resources to support students, and opportunities to raise and use local
funds in support of public schools in rural communities.
• Early Literacy: Before the pandemic in Tennessee, just over 33% of 3rd graders and
27% of 8th graders were meeting grade-level expectations for English Language Arts.
Reading proficiency in 3rd grade is one of the most important indicators for future
success and must continue to be an area of focus. School building closures may
exacerbate this challenge, especially for children in our youngest grades.
• Mental Health: The pandemic has highlighted the significant challenges that
districts, schools, and educators face related to student mental health and behavioral
needs. School building closures have brought this conversation to the forefront as
children and families struggle with the anxieties associated with the pandemic, and in
some cases additional familial struggles that would normally be identified and
addressed earlier by schools.
3. Identifying Needs of Underserved Students: Describe your State’s 2-3 highest
priority academic, social, emotional, and/or mental health needs for the remainder
of the 2020-2021 school year (if applicable) and for the 2021-2022 school year
related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on each of the following student
groups:
i. Students from low-income families,
ii. Students from each racial or ethnic group (e.g., identifying
disparities and focusing on underserved student groups by race or
ethnicity),
iii. Gender (e.g., identifying disparities and focusing on underserved
student groups by gender),
iv. English learners,
v. Children with disabilities (including infants, toddlers, children, and
youth with disabilities eligible under the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (“IDEA”)),
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vi. Students experiencing homelessness,
vii. Children and youth in foster care,
viii. Migratory students, and
ix. Other groups disproportionately impacted by the pandemic that have
been identified by the SEA (e.g., youth involved in the criminal
justice system, students who have missed the most in-person
instruction during the 2019-20 and 2020-2021 school years, students
who did not consistently participate in remote instruction when
offered during school building closures, and LGBTQ+ students).
To the extent possible, this description should include data on indicators such as
estimates of the academic impact of lost instructional time,1 chronic
absenteeism, student engagement, and social-emotional well-being.
TDOE must support high-quality educational opportunities for the nearly one million
students in the state’s public schools, such that we can ensure no child is disadvantaged by
the current COVID-19 pandemic and that our schools and districts are supported moving
into and throughout next year and beyond. The pandemic has elevated known gaps, and the
state has opted to accelerate a child-centered strategy to address these gaps. During this
crisis, several challenges within our field have become apparent. In some cases, these are
new challenges that we must face together. In others, they are challenges that have existed
over decades but have been brought to the forefront of the public consciousness and demand
to be addressed in ways that may not have been so dire and so clear as we know them to be
now.
When Tennessee first moved to reopen schools, we focused on ensuring that every district
and charter school across our state had plans in place to address how the district would
continue to provide instruction in light of school closures necessary to prevent the spread of
COVID-19. This included a Reopening Guide to support the strategic thinking and planning
of our districts. The department also considered the needs of those districts, schools and
classrooms that may need or locally choose to be remote. In partnership with the State
Board of Education, the department developed the requirement to have Continuous Learning
Plans (CLPs), which outlined what remote learning would look like for those choosing to
implement it. The department developed a template that included key areas while allowing
for flexibility to address individual student needs and held districts accountable to the
Continuous Learning Plan rubric. All CLPs were posted on the department’s website to
increase public transparency in the ways that districts were supporting all students during
virtual or remote instruction. The Department of Education’s interim report for those
Continuous Learning Plans is accessible here (with a final report to be completed early this
fall).
1
For the purposes of the plan, “academic impact of lost instructional time” refers to “learning loss” experienced by
students as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as referenced in the ARP Act and the CRRSA Act.
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Over the past fifteen months, there has been regular collaboration across multiple state
agencies including the Governor’s office and the State Board of Education. These
collaborative partnerships have yielded an extraordinary legislative session being called by
Governor Lee to address education; emergency state board rules to address emergent needs;
the first (and only) state to provide for the full-year delivery of free PPE to all schools and
classrooms across our state using a school-based ordering system in partnership with
TEMA; and a COVID-19 testing grant opportunity for districts in partnership with the
Tennessee Department of Health.
Additionally, the department has partnered with a number of groups to provide supports to
students, schools, districts and families. The state supported distance learning resources for
teachers and principals, and built upon those opportunities through Summer 2020 and into
the 2020-21 school year. Further, the department partners with PBS to provide programming
to families, higher education to provide family-based support, family resource guides, CTE
partners to ensure students were able to access content virtually as needed, the Tennessee
STEM Innovation Network to provide regular access to STE(A)M learning resources, and
more. The department will continue to incorporate these best practices of asynchronous
training, combined with in-person and follow-up coaching and support to maximize lessons
learned and overall impact and scale.
As supported by prioritized needs in Table A1, Tennessee will focus on ensuring that
districts have summer programming plans and supports in place to address academic
remediation and acceleration; that they are appropriately staffed with both teachers and
support positions to address academic and mental health needs of students; and that they
have scheduled staff members to attend free trainings over the summer. Further, there have
been a host of summer learning curriculum resources provided for math, science, and
English language arts, grades 1-8.
For the 2021-22 school year, the highest priority needs noted below will continue to be
prioritized, with the inclusion of tutoring and after-school opportunities to address the
academic needs of student groups most significantly impacted by the pandemic. TDOE
(department) is also working closely with districts in the development of plans and funding
applications to ensure that food security, technology, and other supports specific to
individual student groups are met.
Table A1.
Student group Highest priority needs
Students from low-income families • Technology, food security
Students from each racial or ethnic • Black – academic remediation and
background used by the State for acceleration, technology, food security
reporting purposes – please add a row for
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Student group Highest priority needs
each racial or ethnic group (e.g., • Hispanic – academic remediation and
identifying disparities and focusing on acceleration, language,
underserved student groups by • Native American – academic remediation
race/ethnicity) and acceleration
• Asian/Pacific Islander – academic
remediation and acceleration
• White – academic remediation and
acceleration
Students by gender – please add a row • None of the prioritized needs were
for each gender (e.g., identifying specific to gender.
disparities and focusing on underserved
student groups by gender)
English learners • Summer learning opportunities and
transportation to address learning loss in
academic subjects
• Interventions/after school tutoring and
summer school specifically for English
Learners/ specific to advancing writing
skills
• Parental support and clear communication
in other languages as appropriate,
resources to support language acquisition
at home
• Technology/access to internet
• Headphones/headsets with microphones
Children with disabilities • Access to learning loss/summer/bridge
programs
• Assessments to measure the impact of
learning loss
• Mental health supports
• Delivery of compensatory services
Students experiencing homelessness • Food security, technology, internet access
Children and youth in foster care • Technology, internet, transportation
Migratory students • Grade-level academic programming and
transportation to and from camps and
opportunities offered after school or
during the summer.
• Technology
• Clothing for summer school activities
• Support with classroom materials and
resources, including, but not limited to
technology, classroom supplies, bilingual
or ESL picture/word dictionaries, etc.
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Student group Highest priority needs
Other groups of students identified by the • Mental health supports
State (e.g., youth involved in the criminal • Academic remediation and acceleration
justice system, students who have missed • Technology
the most in-person instruction during the
2019-20 and 2020-2021 school years,
students who did not consistently
participate in remote instruction when
offered during school building closures,
LGBTQ+ students)
4. Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Describe how the SEA
will support its LEAs in identifying the extent of the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic on student learning and student well-being, including identifying the
groups of students most impacted by the pandemic. Where possible, please
identify the data sources the SEA will suggest its LEAs use in thoughtfully
diagnosing areas of need, including data on the academic, social, emotional, and
mental health impacts of lost instructional time.
TDOE has worked diligently since the pandemic began to support LEAs in continually
assessing and identifying the needs of their students resulting from the pandemic. The vast
majority of districts across the state re-opened with some form of in-person instruction at the
start of the 2020-21 school year, with 98% operating with an in-person option for at least
half of the year, 100% operating with an in-person option by early Spring 2021, and 100%
of districts offering a remote learning option for families who needed it. TDOE was the first
state education department to produce a dashboard to provide greater transparency for
families in case-counts and school models, and also provided support to districts, both in the
form of resources and guidance as well as with technical assistance from its Center of
Regional Excellence (CORE) offices. The CORE offices supported districts in the
development of continuous learning plans (CLPs) to ensure robust academic plans were in
place for remote learners and in the event a school or district needed to close quickly in
response to COVID-19. In addition, districts expressed the need for assistance in addressing
well-being and mental health supports of not only students, but also families, teachers and
administrators.
The department released school reopening grants, to help with district planning. Further, the
department worked to provide additional access to technology for students – including
specialized technology for students with disabilities – and ongoing partnerships to expand
access to high-speed internet.
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In particular, educators and school officials had multiple supports for mental health from
the state, in addition to what was provided at the local level. The department launched
educator emotional support video series to provide guidance, resource and interactive
activities for educators using licensed clinical social workers. The department further
produced courses to support teachers and students including: Movement as Medicine,
Everyone Plays a Role, and Shifting Our Lens. In partnership with the Tennessee
Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS), the COVID-19
Emotional Support Line for Educators was launched in December of 2020. This
anonymous, free resource was designed to offer emotional and mental health support to
educators in Tennessee. This support was expanded in April of 2021 to include text
message functionality as another way to communicate with and support our state’s
educators. Governor Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly further invested $250M into
a mental health trust fund for schools, along with expanded support for school-based
mental health professionals.
The development of district resources began June 2020, with a host of reopening toolkits
and other documents to address the evolving needs of districts. Some of the initial resources
for districts included toolkits for Wellbeing and Mental Health, as well as one specific to
Counseling. These toolkits were designed to assist district leaders, school administrators,
and school counselors in providing opportunities to support the wellness of school staff and
social, emotional, and physical wellbeing of students. The guidance in these documents also
outlined important considerations for continuing emotional and mental health supports for
an in-person, virtual distance learning environment, or hybrid approach.
As the school year launched in the fall of 2020, the state’s CORE offices offered support to
districts in addressing learning loss from the prior year through just-in-time modifications of
current-year curricula and pacing to avoid districts spending the first several weeks of
school re-teaching past content, particularly in mathematics. To assist further in this effort,
the department produced instructional practice guides and beginning of year checkpoint
assessments for districts to use at no cost to allow them to quickly assess student mastery of
prior year content.
In addition, as LEAs completed the needs assessment as part of their annual district plan,
TDOE provided additional reflection questions that required districts to articulate how the
pandemic had impacted the prioritized needs they had previously identified, and what might
have changed as a result. Districts completed this needs assessment in February and March
of 2021 in preparation for completing their Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) for
ESEA and IDEA funds to support the 2021-22 school year.
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TDOE also emphasized providing social and emotional support to students, faculty, staff,
and leaders with training opportunities created and available through TDOE’s Best for All
Central website. Training offerings included the following:
• Shifting Our Lens: Strategies to Build Relationships for All Students
o This training opportunity focused on the importance of relationships in
schools and that positive daily interaction and reactions to student behavior
plays a significant role in a student’s day. The training emphasized that all
adults in a child’s life contribute to these relationships: educators, assistants,
bus drivers, front office personnel, nutrition workers, and others.
• Whole Adult: Self Care Matters
o This learning series was designed for educators and leaders and focused on the
importance caring for oneself to be able to care for others.
As we prepare for the 2021-22 school year, TDOE continues to provide districts with tools,
data, and free resources to assess the impact of the pandemic on student learning and well-
being - understanding that needs will likely change or evolve. To maximize other relief
funding, the department has encouraged districts to utilize the following resources:
• Summer programming pre- and post-test data: the department has provided free
assessments to all districts for use in assessing student progress in summer
programming (which is required statewide), and that can be used to prepare
individualized instruction and tutoring for students in the upcoming school year.
• TCAP results: the department has administered its annual assessments statewide and
state law incentivizes districts to ensure at least 80% of students take these
assessments, providing robust data to Tennessee districts.
• Universal screener: the department is procuring a universal screener that is available
at no cost to districts, which will allow them to assess and monitor student needs and
progress throughout the upcoming school year.
• Local Benchmarks: the department is encouraging districts to utilize local
assessment data to assess student progress and need resulting from the pandemic.
LEAs will be required to include information on student needs in their district ARP ESSER
Plan. The department will offer technical assistance in completing these plans through its
regional CORE offices and Federal Programs and Oversight (FPO) division, in addition to
providing free tools to support districts in data collection.
5. School Operating Status: It is essential to have data on how students are learning
in order to support the goals of access and equity, especially for student groups
that have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Describe
the current status of data collection on operational status and mode of instruction
of all schools in your State. This description must include:
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i. A description of to what extent, and how frequently, the State
collects now and will collect in the future data for all schools in your
State on:
a. Mode of instruction: The number of schools in your State that are
offering fully remote or online-only instruction; both
remote/online and in-person instruction (hybrid model); and/or
full-time in-person instruction;
b. Enrollment: Student enrollment for all students and
disaggregated for each of the student groups described in A.3.i-
viii for each mode of instruction; and
c. Attendance: Student attendance for all students and
disaggregated for each of the student groups described in A.3.i-
viii for each mode of instruction.
Tennessee has invested in data collection and allowing this data to inform our decision
making – while also supporting LEAs to do the same. This pandemic has heightened the
need for collecting and analyzing data to determine the impact of the pandemic across our
state and across student groups. The information below provides details on the specific data
components currently captured and planned for future use:
• Mode of instruction: The state’s data dashboard collects and displays the primary
operating model for the schools within each district, including the number of schools
conducting in-person learning, remote learning, and those utilizing a hybrid approach
for instruction. At the school level, the district reports any deviation from the
district’s primary operating model as needed and may include additional notes as
necessary as to the reason and length of time. This data collection process will
continue in the 2021-2022 school year, but reporting will shift to a monthly basis.
• Enrollment: Enrollment data are captured in the state’s Education Information
System (EIS) and may be disaggregated down to the required school and district-level
reporting. While the state’s accountability report card currently captures a snapshot of
enrollment data, overall and disaggregated by student group, districts report
enrollment data on an ongoing basis throughout the school year with records tied to
the student groups described in A.3.i-viii. In the 2021-22 school year, the state will
add this information to the dashboards to report on enrollment at each school by
student group monthly.
• Attendance: Attendance data are captured in the state’s EIS and may be
disaggregated down to the required school and district-level reporting. While the
state’s report card currently captures an indicator on chronic absenteeism, overall and
disaggregated by student group, districts report attendance on an ongoing basis
throughout the school year with records tied to the student groups described in A.3.i-
viii. In the 2021-22 school year, the state will add this information to the dashboards
to report on attendance at each school by student group monthly.
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ii. The data described in A.5.i.a. and b. using the template in Appendix
A (and to the extent available, the data described in A.5.i.c.) for the
most recent time period available. Please note that this data can be
submitted separately within 14 calendar days after a State submits
this plan. The SEA must also make this data publicly available on its
website as soon as possible but no later than June 21, 2021, and
regularly provide updated available information on its website. The
Department will periodically review data listed in A.5.i on SEA
websites.
See Tables 1 and 2 in Appendix A for state data.
iii. To the extent available, a description of the planned operational
status and mode of instruction for the State and its LEAs for Summer
2021 and for the 2021-2022 school year.
For both summer programming in 2021 and for the 2021-2022 school year, the state plans
for districts and schools to be providing in-person instruction. At the close of the 2020-21
school year, every district was offering in-person instruction, and both the state and districts
plan to operate in-person moving forward.
B. Safely Reopening Schools and Sustaining their Safe Operations
The Department recognizes that safely reopening schools and sustaining their safe operations
to maximize in-person instruction is essential for student learning and student well-being,
and especially for being able to address the educational inequities that have been worsened
by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this section, SEAs will describe how they will support their
LEAs in this vital area.
1. Support for LEAs: Describe how the SEA will support its LEAs in safely
returning to in-person instruction and sustaining the safe operation of schools.
This description must include:
i. How the SEA will support its LEAs implementing, to the greatest
extent practicable, prevention and mitigation policies in line with the
most up-to-date guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (“CDC”) for the reopening and operation of school
facilities to effectively maintain the health and safety of students,
educators, and other staff;
Table B1.
Mitigation strategy SEA response
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Universal and correct Disseminate current CDC and Tennessee Department of
wearing of masks Health (TDH) guidance and recommendations for correct use
of masks; provide technical assistance and training, when
requested, on proper use of masks, including support to LEAs
and schools on identifying adaptations and alternatives for
staff and students who cannot correctly wear masks or need
accommodations; provide direct support to LEA lead nurses
to enable them to provide technical assistance to their schools
in supporting this primary prevention strategy
Physical distancing (e.g., Disseminate current CDC and TDH guidance and
including use of recommendations for physical distancing, including social
cohorts/podding) distancing supports for physical education and physical
activity; share CDC K-12 Operational Strategy and Modifying
School Spaces during Meal Times; provide technical
assistance and training, when requested, on strategies for
promoting proper physical distancing, not only for students
and staff, but also for visitors
Handwashing and Disseminate current CDC and TDH guidance and
respiratory etiquette recommendations for handwashing and respiratory etiquette;
provide support in promoting and reinforcing proper
handwashing technique and other hand hygiene and
respiratory etiquette through teaching of our disease
prevention and personal hygiene health education standards;
provide support to LEAs on setting up classrooms to support
handwashing and respiratory etiquette
Cleaning and maintaining Disseminate current CDC and TDH guidance and
healthy facilities, recommendations for cleaning and disinfecting facilities,
including improving including CDC guidance for improving ventilation and indoor
ventilation air quality; when to clean and disinfect using CDC guidance
for safe and correct application of disinfectants; and regular
cleaning of high-touch surfaces and objects
Contact tracing in Disseminate current CDC and TDH guidance and
combination with recommendations for contact tracing; collaboration with state,
isolation and quarantine, regional and county health departments including using the
in collaboration with the TDH’s COVID-19 Case Response Rubric with applicable
privacy laws, including Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act(FERPA), IDEA and Protection of Pupil’s Rights
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State, local, territorial, or Amendment (PPR); support school plans for isolation rooms,
Tribal health departments close contacts and quarantining; contact tracing support;
technical assistance and training provided for LEA lead nurses
through regional professional development; and the promotion
of CDC’s Considerations for Case Investigation and Contact
Tracing in K-12 Schools
Diagnostic and screening Supporting districts choosing to implement testing in effective
testing testing strategies, including providing implementation
supports necessary to have proper staff, physical space, and
testing administration needed to keep schools open safely
Efforts to provide Update and implement vaccination guidance to reflect current
vaccinations to educators, CDC and TDH guidance and recommendations; gather and
other staff, and students, share testimonials of staff who have been vaccinated and
if eligible share case studies; work with internal and external partners,
such as the TDH Vaccine-Preventable Diseases and
Immunization Program, to support creative, science-based,
trusted, community-based initiatives to educate communities
about COVID-19 vaccination, such as hotlines and innovative
communication materials
Appropriate Collaboration with TDH and Tennessee Department of
accommodations for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (DIDD) on
children with disabilities addressing the impact of COVID-19 among students with
with respect to the health disabilities, chronic health conditions and special health care
and safety policies needs including support, training and technical assistance
provided to LEA lead nurses through regional professional
development; identify and develop, when needed, resources
for health and safety policies for supporting the management
of students with disabilities, chronic health conditions and
special health care needs and disseminate those to LEAs
statewide
ii. Any Statewide plans, policies, estimated timelines, and specific
milestones related to reopening and operation of school facilities,
including any mechanisms the SEA will use to track, monitor, or
enforce their implementation;
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In March 2020, the Tennessee General Assembly passed Public Chapter 652 which
authorized the State Board of Education (SBE) to promulgate emergency rules to address
the exceptional circumstances created by COVID-19 related school closures.
In June 2020, with assistance from TDOE and other stakeholders, the SBE approved
Continuous Learning Plan Emergency Rule 0520-01-17 and Continuous Learning Policy
3.210. The rule and policy required each LEA and public charter school to develop a
continuous learning plan (CLP) for the 2020-21 school year and submit their plan to TDOE
for review and approval. CLPs were required to address how the LEA or public charter
school will continue to provide instruction and meet 180-day instructional day requirements
in the event of COVID-19 school closures. The CLP also allowed TDOE to gather
information on districts’ reopening model for the 2020-21 school year.
Through the CLP emergency rule, LEAs were authorized to offer remote, in-person, and
hybrid learning options for students throughout the 2020-21 school year. The rule has
provided flexibility to LEAs to adjust their school operations based on local health needs.
The CLP emergency rule has now expired as the 2020-21 school year has concluded.
In April 2021, the State Board of Education, through consultation with TDOE, developed
and approved a permanent CLP rule for the 2021-22 school year and beyond. The
permanent CLP rule specifies narrower conditions under which an LEA or public charter
school may implement its CLP going forward. For an LEA or charter school to implement
its CLP, the following conditions must occur:
• The Governor has issued a state of emergency or disaster declaration;
• The state of emergency or disaster declaration disrupts traditional operations of the one
or more schools in the LEA;
• The LEA or public charter school provides notice to TDOE of intent to implement the
CLP; and
• TDOE grants permission for the LEA or public charter school to implement the CLP.
By specifying these narrow conditions, the CLP permanent rule ensures all LEAs and public
charter schools resume traditional, in-person school operations for the 2021-22 school year.
While students may choose to continue virtual or remote learning through enrollment in an
approved virtual school, the CLP permanent rule establishes the expectation that LEAs and
public charter schools provide in-person instruction to students.
iii. To what extent the SEA and its LEAs consult with Federal, State,
and local health officials. This description should include, if
available, whether the SEA and its LEAs have received support for
19
screening testing from their State or local health department based
on funding awarded by the CDC; and
Both TDOE and TDH have leveraged CDC funding to support school districts in addressing
health and safety resulting from the pandemic. Through supplemental funds provided
through the Improving Student Health and Academic Achievement through Nutrition,
Physical Activity, and the Management of Chronic Conditions in Schools (1801 funds),
TDOE has invested in regionally-based Health & Well-being Consultants to support
districts in strategizing how to incorporate CDC guidance into local context to the extent
practicable. These positions were onboarded in early 2021 and will continue through the
next academic year. TDH and TDOE have also submitted an application for the
Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) grant funds to support district testing
strategies. This grant is currently being processed by both state agencies and will augment
testing in communities across our state. Based on intent to apply information, over half of
the districts in the state are seeking to leverage funds with additional intents being submitted
by non-public schools. District applications for the grant opportunity were due June 4th.
iv. Any guidance, professional learning, and technical assistance
opportunities the SEA will make available to its LEAs.
Throughout the 2020-21 school year, TDOE coordinated closely with the Tennessee
Department of Health (TDH) to provide ongoing guidance to districts on proper health and
safety protocols. The TDH consistently joined the department’s three-times per week calls
with Superintendents to provide guidance and answer questions as CDC guidance changed
throughout the year. The department also created a K12 Health email inbox to respond to
LEA health-related questions – acknowledging that many of the questions LEAs had, at
least initially, were educationally based, but health related. The department worked closely
with TDH to ensure consistent messaging and clarity of information to LEAs.
TDOE also partnered with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) to
provide monthly shipments of PPE to every school in the state at no local cost. The state
leveraged an existing ordering system to allow schools to place initial orders and restock
shipments throughout the year, with these orders being delivered directly to school sites to
minimize the distribution burden on LEAs. The shipments included free masks, face shields,
hand sanitizer, gloves, and non-contact thermometers and additional supplies for nurses
were made available as well. The state provided sufficient supplies for all school-based
staff to have access to these free resources for the entire school year.
Having operated in-person for the majority of last school year, school districts in Tennessee
are well positioned to support a safe and healthy reopening of schools for the 2021-22
school year. The state prioritized educators early in its vaccine rollout, and school districts
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have worked with local and state health departments to ensure vaccine access for educators -
conducting educator-specific vaccine clinics and using professional development days to
provide access to vaccines. All Tennessee educators who want to be vaccinated have had the
opportunity to do so. As we move into the 2021-22 school year, and as noted previously,
TDOE is also administering the federal ELC grant in partnership with TDH to support
ongoing COVID-19 testing needs in districts throughout this school year. The department
will also continue its close coordination and engagement with the TDH to provide timely
and accurate and information to LEAs.
2. Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plans: Describe
how the SEA will ensure that its LEAs that receive ARP ESSER funds meet the
requirements in section 2001(i) of the ARP Act and the requirements relating to
the ARP ESSER funds published in the Federal Register and available at
https://oese.ed.gov/offices/american-rescue-plan/american-rescue-plan-
elementary-and-secondary-school-emergency-relief/ (ARP ESSER requirements)
to either: (a) within 30 days of receipt of the funds, develop and make publicly
available on the LEA’s website a plan for the safe return to in-person instruction
and continuity of services, or (b) have developed and made publicly available on
the LEA’s website such a plan that meets statutory requirements before the
enactment of the ARP Act, including:
i. How the SEA will ensure that each LEA plan includes, or will be
modified to include, the extent to which it has adopted policies and a
description of any such policies on each of the strategies listed in
table B1;
While the state does not currently collect its LEAs’, policies related to implementation of
CDC guidance, TDOE has provided extensive guidance to districts in making appropriate
health and safety decisions in each local context. First, the department released a large
number of school re-opening toolkits for districts that included resources focused
specifically on guidance related to health and safety. As noted previously, the department
also worked closely with TDH to provide ongoing guidance, clarification and technical
assistance to districts in making health-related decisions.
The department also released a template for districts to utilize in the development of Health
and Safety plans. This template includes all requirements from section 2001(i) of the ARP
Act and will be reviewed alongside the LEA ARP ESSER plan and ARP ESSER spending
plans in TDOE’s application approval process. Further, we are requiring each LEA to
provide the URL where the public-facing documents will be posted, and this plan will also
be incorporated into our monitoring protocols led by the FPO division at TDOE.
ii. How the SEA will ensure that each LEA plan describes how it will
ensure continuity of services including but not limited to services to
address the students’ academic needs, and students’ and staff social,
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emotional, mental health, and other needs, which may include
student health and food services;
In summer 2020, all districts across the state had to complete a Continuous Learning Plan
(CLP) articulating how they would ensure continuity of learning and supports for the needs
of staff in the event of COVID-19 related closures. Districts utilized those plans during the
2020-21 school year as needed. As previously noted, the State Board of Education recently
passed a policy that enables a district to utilize a CLP in the case of very specific, unlikely
circumstances.
The state has provided detailed guidance to LEAs on the required components of LEA
plans, including how it will address students’ academic needs, and students’ and staff social,
emotional and mental health needs. This guidance includes details on the ARP strategy plan,
the health and safety plan, and the spending plan. Templates have been developed and
provided for the comprehensive needs assessment, LEA plan, and health and safety plan to
ensure LEAs address the required components.
iii. How the SEA will ensure that the LEA periodically reviews, no less
frequently than every six months for the duration of the ARP ESSER
grant period (i.e., through September 30, 2023),2 and revises as
appropriate, its plan, and how the SEA will ensure that the LEA
seeks public input, and takes such input into account on (1) whether
revisions are necessary and, if so, (2) the revisions to the plan; and
The FPO division at TDOE will lead the monitoring for ensuring the periodic review of its
plan and making appropriate updates. This will occur through desktop, virtual on-site, and
focus monitoring throughout the grant period. Where appropriate, these plan elements will
be embedded into existing monitoring protocols; however, the department has also
recognized the need for additional capacity - adding four positions focused solely on
monitoring and oversight. This funding relief team will report to the Assistant
Commissioner of FPO and will be deployed over the life of the grant. Further, within the
ARP ESSER application, TDOE will collect the URL for each LEA where the ARP plans
will be positioned on their websites, and the relief funding team will be charged with
ensuring that the health and safety plans are updated at least every six months - specifically
noting any updates on the items listed in B1. As stated above, the original health and safety
plans will be submitted in the funding application as part of the original approval and again
during the required six-month revision.
iv. Describe, to the extent the SEA collects it, information about LEA
implementation, to the greatest extent practicable, of each element of
2
ARP ESSER funds are subject to the Tydings amendment in section 421(b) of the General Education Provisions
Act, 20 U.S.C. 1225(b), and are therefore available to SEAs and LEAs for obligation through September 30, 2024.
Review and revisions of these plans, if necessary, are not required during the Tydings period.
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the most up-to-date CDC guidance listed in table B1 and its LEAs’
needs for support and technical assistance to implement strategies
consistent, to the greatest extent practicable, with relevant CDC
guidance.
TDOE launched a COVID-19 dashboard in fall of 2020 that, in addition to providing
transparency about district and school operating models, provided information on COVID-
19 weekly new case counts in schools to ensure transparency for parents and stakeholders.
As previously mentioned, the department also worked with TEMA to provide monthly
shipments of PPE to all schools in the state throughout the 2020-21 school year. Further,
TDOE continues to partner with TDH on an ongoing basis to ensure that LEAs are receiving
the most up-to-date CDC guidance as it is updated. These updates are shared in our
superintendent calls hosted twice weekly by TDOE and included in the Commissioner’s
Update for Directors weekly e-newsletter as appropriate. Further, we continue to develop
resources that align with and support CDC recommendations, to the extent practicable and
in partnership with TDH, as LEAs resume in-person learning.
C. Planning for the Use and Coordination of ARP ESSER Funds
The Department recognizes that seeking input from diverse stakeholders is essential to
developing plans for the use of ARP ESSER funds that are responsive to the needs of
students, families, and educators. In this section, SEAs will describe their plans for
consultation and for coordinating the use of ARP ESSER funds with other resources to meet
the needs of students.
1. SEA Consultation: Consistent with the ARP ESSER requirements, describe how
the SEA engaged in meaningful consultation with stakeholders, and incorporated
input into its plan, including, but not limited to:
i. students;
ii. families;
iii. Tribes (if applicable);
iv. civil rights organizations (including disability rights organizations);
v. school and district administrators (including special education
administrators);
vi. superintendents;
vii. charter school leaders (if applicable);
viii. teachers, principals, school leaders, other educators, school staff, and
their unions; and
ix. stakeholders representing the interests of children with disabilities,
English learners, children experiencing homelessness, children and
youth in foster care, migratory students, children who are
incarcerated, and other underserved students.
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The description must include how the SEA provided the public the opportunity to
provide input in the development of the plan, a summary of the input (including
any letters of support), and how the SEA took such input into account.
The TDOE reached out to more than 150 education stakeholder organizations with the
request for input on the following: information districts should include in publicly-facing
ESSER plans so they are easily understood by community members; changes to existing
structure and systems; improvements; and student-centered ideas moving forward.
The stakeholders groups included youth development nonprofits, parent
engagement nonprofits, philanthropists, superintendents, principals, teachers, business
associations, policy organizations, education preparation programs, foundations representing
students and families, charter schools, state agencies, educator associations, civil rights
organizations, English Language Learner organizations, and other entities representing other
student groups. Input was secured by e-mail to allow stakeholders the time and space to
convey a clear understanding of the recommendation, the rationale, and how it may benefit
all Tennessee students on a path towards academic and economic success. This input
was organized by the TDOE’s strategic priorities of academics, student readiness, and
educators. Below is a summary of the stakeholder input received organized by strategic
priority.
• First, input for the Academics priority focused on building the capacity of school districts
statewide to provide high-dosage tutoring and academic enrichments before, during, and
after-school to accelerating student learning; scaling successful models of high school
and postsecondary preparation and persistence; and competency-based education.
• Input for Student Readiness priority focused on the community school model or
components of it providing students the academic and non-academic support system to
thrive. Recommendations included partnerships with two-generation providers, mental
health professionals, school-based health clinics, after-school programming, additional
high school counselors, and integrated student supports. A structural recommendation
included a request for proposal-type process/memorandum of understanding guidance for
all school districts to have the skillset and resources for establishing (or
shifting) community partnerships from a vendor relationship to true partnership with
shared deliverables, outcomes, and collaboration.
• Input for the Educators priority included expansion of additional endorsements for
existing teachers to include reading specialist; expanding well-prepared, highly
compensated, and diverse educator workforce; adequate funding and high-quality training
for early educator career mentoring programs; and mental health training.
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The department considered this thoughtful input from a range of stakeholders by initially
reviewing the effectiveness of our current initiatives in measurably improving academics,
student readiness, and educator development. Based on the feedback loops in-place with our
147 school district leaders, and the experience we have with initiatives such as literacy, in-
district educator preparation programs, education-to-career high school models, and trauma-
informed schools; it was determined that one of the best ways we can add value to all
districts was a depth instead of breadth approach.
TDOE is striving to provide our districts with sustainable solutions and, therefore, examined
which current academic, student readiness, and educator initiatives need additional funding
to serve more school districts and students. Further, we examined the viability of statewide
expansion of a recommended model based on the rural, urban, and suburban landscape of
our state. Finally, we evaluated the sustainability of a recommendation to transcend the
ESSER spending timeframe and have a long-term impact on the success of our school
districts, educators, and students.
The department has also developed overview guidance for the public, to help build
transparency in the decision made at the state level and the expected outcomes related to
those decisions. Further, a public facing webinar (targeted for districts, but publicly posted)
is intended to enhance ongoing communication related to department decisions and
allocations.
The department has also provided for ESSER Planning Grants for districts, to provide
additional funds for districts prioritizing students in their ESSER strategies. The department
wants to ensure that districts who are spending money to best support student achievement
and acceleration are provided the resources necessary to do that work strategically.
2. Coordinating Funds: Describe to what extent the SEA has and will coordinate
Federal COVID-19 pandemic funding and other Federal funding. This description
must include:
i. How the SEA and its LEAs 1) are using or have used prior to the
submission of this plan and 2) plan to use following submission of
this plan, Federal COVID-19 funding under the Coronavirus Aid,
Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act and the CRRSA Act
to support a safe return to and safely maximize in-person instruction,
sustain these operations safely, and address the disproportionate
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on individual student groups
(including students from low-income families, children with
disabilities, English learners, racial or ethnic minorities, students
experiencing homelessness, children and youth in foster care, and
migratory students);
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TDOE has been intentional from the initial release of funding to ensure strategies were
meeting immediate and evolving needs identified in the field and leveraging the state’s
capacity to support at scale across districts. This planning began in the spring of 2020 with a
survey to gather stakeholder input from students, parents, teachers, staff, school and district
leaders, and the general public. While the results highlighted immediate needs as schools
closed buildings, these results mirrored subsequent input and feedback gathered from
stakeholder engagement sessions that emphasized the same areas already identified in
TDOE’s strategic plan. Given TDOE’s strategic plan was developed through a similarly
robust engagement strategy, the identified needs in the strategic plan, the survey, and district
feedback were all aligned, often highlighting more severe needs on the same subjects as the
pandemic exacerbated needs for additional academic supports, especially in early grades, the
educator pipeline and preparedness, and student readiness and supports.
Based on the results of that survey, the state prioritized initial funding supports from the
CARES Act, including leveraging Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) to immediate wide-
spread issues of technology device and connectivity access. The department also provided
federal grant support from CRF for district reopening planning grants, giving targeted
support to develop, plan, and implement reopening strategies. With the release of the
CRRSA funds with an emphasis on learning loss and school buildings, the state encouraged
districts to continue to build out their funding plans strategically to meet both immediate and
mid-term needs. The state complemented these strategies by developing plans for summer
and tutoring programming during a targeted session of the state’s General Assembly.
Throughout the pandemic and various funding opportunities, the state has also leveraged a
collaborative working group of state legislators to review funding proposals, ensuring
transparency and cohesion in the use of funds. This strong alignment in need, policy, and
law, provided TDOE with a streamlined context to develop resources and additional grant
opportunities to support high need areas aligned to the strategic plan, and within all
activities, incorporate strategies that address both immediate needs and long-standing needs
that were exacerbated by the pandemic.
With the release of ARP ESSER funding, the state supported alignment to existing strategies
with an emphasis on deepening their scope and reach. This approach ensures that the state
encourages targeted and cohesive strategies rather than disjointed initiatives. As a result, the
state’s intent with the latest round of funding is to further support strategies previously
identified, allowing for more strategic use of funds across sources and across rounds. The
state has released a consolidated document of expected grants to be made available to
districts, to support their planning and capacity allocation in the months to come.
ii. To what extent ESSER I and ESSER II funds have been awarded to
LEAs and, if funds have not yet been made available to LEAs, when
they will be. In addition, please provide any available information on
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the total dollar amounts of ESSER I and ESSER II funds that have
been obligated but not expended by the SEA and its LEAs, including
whether the SEA is able to track LEA obligations.
ESSER 1.0 funds totaling $233,902,038 were allocated to districts in spring 2020, with
100% of LEAs receiving approval by the end of June 2020. One-hundred percent of the
ESSER 1.0 state reservation ($24,689,659) was obligated within the first twelve months of
the state’s award. To date, there is $87,627,234 remaining against its ESSER 1.0 LEA and
state obligations.
ESSER 2.0 allocations were released January 15, 2021, and the formula funds were awarded
to LEAs prior to March 15, totaling $879,923,063.57 of the $996,890,420 awarded. One
LEA is in the process of making final updates for approval. TDOE continues to obligate
meaningfully the ESSER 2.0 state reservation ($105,227,322). To date, there is
$1,038,908,599 remaining against its ESSER 2.0 LEA and state obligations.
Tennessee tracks its LEA obligations through the state’s ePlan system. This system allows
the department to track individual LEA reimbursement requests, as well as the supporting
documentation for each request. It also allows TDOE to track how LEAs are spending by
line item. Further, it allows us to monitor LEA spending over the life of the grant – flagging
LEAs who are and are not trending in alignment with the grant period. The FPO division
creates and disseminates to TDOE leadership monthly reports with stoplight, gradient
ratings to track spending. This allows us to identify potential issues and provide technical
assistance to LEAs more proactively. The Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) and
the FPO division also review this information at bi-weekly and follow up with questions or
to provide assistance if we find LEAs are not drawing funds as expected over the life of the
grant.
For the state reservation, TDOE tracks goods and services procured via contract through the
state’s system of record, Edison. This data is then used in the Power Business Intelligence
(BI) software and utilized in monthly business manager meetings organized by division and
led by the CFO. During these monthly meetings, each contract is reviewed and discussed.
TDOE has also developed an additional monitoring protocol for any contract funded with
federal dollars. This protocol includes both program and fiscal components for
accountability, compliance, and fiscal management.
iii. In supporting LEAs as they plan for the safe return to and continuity
of in-person instruction and for meeting the academic, social,
emotional, and mental health needs of students resulting from the
COVID-19 pandemic, the extent to which the SEA is also using
other Federal funding sources including but not limited to under the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (“ESEA”), IDEA,
27
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (“WIOA”), funding for
child nutrition services, and McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Act, and the funds to support the needs of students experiencing
homelessness provided by section 2001(b)(1) of the ARP Act.3
TDOE continues to support students experiencing homelessness in several ways. First,
under ESEA/ESSA all LEAs that receive Title I, Part A funds must reserve funds to support
homeless students. This required set-aside is part of the state’s CFA and is reviewed and
approved by the department annually for all LEAs. This review includes cross referencing
homeless counts and the set aside to ensure that LEAs are earmarking a reasonable amount
based on number of students. Second, a McKinney-Vento subgrant is administered
annually. The subgrant runs on a three-year competitive grant cycle, and currently, 24 LEAs
are implementing McKinney-Vento grants. The TDOE review of this competitive grant
includes a cross reference to the CFA to evaluate more fully the LEA’s plan for serving
students. Third, the new ARP Homeless 1.0 program is a competitive grant that is available
to all current McKinney-Vento subgrantees. A total of $3,055,380 will be allocated to LEAs
in ARP Homeless 1.0. TDOE has developed plans for ARP Homeless 2.0 but are awaiting
clarifying guidance from the U.S. Department of Education. The McKinney-Vento project
director and FPO team provide technical assistance to LEAs to support in coherent planning
for these multiple funding streams in support of students experiencing homelessness.
D. Maximizing State-Level Funds to Support Students
The Department recognizes that States have an extraordinary opportunity to address the
disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on underserved students through the
ARP Act’s required State set-asides to address the academic impact of lost instructional time,
provide summer learning and enrichment programs, and provide comprehensive afterschool
programs. In this section, SEAs will describe their evidence-based strategies for these
resources.
1. Academic Impact of Lost Instructional Time: Describe how the SEA will use the
funds it reserves under section 2001(f)(1) of the ARP Act (totaling not less than 5
percent of the State’s total allocation of ARP ESSER funds) on evidence-based
interventions to address the academic impact of lost instructional time by
supporting the implementation of evidence-based interventions, such as summer
learning or summer enrichment, extended day, comprehensive afterschool
programs, or extended school year programs, and ensure that such interventions
respond to students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs. The
description must include:
3
Please note that the needs of students experiencing homelessness must be addressed (along with the other groups
disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic) through the use of the ARP ESSER SEA reservations and
the required LEA reservation for the academic impact of lost instructional time; the funding provided to support the
needs of students experiencing homelessness by section 2001(b)(1) of the ARP Act is in addition to the supports and
services provided with ARP ESSER funds.
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i. A description of the evidence-based interventions (e.g., providing
intensive or high-dosage tutoring, accelerating learning) the SEA has
selected, and the extent to which the SEA will evaluate the impact of
those interventions on an ongoing basis to understand if they are
working;
TDOE will use this 5% set aside under section 2001(f)(1) to focus on high-dosage tutoring
to address the academic impact of lost instructional time. This statewide tutoring model,
called TN ALL Corps (Tennessee Accelerating Literacy and Learning Corps), will ensure
Tennessee students have access to high-dosage, low ratio tutoring over the next three years.
Structured tutoring programs have proven to increase student achievement significantly, and
Tennessee will prioritize a full-subscribed tutoring program leveraging all available dollars
and partners with a goal to maximize tailored supports for students who need it most.
Districts will have the opportunity to apply for matching grants to fund this high-dosage
tutoring. Further, the department will also offer matching grants for community partners to
ensure all stakeholders have access to provide academic acceleration supports for students.
These grants will consider district resources and local partnership networking to determine
the level of match. The state’s 5% set aside to address the academic impact of lost
instructional time for LEA grants to support high-dosage tutoring.
To ensure quality within the tutoring program, the state will provide tutor training and
certification; essential focus content for mathematics by grade level; significant guidance
and tutoring resources for literacy tutoring; and a directory of TDOE-reviewed providers.
LEAs will be required to align their tutoring structures and monitor tutor sessions for
delivery quality, tutor certifications, student progress, and quarterly performance reporting.
The department will also offer significant needs assessment and planning support for
districts to ensure that they maximize tutoring opportunities for underserved or prioritized
student groups.
To measure the impact of the high-dosage tutoring, the following data elements will be
collected and analyzed: data on the LEA student prioritization process, student baseline,
progress, and regular interim assessments.
ii. How the evidence-based interventions will specifically address the
disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on certain groups of students,
including each of the student groups listed in question A.3.i.-viii.
When possible, please indicate which data sources the SEA will use
to determine the impact of lost instructional time; and
All Tennessee districts will complete a needs assessment to determine which students had a
disproportionate impact of COVID-19. As districts across Tennessee had varying in-person
schedules, quarantine rates, and options for virtual learning; each district and its student
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groups were impacted at varying degrees. These impacts will be captured in the needs
assessment completed by each LEA. Districts will have end of course and additional
benchmark data on academic progress from 2021 to help inform the identification of
students most significantly impacted and therefore, prioritize those students for these
evidence-based interventions.
iii. The extent to which the SEA will use funds it reserves to identify
and engage 1) students who have missed the most in-person
instruction during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years; and 2)
students who did not consistently participate in remote instruction
when offered during school building closures.
The vast majority of Tennessee school districts were open in-person during the 2020-21
school year, but all offered remote options for students. As part of the TN ALL Corps
tutoring program, the department will encourage districts to prioritize tutoring supports to
students who missed the most in-person instruction in the 2020-21 school year and those
who struggled to engage consistently in remote learning. Districts will have end of course
and additional benchmark data on academic progress from 2021 to help inform the
identification of students most significantly impacted and therefore, prioritize those students
for these additional high-dosage tutoring opportunities. Further, state law incentivized
districts assess all students this year, regardless of their primary chosen learning modality.
As a result, districts will have information from summer school as well as state assessments
to identify the impact on these students in particular and prioritize them for tutoring
offerings during the 2021-22 school year.
2. Evidence-Based Summer Learning and Enrichment Programs: Describe how the
SEA will use the funds it reserves under section 2001(f)(2) of the ARP Act
(totaling not less than 1 percent of the State’s total allocation of ARP ESSER
funds) for evidence-based summer learning and enrichment programs, including
those that begin in Summer 2021, and ensure such programs respond to students’
academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs. The description must
include:
i. A description of the evidence-based programs that address the
academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of students
(e.g., providing intensive or high-dosage tutoring, accelerating
learning) the SEA has selected, and the extent to which the SEA will
evaluate the impact of those programs;
In January 2021, the Tennessee General Assembly generously funded summer programming
for students using state dollars. This gave districts the advantage of both being able to plan
for summer programming and being able to expand offerings. At the state level, the
department will meet the required set-aside through the development of resources and
materials, partnership with PBS and TSIN for summer learning resources, summer
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professional development training in literacy for teachers to immediately implement, free
decodable readers for families to prevent summer slide, and additional tutoring opportunities
for students to expand from the school year into summer months.
Within this set-aside, the department will provide community partner grants to support high-
dosage tutoring models focused on high school students. The community partners will
design tutoring opportunities in partnership with high schools across the state to provide
targeted high dosage tutoring and summer supports for high school students. Each grant
application will require a needs assessment to determine the prioritized needs of the high-
school students within the district they are serving. Community partners and districts will
use the needs assessment outlined in D1.ii above to prioritize the design of high school
tutoring, the content served, and the prioritized students who will receive high-dosage
tutoring. To measure the impact of the low-ratio, high-dosage tutoring, the following data
elements will be collected and analyzed: LEA student prioritization process, student
baseline, progress, and monthly interim assessments.
ii. How the evidence-based programs will specifically address the
disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on certain groups of students,
including each of the student groups listed in question A.3. i.--viii.
When possible, please indicate which data sources the SEA will use
to identify students most in need of summer learning and enrichment
programs; and
All districts will complete a needs assessment to determine which students had a
disproportionate impact of COVID-19. This needs assessment will also include an analysis
of students across all grade bands, including high school. As districts across Tennessee had
varying in-person schedules, quarantine rates, and options for virtual learning; each district
and its student groups were impacted at varying degrees. These impacts will be captured in
the needs assessment completed by each LEA. Districts will have end of course and
additional benchmark data on academic progress from 2021 to help inform the identification
of students most significantly impacted and therefore, prioritize those students for these
additional high-dosage tutoring opportunities. Districts will work with community partners
to review their needs assessment, develop targeted high school tutoring plans, and submit
this planning as part of their community grant application.
iii. The extent to which the SEA will use funds it reserves to identify
and engage 1) students who have missed the most in-person
instruction during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years; and 2)
students who did not consistently participate in remote instruction
when offered during school building closures.
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As part of the TN ALL Corps tutoring program, the department will encourage community
partners to work with districts to prioritize high school tutoring supports for students who
missed the most in-person instruction in the 2020-21 school year and those who struggled to
engage consistently in remote learning. The overwhelming majority of Tennessee districts
were open in-person during the 2020-21 school year, but all offered remote options for
students. The department required LEAs to assess all students this year, regardless of
learning modality. As a result, districts will have information from summer school as well as
state assessments to identify the impact on these students, and how to prioritize high school
students for the community partnership tutoring offerings during the 2021-22 school year.
3. Evidence-Based Comprehensive Afterschool Programs: Describe how the SEA
will use the funds it reserves under section 2001(f)(3) of the ARP Act (totaling
not less than 1 percent of the State’s total allocation of ARP ESSER funds) for
evidence-based comprehensive afterschool programs (including, for example,
before-school programming), and ensure such programs respond to students’
academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs. The description must
include:
i. A description of the evidence-based programs (e.g., including
partnerships with community-based organizations) the SEA has
selected, and the extent to which the SEA will evaluate the impact of
those programs;
The department is setting aside funds in this section to contribute to the TN ALL Corps
program, as described in section D.1 above. This state investment in comprehensive high-
dosage, low-ratio tutoring programs statewide is grounded in the evidence-base related to
tutoring and will serve as the department’s most significant learning loss investment. All
responses in section D.1 apply to this set-aside as well.
ii. How the evidence-based programs will specifically address the
disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on certain groups of students,
including each of the student groups listed in question A.3.i.-viii.
When possible, please indicate which data sources the SEA will use
to identify students most in need of comprehensive afterschool
programming; and
As noted previously, please refer to the response in section D.1. above.
iii. the extent to which the SEA will use funds it reserves to identify and
engage 1) students who have missed the most in-person instruction
during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years; and 2) students
who did not consistently participate in remote instruction when
offered during school building closures.
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As noted previously, please refer to the response in section D.1 above.
4. Emergency Needs: If the SEA plans to reserve funds for emergency needs under
section 2001(f)(4) of the ARP Act to address issues responding to the COVID-19
pandemic, describe the anticipated use of those funds, including the extent to
which these funds will build SEA and LEA capacity to ensure students’ and
staff’s health and safety; to meet students’ academic, social, emotional, and
mental health needs; and to use ARP ESSER funds to implement evidence-based
interventions.
The state does not currently intend to leverage this reserve funds per section 2001(f)(4).
E. Supporting LEAs in Planning for and Meeting Students’ Needs
The Department recognizes that the safe return to in-person instruction must be accompanied
by a focus on meeting students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs, and by
addressing the opportunity gaps that existed before – and were exacerbated by – the
pandemic. In this section, SEAs will describe how they will support their LEAs in
developing high-quality plans for LEAs’ use of ARP ESSER funds to achieve these
objectives.
LEA Plans for the Use of ARP ESSER Funds: Describe what the SEA will require its
LEAs to include in LEA plans consistent with the ARP ESSER requirements for the use
of ARP ESSER funds, how the SEA will require such plans to be made available to the
public, and the deadline by which the LEA must submit its ARP ESSER plan (which
must be a reasonable timeline and should be within no later than 90 days after receiving
its ARP ESSER allocation). The LEA plans must include, at a minimum:
i. The extent to which and how the funds will be used to implement
prevention and mitigation strategies that are, to the greatest extent
practicable, in line with the most recent CDC guidance, in order to
continuously and safely operate schools for in-person learning.
TDOE has included the submission of a Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity
of Services Plan as a requirement of the LEA’s ARP ESSER application. This plan must be
developed in consultation with the specified stakeholders, and meet the requirements
specified in the instructions, including prevention and mitigation strategies, as well as the
ARP ESSER Fund Assurances in the application. Once approved, this plan must be posted
and made public on the LEA’s website. The Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and
Continuity of Services Plan will be updated every six months and uploaded into the related
documentation folder in the ARP ESSER application. It will also be part of TDOE’s
ongoing ESSER monitoring over the life of the grant.
The department continues to engage regularly with the Tennessee Department of Health
(TDH) and have developed strong partnerships that will serve districts well – providing
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regular information and updates on CDC guidance and answering district questions in the
Commissioner’s regular weekly calls with directors of schools. As we plan to launch the
2021-22 school year and these plans are implemented and updated, this partnership will
continue to be a valued resource both for TDOE and LEAs across the state.
ii. How the LEA will use the funds it reserves under section 2001(e)(1)
of the ARP Act (totaling not less than 20 percent of the LEA’s total
allocation of ARP ESSER funds) to address the academic impact of
lost instructional time through the implementation of evidence-based
interventions, such as summer learning or summer enrichment,
extended day, comprehensive afterschool programs, or extended
school year programs;
TDOE has included two specific sections in the ARP ESSER application in which districts
will be required to provide additional insight into how their ESSER funds will be spent,
including requirements under section 2001(e)(1). Each LEA application will undergo a
multi-level state review to ensure the program requirements are met and appropriately
documented.
On the Spending Plan page, LEAs are required to provide information and complete the
applicable focus areas - verifying the amount and explaining how each focus area
addresses the prioritized needs of students. New for the ARP grant is the Learning Loss
focus area. The amount will auto-populate based on the input from the LEA’s proposed
budget. This functionality will allow TDOE to ensure that the 20% requirement is met
while also providing detail to ensure the interventions meet the evidence-based
requirement.
On the Program Details page, LEAs are required to provide information on how they will
measure and address learning loss. This page will also require LEAs to detail how the
ARP ESSER funds will support these measures.
This required reservation will be part of the department’s monitoring of the ARP ESSER
funds – ensuring that the interventions are implemented with fidelity and that LEAs are
measuring student gains.
iii. How the LEA will spend its remaining ARP ESSER funds consistent
with section 2001(e)(2) of the ARP Act; and
In two sections of the ARP ESSER application, districts will be required to provide
additional insight into how the remaining 80% of ESSER funds will be spent.
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On the Spending Plan page in the ARP ESSER application, LEAs are required to complete
the applicable focus areas, verify the amount, and explain how each focus area addresses
the prioritized needs. The amount will auto-populate based on the input from the LEA’s
proposed budget.
On the Program Details page in the ARP ESSER application, LEAs are required to
respond to the following: How will the LEA use the remaining ARP ESSER funds
consistent with statutory requirements? Each LEA application will undergo a multi-level
state review to ensure the program requirements are met and appropriately documented.
iv. How the LEA will ensure that the interventions it implements,
including but not limited to the interventions under section
2001(e)(1) of the ARP Act to address the academic impact of lost
instructional time, will respond to the academic, social, emotional,
and mental health needs of all students, and particularly those
students disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,
including students from low-income families, students of color,
English learners, children with disabilities, students experiencing
homelessness, children and youth in foster care, and migratory
students.
On the program details page on the ARP ESSER Spending Plan, LEAs will be required to
complete the following question: How the LEA will ensure that the ARP ESSER funded
interventions, including but not limited to the 20% set-aside, will respond to the academic,
social, emotional, and mental health needs of all students, and particularly those students
disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including students from low-
income families, students of color, English learners, children with disabilities, students
experiencing homelessness, children and youth in foster care, and migratory students?
Each LEA application will undergo a multi-level state review to ensure the program
requirements are met and appropriately documented.
2. LEA Consultation: Describe how the SEA will, in planning for the use of ARP
ESSER funds, ensure that, consistent with the ARP ESSER requirements], its
LEAs engage in meaningful consultation with stakeholders, including, but not
limited to:
i. students;
ii. families;
iii. school and district administrators (including special education
administrators); and
iv. teachers, principals, school leaders, other educators, school staff, and
their unions.
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The LEA must also engage in meaningful consultation with each of the following
to the extent present in or served by the LEA:
i. Tribes;
ii. civil rights organizations (including disability rights organizations);
and
iii. stakeholders representing the interests of children with disabilities,
English learners, children experiencing homelessness, children and
youth in foster care, migratory students, children who are
incarcerated, and other underserved students.
The description must also include how the SEA will ensure that LEAs provide the
public the opportunity to provide input in the development of the LEA’s plan for
the use of ARP ESSER funds and take such input into account.
The LEA application for ARP ESSER specifically addresses stakeholder consultation and
engagement. Further, the strategy or public-facing plan also includes specific information
on input and engagement with community and other stakeholder groups. LEAs will be asked
to provide specific information on this consultation, as well as the URL where the LEA plan
will be posted and made available to the public. The stakeholder consultation and
engagement and supporting documentation will be integrated into Tennessee’s monitoring
framework led by the FPO division. In this framework, all LEAs will be monitored annually
in one of the three tiers (self, desktop, onsite) based on the department‘s risk assessment.
Stakeholder consultation and engagement is an indicator in the instrument across all tiers of
monitoring.
On the Program Details page in the ARP ESSER application, LEAs are required to respond
to a series of questions that will be reviewed in the TDOE application approval process.
LEAs have been instructed to retain supporting documentation for this engagement and
consultation for TDOE monitoring of ARP ESSER.
1. Describe how the LEA will, in planning for the use of ARP ESSER funds,
engage in meaningful consultation with stakeholders, including, but not
limited to:
o students;
o families;
o school and district administrators (including special education
administrators); and
o teachers, principals, school leaders, other educators, school staff, and
their unions.
o Tribes;
o civil rights organizations (including disability rights organizations); and
o stakeholders representing the interests of children with disabilities,
English learners, children experiencing homelessness, children and youth
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in foster care, migratory students, children who are incarcerated, and
other underserved students.
2. Provide an overview of how the public stakeholder input was considered
in developing the LEA’s plan for ARP ESSER funds.
3. Describe how the SEA will support and monitor its LEAs in using ARP ESSER
funds. The description must include:
i. How the SEA will support and monitor its LEAs’ implementation of
evidence-based interventions that respond to students’ academic,
social, emotional, and mental health needs, such as through summer
learning or summer enrichment, extended day, comprehensive
afterschool programs, or extended school year programs – including
the extent to which the SEA will collect evidence of the
effectiveness of interventions employed;
Tennessee's multi-tiered monitoring framework includes three distinct levels: on-site,
desktop, and self monitoring. A risk analysis comprised of multiple indicators identifies the
level of potential risk. Results from the analysis designate each LEA's risk as one of three
levels: significant, elevated, or low risk – resulting in identification for on-site, desktop, or
self monitoring respectively. Each LEA in the state must participate in one level of
monitoring annually; however, TDOE has also developed business rules to this process to
ensure that all LEAs are monitored (desktop or on-site) at least once every five years.
To provide a comprehensive monitoring of ESSER, ESEA, and IDEA programs, numerous
staff members across multiple divisions at the department are involved with the related
processes. FPO divisional coordinators provide technical assistance to LEAs and are
primarily responsible for conducting on-site and desktop program monitoring. In addition,
state project directors participate in the monitoring processes to review and provide input on
the monitoring instrument (embedded in ePlan) and monitoring results are shared with
LEAs. FPO staff members also review the results of the self-assessment submissions each
year and share the results to inform technical assistance needs.
ii. How the SEA will support and monitor its LEAs in specifically
addressing the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
on certain groups of students, including each of the student groups
listed in question A.3.i.-viii; and
The FPO division at TDOE has hosted office hours throughout the planning and application
process to provide technical assistance to LEAs as they develop plans, budget funds, and
engage stakeholders. The department has hired additional staff to continue to support LEAs
throughout implementation and to monitor how LEAs are addressing specific student-group
needs. The department’s largest investment in addressing learning loss, TN ALL Corps,
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requires LEAs to identify priority students – those most impacted by the pandemic and those
in the state’s historically underserved groups. Further, the department is also offering district
planning grants to fund third-party partnerships for more targeted and robust planning.
iii. How the SEA will support and monitor its LEAs in using ARP
ESSER funds to identify, reengage, and support students most likely
to have experienced the impact of lost instructional time on student
learning, such as:
a. Students who have missed the most in-person instruction during
the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years;
b. Students who did not consistently participate in remote
instruction when offered during school building closures; and
c. Students most at-risk of dropping out of school.
Most Tennessee districts were open in-person during the 2020-21 school year, and all
offered remote options for students. Nonetheless, there have been students who have been
less engaged or did not participate fully in remote learning. To re-engage these students, it
will be necessary for LEAs to have access to academic data to identify at-risk students.
Further, this data will also be utilized to inform decisions on re-engagement and address
learning loss. TDOE will continue to support LEAs by providing resources and technical
assistance as students transition into summer programming and into the 2021-22 school
year. The department will also continue to monitor student progress over the life of the grant
through benchmark and summative data collection.
4. Describe the extent to which the SEA will support its LEAs in implementing
additional strategies for taking educational equity into account in expending ARP
ESSER funds, including but not limited to:
i. Allocating funding both to schools and for districtwide activities
based on student need, and
ii. Implementing an equitable and inclusive return to in-person
instruction. An inclusive return to in-person instruction includes, but
is not limited to, establishing policies and practices that avoid the
over-use of exclusionary discipline measures (including in- and out-
of-school suspensions) and creating a positive and supportive
learning environment for all students.
As previously noted, most Tennessee districts were in person most of the 2020-21 school
year. We encourage LEAs to think strategically about economies of scale and how to
maximize resources – identifying what should be district led and what should be school
specific. TDOE has also developed and provided LEAs resources on coordinating spending
across federal programs.
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The department has also provided supports and data, specific to creating positive learning
environments for students. The department administers an annual teacher survey and the
opportunity to participate in a state-provided climate survey, with the mission to create and
sustain safe and supportive learning environments, thereby, increasing academic success for
all students. These resources are intended to provide LEAs with data to inform decisions on
school culture, including discipline, student perception, and teacher working conditions.
F. Supporting the Educator Workforce
The Department recognizes the toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on the Nation’s
educators as well as students. In this section, SEAs will describe strategies for supporting and
stabilizing the educator workforce and for making staffing decisions that will support
students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs.
1. Supporting and Stabilizing the Educator Workforce:
i. Describe the extent to which the State is facing shortages of educators,
education administration personnel, and other school personnel involved
in safely reopening schools, and the extent to which they vary by
region/type of school district and/or groups of educators (e.g., special
educators and related services personnel and paraprofessionals; bilingual
or English as a second language educators; science, technology,
engineering, and math (“STEM”) educators; career and technical
education (“CTE”) educators; early childhood educators). Cite specific
data on shortages and needs where available.
Table F1.
Area Data on shortages Narrative description
and needs
Special educators and related 148 reported teacher Please see below our
service personnel and vacancies in K-12 investment in SPED
paraprofessionals Special Education, as Additional Endorsement
of 01/19/2021 Grants, Grow Your Own,
Integrated Endorsements,
TN Teacher Job
Connection and TN
Educator Job Board
Bilingual educators N/A Please see below our
work with the TN
Educator Job Board
English as a second language 64 reported teacher Please see below our
educators vacancies in Pre-K-12 investment in Grow Your
39
English as a Second Own, Additional
Language (ESL), as of Endorsement Grants, TN
01/19/2021 Teacher Job Connection
and TN Educator Job
Board
STEM educators 205 reported teacher Please see below our
vacancies in STEM investment in Grow Your
subject areas (grades Own, Math 6-10
6-12), as of Endorsement, TN
01/19/2021 Teacher Job Connection
and TN Educator Job
Board
CTE educators 47 reported teacher Please see below our
vacancies in CTE work in LEA as
(grades 6-12), as of Education Preparation
01/19/2021 Provider (EPP) which
specifically focuses on
occupational CTE, TN
Teacher Job Connection
and TN Educator Job
Board
Early childhood educators 31 reported teacher Please see below our
vacancies in Early work in Integrated Pre-K-
Childhood 3 Endorsement, TN
Education/Pre-K, as of Teacher Job Connection
01/19/2021 and TN Educator Job
Board
School counselors N/A Please see below our
work with the TN
Educator Job Board
Social workers N/A Please see below our
work with the TN
Educator Job Board
Nurses N/A Please see below our
work with the TN
Educator Job Board
School psychologists N/A Please see below our
work with the TN
Educator Job Board
40
Educational Administration N/A Please see below our
investment in the
Aspiring Assistant
Principal Network and
Diverse Leaders Network
along with multiple
professional development
opportunities and
supports.
ii. Describe how the SEA will assist its LEAs in identifying the most
urgent areas of shortages or potential shortages, with particular plans
for individual LEAs facing the most significant needs (e.g., by
avoiding layoffs, providing high-quality professional learning
opportunities, and addressing the impact of stress or trauma on
educators). Include a description of how other Federal COVID-19
funding (e.g., ESSER and GEER funds under the CARES Act and
CRRSA Act) have already been used to avoid layoffs during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The Tennessee General Assembly and the Governor’s Office ensured there would be no cuts
in state education funding, and schools were funded for the 2020-21 school year based on
their 2019-20 enrollment. Therefore, Tennessee has not experienced layoffs like other states
have experienced.
Prior to the emergence of the pandemic, TDOE worked with the Tennessee Organization of
School Superintendents (TOSS) association to begin collecting teacher vacancy data for the
2019-2020 school year. The department proposed a policy to make this an annual reporting
requirement to the State Board of Education. This proposal was successfully passed which
allowed TDOE to collect this data from LEAs for the 2020-21 school year.
Overall, vacancies were down year-over-year with approximately 1,080 vacancies compared
to over 1,120 from the previous year. We also worked with the Tennessee Consolidated
Retirement System (TCRS) to track teacher retirements. We experienced a lower overall
number of retirements in 2020 compared to 2019. By first acknowledging the need to collect
this data back in 2019, it allowed TDOE to work closely with our superintendents and
human resources directors to analyze the data to drive programming and policy
recommendations to address teacher vacancies.
In summer 2020, TDOE partnered with Trevecca University to offer free professional
development focused on remote teaching and learning. We were quick to identify that one
potential reason educators may resign or retire is because most teachers were never trained
41
on teaching remotely by their educator preparation program or via district professional
development. This partnership focused on eliminating anxiety in the technology space
around remote learning by providing multiple modules that exposed our educators to
platform agnostic programming, free tools, and resources they could immediately use in
their classrooms, as well as a community board where educators across Tennessee could
encourage each other. Over 20,000 educators registered for these free and optional modules.
TDOE also hosted informational calls with several other states interested in learning more
about this initiative.
During this same time, we partnered with the University of Tennessee – Knoxville to launch
our Principal Professional Learning Series for our administrators. This free and optional
professional development opportunity was eligible for professional development points
from TDOE. To date, more than 1,000 principals and assistant principals from every region
and nearly every district in the state have participated in the series, addressing timely topics
including Effective Digital Learning Strategies, Student Support & Wellness, Beyond
Quarantine: Resetting School Culture, Collaboration & Community, Supporting Educators
in the Age of COVID, and Educating the Whole Child in the Age of COVID. This series
was continued into the fall based on demand.
As previously noted, TDOE also launched a free and online platform called Best for All
Central in August of 2020. This site is a repository which provides free resources to support
our educators. The department developed several videos and resources to address the impact
of stress and trauma not only for our students, but for educators and leaders as well.
Finally, TDOE launched the COVID-19 Emotional Support Line, in partnership with the
Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) and
other statewide organizations. This emotional support line is available for all Tennessee
educators and provides free and confidential support from specially trained volunteer mental
health professionals to callers experiencing increased anxiety and stress due to the national
pandemic. The COVID-19 Emotional Support Line is available to call at 888-642-7886
from 6 a.m.- 10 p.m. CT/ 7 a.m.- 11 p.m. ET daily.
iii. Describe the actions the SEA will take to fill anticipated gaps in
certified teachers for the start of the 2021-2022 school year and to
what extent the SEA will further support its LEAs in expanding the
educator pipeline and educator diversity while addressing the
immediate needs of students disproportionately impacted by the
pandemic (e.g., recruiting teaching candidates to provide high-
dosage tutoring or implementing residencies for teacher candidates).
TDOE has taken several steps to fill anticipated gaps in hiring certified teachers in
Tennessee schools, prioritizing the timely processing of submissions. In 2020, TDOE
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processed over 38,000 licensure transactions of which over 91% were processed within 21
business days.
TDOE also works closely with our LEAs to fill anticipated gaps, and this has been a
strategic priority for the last two years. We formed a “kitchen cabinet” of human resources
directors from across the state to solicit feedback on potential policies and programs, review
edits to proposals, and ensure there is continuous, two-way communication to surface needs
in the field. In addition, TDOE sends regular emails to all HR directors with updates and
resources and presents regularly at conferences.
Within the policy space, TDOE proposed and received approval a change to a restrictive
policy for out-of-state educators. Previously, to be licensed in Tennessee, out-of-state
educators with an active teaching license in another state still had to take the Praxis exam(s).
This policy created a significant cost barrier, as well as professional deterrent. Tennessee is
bordered by eight states, so it is important to make it easier for qualified educators to come
into the state.
For shortage areas such as math and world languages, we added alternative assessments
options for educators in lieu of the Praxis exam. In addition, Tennessee has experienced a
lower-than-average pass rate on the Praxis assessment (compared to other subjects) for our
Math 6-12 endorsement. We proposed adding a Math 6-10 endorsement that would allow
for prospective math educators to teach Algebra I, Geometry, and Integrated Math I and II.
Secondary math makes up approximately 15% of vacancies in the state, and this
endorsement will provide more flexibility to fill these positions.
Prior to the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, we launched the Tennessee Teacher Job
Connection and the Tennessee Substitute Teacher Job Connection. The Tennessee Teacher
Job Connection was launched to support our LEAs recruit the following categories of
educators: out-of-state educators due to the changes to policies that made it easier for them
to come into the state, graduates from educator preparation programs within the state, and
educators looking to move between LEAs. This initiative allowed educators to sign up to
have their information disseminated across the state to human resources directors in our
LEAs. To date, over 2,500 educators have participated, providing LEAs twice as many
potential candidates as the number of vacancies reported. On a similar note, since Tennessee
has been opened in person for the 2020-21 school year, we supported our LEAs with the
Tennessee Substitute Teacher Job Connection, providing LEAs with over 700 substitutes
that could add to their regular rotation.
TDOE has supported LEAs to expand their pipelines by putting forth an opportunity for
LEAs to become EPPs. We launched our first LEA as an EPP in July 2019 and will have
another LEA recommended for approval July 2021. These programs allow districts to build
43
talent pipelines from within at significantly reduced costs with clear practitioner-based
experience while meeting all the requirements of an EPP in Tennessee.
The TDOE has also supported expanding the pipelines of educators while also diversifying
the profession with our Grow Your Own (GYO) program. In October 2020, TDOE awarded
20 grants that reflect 37 LEAs with 7 EPPs to produce 262 future educators who will all
graduate dual endorsed in either special education or English as a second language, earn
their degree for free while being paid to do so, and receive residency experience that
significantly surpasses the current requirements of clinical practice for EPPs. We have since
used ESSER funds for our GYO Round Two grant which will be awarded in May 2021.
TDOE has also expanded pipelines for future school leaders. We launched the Aspiring
Assistant Principal Network which allowed for every district to select at least one educator
to earn their master’s degree in school leadership at no cost while getting daily clinical
practice experience as an administrator, with over 150 participants each in our first and
second cohorts. We have also diversified our leadership pipeline by launching the Diverse
Leaders Network, which also allows for educators to earn their master’s degree in school
leadership at no cost, with 20 participants in our first cohort and 95 participants in our
second cohort.
As demonstrated in the initiatives described above, supporting educators is one of the state’s
strategic priorities – knowing that teachers are the most impactful in advancing student
achievement. Our work around diversifying the profession led us to be the only state in the
country to receive a green rating in all five categories of The Education Trust’s Prioritizing
Educator Diversity and Equity.
1. Staffing to Support Student Needs: Describe the extent to which the SEA has
developed or will develop strategies and will support its LEAs in increasing
student access to key support staff within school buildings, including school
counselors, special education personnel, nurses, social workers, and psychologists
(e.g. hiring additional personnel or freeing up these staff to focus on providing
services to students).
TDOE has supported our LEAs in increasing student access to educators, support staff and
services they need through a variety of measures. In Tennessee, many districts are rural.
TDOE has been able to bring awareness to their various staffing needs by launching the
Tennessee Educator Job Board. This initiative allows for LEAs to submit any job posting
(i.e. teachers, counselors, nurses, social workers, etc.) that they have in their district to be
displayed on the TDOE’s website. Prospective and current educators may also utilize this
resource for licensure inquiries.
44
Based on the success during the 2020-21 school year of our Special Education Additional
Endorsement grant and need of LEAs, we are continuing this grant opportunity into 2021-22
while adding additional endorsement opportunities for English as a second language (ESL)
and secondary math. The first installment of the grant paid for over 150 educators to earn
their special education endorsement at no cost including covering the cost of the Praxis. We
expect to offer this opportunity up to 1,800 educators (one for each school) in 2021-22 for
special education and up to 600 educators for ESL. TDOE is also pursuing the opportunity
to become a provider for additional endorsements specifically in special education and ESL.
G. Monitoring and Measuring Progress
The Department recognizes that transparency on how ARP ESSER funds are used and their
impact on the Nation’s education system is a fundamental responsibility of Federal, State,
and local government. In this section, SEAs will describe how they are building capacity at
the SEA and LEA levels to ensure high-quality data collection and reporting and to safeguard
funds for their intended purposes.
1. Capacity for Data Collection and Reporting: It is important for an SEA to
continuously monitor progress and make adjustments to its strategies, as well as
to support its LEAs in making adjustments to LEA strategies, based on impact.
Describe how the SEA will ensure its capacity and the capacity of its LEAs to
collect data on reporting requirements, including but not limited to the examples
of reporting requirements described in the SEA’s Grant Award Notification (listed
in Appendix B). Describe the SEA’s capacity and strategy to collect data from its
LEAs (disaggregated by student group, where applicable), to the greatest extent
practicable, including any steps the SEA will take to build its capacity in the
future (which may include the use of ARP ESSER and other Federal COVID-19
pandemic funds at the SEA and LEA levels), on issues that may include the
following:
i. Student learning, including the academic impact of lost instructional
time during the COVID-19 pandemic;
ii. Opportunity to learn measures (e.g., chronic absenteeism; student
engagement; use of exclusionary discipline; access to and
participation in advanced coursework; access to technology,
including educator access to professional development on the
effective use of technology; access to high-quality educators; access
to school counselors, social workers, nurses, and school
psychologists; and results from student, parent, and/or educator
surveys);
iii. Fiscal data that is comparable across the State (e.g., per-pupil
expenditures at the LEA and school levels);
iv. Jobs created and retained (by position type);
v. Participation in programs funded by ARP ESSER resources (e.g.,
summer and afterschool programs); and
45
vi. Other reporting requirements reasonably required by the Secretary
(please refer to Appendix B of this template; final requirements will
be issued separately).
TDOE conducted a needs assessment to identify the areas of greatest impact for data
collection and reporting, identifying the following prioritized areas: the collection of quality
data, the capacity to collect and report, and analysis to monitor and inform decisions.
For the collection of quality data, the department has emphasized the importance of ensuring
the baseline year for data reporting is meaningful for all by requiring and providing
incentives for a minimum 80% participation in our statewide summative assessments and in-
person summer school options for underserved students. This emphasis includes
standardized pre-tests and post-tests to support district and school decision-making and
monitoring. In the Tennessee General Assembly’s Special Legislative Session called by
Governor Lee, the state reaffirmed its commitment to assessment, while balancing
reasonable accountability provisions and teacher evaluation processes for the year.
Additionally, the department is expanding the assessments offered throughout the school
year to address persistent gaps in the assessment resources of districts across the state. This
expansion will help ensure uniformly high levels of access to not only summative
assessment but also to effective, embedded progress monitoring tools (universal screener)
and measures that will enable districts to make thoughtful, timely programmatic and
instructional decisions that drive improvement:
• providing timely and accurate information about student performance necessary to inform
the programmatic and instructional decisions necessary to ensure the effectiveness of
learning loss summer camps, tutoring programs, and other learning loss policy impacts.
• Increasing the quality and quantity of feedback to all stakeholders about student learning
throughout the school year, instead of relying solely on a summative exam.
Through our summer school programming and corresponding application and TN All Corps
initiative, the department will also be collecting information statewide on the interventions
and activities associated with ESSER-funded initiatives.
The state has been intentional since the beginning of the school year to monitor attendance
for distance learners with a separate attendance code which can be cross referenced against
LEA instructional and health status updates. These new data points are collected through
SIS data sent to the department, which collects records on discipline, attendance,
enrollment, scheduling, and coursework.
For additional data points on school climate, the department also administers a school
climate survey with components for educators, students, and families. Collecting quality
46
data around school climate will inform the department’s approach to providing necessary
supports that ensure every child’s non-academic and academic needs are met.
TDOE collects district level spending annually as part of its final expenditure report (FER)
process. Districts submit their FERs through ePlan in the late summer / early fall, which are
then reviewed by TDOE. After district level data are submitted, TDOE distributes templates
to districts to report school level expenses during the winter, which are then received back
and reviewed by TDOE before ultimately publishing them to our report card data downloads
page. Collecting school and district-level fiscal data will provide transparency and inform
LEA decisions on budgeting.
As discussed in Section F above, the department began collecting teacher vacancy data from
LEAs for the 2020-21 school year. We also worked with the Tennessee Consolidated
Retirement System (TCRS) to track teacher retirements. Data will be submitted by each
LEA’s HR Director, Director of Schools, or another qualified designee.
Additionally, the department administers an annual, confidential survey to all P-12 school-
based educators statewide each spring. The department has administered this survey since
2015 and expects the survey will continue to provide valid and reliable insight into
educators’ perspectives across the state and over time, amplify educators’ voices in policy
decisions, and provide first-hand data. Historically, a majority of Tennessee educators
respond each year.
2. Monitoring and Internal Controls: Describe how the SEA will implement
appropriate fiscal monitoring of and internal controls for the ARP ESSER funds
(e.g., by updating the SEA’s plan for monitoring funds and internal controls under
the CARES and CRRSA Acts; addressing potential sources of waste, fraud, and
abuse; conducting random audits; or other tools). In this response, please describe
the SEA’s current capacity to monitor ARP ESSER; steps, if needed, to increase
capacity; and any foreseeable gaps in capacity, including how the SEA will
provide its LEAs with technical assistance in the anticipated areas of greatest
need.
The department is working closely with the Office of the Comptroller to ensure common
understanding of the federal regulations, and the state has already added relief funding to its
current performance audit plan. As the Comptroller is also responsible for reviewing local
audits, by engaging early and often, the department and Comptroller are able to provide
aligned guidance to local officials in developing plans.
The department’s FPO division, responsible for technical assistance and monitoring to LEAs
on federal grant funds, will also be expanded to include targeted supports on ESSER funds.
Additional personnel and contract support are being secured to give districts designated
47
contacts to navigate multiple rounds of ESSER funding. The resources will be deployed for
overall monitoring purposes and on a targeted basis to LEAs with either identified historical
monitoring issues or issues surfaced during the grant period. Beyond staffing, the FPO
division is releasing ongoing guidance resources to ensure LEAs have the most recent and
robust information as provided by the U.S. Department of Education.
To provide support at both the state and LEA levels, the department is also planning to
pursue auditing capacity from a third-party vendor. This external review will offer an
additional layer of analysis and provide the department with interim feedback on which to
improve internal controls as needed. This third-party vendor may also be secured to provide
districts with additional auditing support on an as-needed basis. The state intends to simplify
the process for LEAs to procure these additional internal control supports as much as
possible.
48
Appendix A: School Operating Status and Instructional Mode Data Template
Data Dates: Table 1 below captures enrollment information as of October 1 and represents the
data sets confirmed by districts and consistent with data submitted for other federal reporting.
Table 2 reflects data pulled on 5/24/21, the most recent reported LEA data.
Table 1
In the most recent time period available, how many schools in your State offered each mode of
instruction or learning model described below? Each row should account for all schools in your
State, so that, for each row, the sum of the numbers in the “offered to all students,” “offered to
some students,” and “not offered” columns is equal to the number in the “all schools” column.
Number of schools All schools Offered to all Offered to some Not offered
students students
Remote or online 40 # # #
only
School buildings 1,582 # # #
open with both
remote/online and
in-person
instruction
(hybrid)*
School buildings 220 # # #
open with full-time
in-person
instruction only
ELEMENTARY**
Number of schools All schools Offered to all Offered to some Not offered
students students
Remote or online 13 # # #
only
School buildings 905 # # #
open with both
remote/online and
in-person
instruction
(hybrid)*
School buildings 137 # # #
open with full-time
in-person
instruction only
MIDDLE**
Number of schools All schools Offered to all Offered to some Not offered
students students
Remote or online 10 # # #
only
49
School buildings 304 # # #
open with both
remote/online and
in-person
instruction
(hybrid)*
School buildings 41 # # #
open with full-time
in-person
instruction only
HIGH**
Number of schools All schools Offered to all Offered to some Not offered
students students
Remote or online 13 # # #
only
School buildings 333 # # #
open with both
remote/online and
in-person
instruction
(hybrid)*
School buildings 40 # # #
open with full-time
in-person
instruction only
*Note: All districts in TN closed the 2020-21 school year with in-person options for students. The fields above
capturing both remote/online and in-person instruction reflect schools identified as Hybrid-Alt Schedule, Hybrid-
Parent Choice, and In Person - Parent Choice.
**Note: ES represents grades K-5, MS represents 6-8, and HS represents 9-12. Some schools serve grades spanning
these bands, and therefore, may be reflected in multiple categories.
Table 2
In the most recent time period available, what was the enrollment and mode of instruction for the
schools in your State?
Number of Total enrollment Remote or online Both remote/online Full-time in-person
students only and in-person instruction only
instruction
(hybrid)*
Students from low- 322,328 5,562 26,362
income families 290,404
White, not Hispanic 588,932 3,644 101,880
483,408
Black or African 207,161 6,690 7,048
American, not 193,423
Hispanic
Hispanic, of any 119,903 2,551 9,309
race 108,043
50
Asian, not Hispanic 19,927 83 3,951
15,893
American Indian or 1,436 23 215
Alaskan Native, not 1,198
Hispanic
Native Hawaiian or 994 5 100
Pacific Islander, not 889
Hispanic
Two or more races, 38,770 294 4,560
not Hispanic 33,916
Race/Ethnicity - - - -
information not
available
English learners 51,448 1,108 2,544
47,796
Children with 136,607 1,485 17,385
disabilities 117,737
Students 10,841 99 1,214
experiencing 9,528
homelessness
Children and youth 4,214 10 489
in foster care 3,715
Migratory students 420 2 21
397
*Note: All districts in TN closed the 2020-21 school year with in-person options for students. The fields above
capturing both remote/online and in-person instruction reflect schools identified as Hybrid-Alt Schedule, Hybrid-
Parent Choice, and In Person - Parent Choice.
Appendix B: Reporting Language Included in the Grant Award Notification (“GAN”)
As described in the Grant Award Notification (“GAN”), the SEA will comply with, and ensure
that its LEAs comply with, all reporting requirements at such time and in such manner and
containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require, including on matters such
as:
• How the State is developing strategies and implementing public health protocols
including, to the greatest extent practicable, policies and plans in line with the CDC
guidance related to mitigating COVID-19 in schools;
• Overall plans and policies related to State support for return to in-person instruction and
maximizing in-person instruction time, including how funds will support a return to and
maximize in-person instruction time, and advance equity and inclusivity in participation
in in-person instruction;
• Data on each school’s mode of instruction (fully in-person, hybrid, and fully remote) and
conditions;
• SEA and LEA uses of funds to meet students’ social, emotional, and academic needs,
including through summer enrichment programming and other evidence-based
interventions, and how they advance equity for underserved students;
• SEA and LEA uses of funds to sustain and support access to early childhood education
programs;
51
• Impacts and outcomes (disaggregated by student subgroup) through use of ARP ESSER
funding (e.g., quantitative and qualitative results of ARP ESSER funding, including on
personnel, student learning, and budgeting at the school and district level);
• Student data (disaggregated by student subgroup) related to how the COVID-19
pandemic has affected instruction and learning;
• Requirements under the Federal Financial Accountability Transparency Act (“FFATA”);
and
• Additional reporting requirements as may be necessary to ensure accountability and
transparency of ARP ESSER funds.
Appendix C: Assurances
By signing this document, the SEA assures all of the following:
• The SEA will conduct all its operations so that no person shall be excluded from
participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under the ARP
ESSER program or activity based on race, color, national origin, which includes a
person’s limited English proficiency or English learner status and a person’s actual or
perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics; sex; age; or disability. These non-
discrimination obligations arise under Federal civil rights laws, including but not limited
to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of
1972, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of
1975. In addition, the SEA must comply with all regulations, guidelines, and standards
issued by the Department under any of these statutes;
• The SEA will comply with all ARP Act and other ARP ESSER requirements and all
requirements of its Grant Award Notification, including but not limited to:
o Complying with the maintenance of effort provision in section 2004(a)(1) of the
ARP Act, absent a waiver by the Secretary pursuant to section 2004(a)(2) of the
ARP Act; and
o Complying with the maintenance of equity provisions in section 2004(b) of the
ARP Act, and ensuring its LEAs comply with the maintenance of equity provision
in section 2004(c) of the ARP Act (please note that the Department will provide
additional guidance on maintenance of equity shortly);
• The SEA will allocate ARP ESSER funds to LEAs in an expedited and timely manner
and, to the extent practicable, not later than 60 days after the SEA receives ARP ESSER
funds (i.e., 60 days from the date the SEA receives each portion of its ARP ESSER
funds). An SEA that is not able to allocate such funds within 60 days because it is not
practicable (e.g., because of pre-existing State board approval requirements) will provide
an explanation to the Department within 30 days of receiving each portion of its ARP
ESSER funds (submitted via email to your Program Officer at [State].OESE@ed.gov
(e.g., Alabama.OESE@ed.gov)), including a description of specific actions the SEA is
taking to provide ARP ESSER funds to LEAs in an expedited and timely manner and the
SEA’s expected timeline for doing so;
• The SEA will implement evidence-based interventions as required under section 2001(f)
of the ARP Act and ensure its LEAs implement evidence-based interventions, as required
by section 2001(e)(1) of the ARP Act;
52
• The SEA will address the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on
underserved students (i.e., students from low-income families, students from racial or
ethnic groups (e.g., identifying disparities and focusing on underserved student groups by
race or ethnicity), gender (e.g., identifying disparities and focusing on underserved
student groups by gender), English learners, children with disabilities, students
experiencing homelessness, children and youth in foster care, and migratory students), as
required under section 2001(f) of the ARP Act, and ensure its LEAs address the
disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on underserved students (i.e.,
students from low-income families, students from racial or ethnic groups, gender, English
learners, children with disabilities, students experiencing homelessness, children and
youth in foster care, and migratory students), as required by section 2001(e)(1) of the
ARP Act; and
• The SEA will provide to the Department: (1) the URL(s) where the public can readily
find data on school operating status and (2) the URL(s) for the SEA and/or LEA websites
where the public can find the LEA plans for a) the safe return to in-person instruction and
continuity of services required under section 2001(i) of the ARP Act, and b) use of ARP
ESSER funds. SEAs should consider ensuring a standardized URL format in all cases
(e.g., xxx.gov/COVIDplan).
53
Appendix D
OMB Control No. 1894-0005 (Exp. 06/30/2023)
NOTICE TO ALL APPLICANTS
The purpose of this enclosure is to inform you access to, and participation in, its Federally-
about a new provision in the Department of assisted program for students, teachers, and
Educations General Education Provisions other program beneficiaries with special
Act ("GEPA") that applies to applicants for needs. This provision allows applicants
new grant awards under Department discretion in developing the required
programs. This provision is Section 427 of description. The statute highlights six types
GEPA, enacted as part of the Improving of barriers that can impede equitable access
America's Schools Act of 1994 (Public Law or participation: gender, race, national origin,
(P.L.) 103-382). color, disability, or age. Based on local
circumstances, you should determine
To Whom Does This Provision Apply? whether these or other barriers may prevent
your students, teachers, etc. from such access
Section 427 of GEPA affects applicants for
to, or participation in, the Federally-funded
new grant awards under this program. ALL
project or activity. The description in your
APPLICANTS FOR NEW AWARDS
application of steps to be taken to overcome
MUST INCLUDE INFORMATION IN
these barriers need not be lengthy; you may
THEIR APPLICATIONS TO ADDRESS
provide a clear and succinct description of
THIS NEW PROVISION IN ORDER TO
how you plan to address those barriers that
RECEIVE FUNDING UNDER THIS
are applicable to your circumstances. In
PROGRAM.
addition, the information may be provided in
(If this program is a State-formula grant a single narrative, or, if appropriate, may be
program, a State needs to provide this discussed in connection with related topics in
description only for projects or activities that the application.
it carries out with funds reserved for State-
Section 427 is not intended to duplicate the
level uses. In addition, local school districts
requirements of civil rights statutes, but
or other eligible applicants that apply to the
rather to ensure that, in designing their
State for funding need to provide this
projects, applicants for Federal funds address
description in their applications to the State
equity concerns that may affect the ability of
for funding. The State would be responsible
certain potential beneficiaries to fully
for ensuring that the school district or other
participate in the project and to achieve high
local entity has submitted a sufficient section
standards. Consistent with program
427 statement as described below.)
requirements and its approved application, an
What Does This Provision Require? applicant may use the Federal funds awarded
to it to eliminate barriers it identifies.
Section 427 requires each applicant for funds
(other than an individual person) to include in
its application a description of the steps the
applicant proposes to take to ensure equitable
54
What are Examples of How an Applicant
Might Satisfy the Requirement of This
Provision?
The following examples may help illustrate
how an applicant may comply with Section
427.
(1) An applicant that proposes to carry
out an adult literacy project serving,
among others, adults with limited English
proficiency, might describe in its
application how it intends to distribute a
brochure about the proposed project to
such potential participants in their native
language.
(2) An applicant that proposes to develop
instructional materials for classroom use
might describe how it will make the
materials available on audio tape or in
braille for students who are blind.
(3) An applicant that proposes to carry
out a model science program for
secondary students and is concerned that
girls may be less likely than boys to enroll
in the course, might indicate how it
intends to conduct "outreach" efforts to
girls, to encourage their enrollment.
(4) An applicant that proposes a project to
increase school safety might describe the
special efforts it will take to address
concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender students, and efforts to reach
out to and involve the families of LGBT
students.
We recognize that many applicants may
already be implementing effective steps to
ensure equity of access and participation in
their grant programs, and we appreciate your
cooperation in responding to the
requirements of this provision.
Click here to enter text.
55
Estimated Burden Statement for GEPA Requirements
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a
collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. Public
reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 3 hours per
response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources,
gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of
information. The obligation to respond to this collection is required to obtain or retain
benefit (Public Law 103-382). Send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other
aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20210-4537 or
email ICDocketMgr@ed.gov and reference the OMB Control Number 1894-0005.
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