State Plan for the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund — Colorado (Signed October 25, 2023)
Summary
Colorado's state plan for the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund, on the U.S. Department of Education template issued April 21, 2021 (OMB Number 1810-0754), signed October 25, 2023 by Susana Córdova, Commissioner of Education. The template's introduction states that the fund, authorized under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, provides nearly $122 billion to States to support schools in safely reopening and sustaining safe operations. On progress and promising practices, CDE names increasing access to broadband Internet and devices and increased nutrition support among the strategies that seemed most effective. The plan reports that 15,773 students were counted as homeschooled in the fall of 2020 compared to 7,880 in 2019, and that approximately 140 of the state's 178 school districts reported drops in enrollment.
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Cite this document
“State Plan for the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund — Colorado (Signed October 25, 2023).”
Original at www.ed.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/ppr-int-902bbad5d2ef809b-pdf-3899058748/
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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
Paperwork Burden Statement 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. The valid OMB
control number for this information collection is 1810-0754. Public reporting burden for this collection of
information is estimated to average 100 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 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.
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: Scott D. Jones, Chief of Staff
Telephone: (720) 951-1924
Email address: jones_s@cde.state.co.us
G5 Contact: Nazanin Mohajeri-Nelson, Executive Director of Federal Programs & Supports Unit
Telephone: (303) 626-3895
Email address: Mohajeri-Nelson_N@cde.state.co.us
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 October 25, 2023
Name)
Susana Córdova, Commissioner of Education
Signature of Authorized SEA Representative October 25, 2023
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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.
To ascertain the top 2-3 strategies that have been most effective in supporting
students, CDE reviewed multiple data sources and engaged with stakeholders
across the state of Colorado regarding education throughout the pandemic as well
as the use of ESSER funding. In spring and fall of 2020, CDE worked with the
Colorado Education Initiative (CEI) to conduct needs inventories with Colorado
school districts. Additionally, CDE contracted with an external consultant in the
summer of 2021 to execute the department’s stakeholder engagement strategy
with regards to ESSER III funding. The consultant conducted focus groups,
administered a stakeholder survey, and summarized findings in a report to the
department and State Board of Education to inform decision making for fund
usage. The focus groups and survey solicited feedback on effective practices or
innovations that have been effective.
Based on the data reviewed and the stakeholder consultation process, CDE notes
that (1) increasing access to broadband Internet and devices as well as (2)
providing increased nutrition support for students seemed to have been most
effective in supporting students and their families throughout the pandemic.
Connectivity and device initiatives: In spring 2020, CDE worked with the
Colorado Education Initiative (CEI) to conduct a needs inventory with Colorado
school districts. This needs inventory informed CDE’s uses of the initial
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act ESSER funding.
Specifically, in spring 2020, 53% of survey respondents selected “internet
connectivity” as a top community need (highest response of all community
needs), and 22% noted the need for technology (computers, phones). Based on the
responses from 184 districts and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services
(BOCES), the estimated number of students without access to a Wi-Fi enabled
device was 52,918 statewide, or approximately 6% of students in the represented
districts/BOCES and the estimated number of students without access to internet
at home was 65,860, or approximately 8% of students in represented
districts/BOCES.
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As a result of the needs inventory, Commissioner Katy Anthes directed $1.3
million of ESSER I funding to increase access to broadband services for students,
educators, and other staff who lack stable, reliable internet access for online
learning. Additionally, the legislature continued these efforts through the
Connecting Colorado Students Grant (CCSG) Program, providing an additional
$20 million for school districts to provide broadband access to low-income
families and school staff. CDE collaborated with Governor Polis’ Office, the
Office of the Attorney General, and service providers to expand access to devices
and internet connectivity through T-Mobile’s Project 10Million, which made
available up to 34,000 free Wi-Fi hotspots and 100GB of data per year for free,
for low-income student households in Colorado.
In fall 2020, CDE and CEI conducted another needs inventory to gauge progress
and determine where needs still existed. Overall, the reported number of
outstanding devices needed for students was 29,8451 across 115 districts and two
BOCES as of October 2020. Among the districts for which there is both spring
and fall 2020 device data (n=107), device needs have decreased since the spring
from 57,063 to 22,044 (14% of students lacking devices to 5%). The reported
number of students still lacking sufficient access to the internet is 30,841 (or 4.1%
of students) among all district respondents to this question (n=138). Among the
districts for which CDE has both spring and fall 2020 connectivity data (n=128),
the number of students without sufficient connectivity has been cut nearly in half
since the spring data collections from 47,655 to 23,997 (8% to 4%).
Nutrition support: Due to flexibility afforded by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA), CDE and Colorado school districts were able to offer free
meals to all students during the 2020-2021 school year through the Summer Food
Service Program, with additional flexibilities to increase access including multiple
days worth of meals at a time, parent/guardian pick up of meals, and non-
congregate meals so students could eat meals at home. Districts were encouraged
to adapt flexibilities and created innovative meal service options to meet the
unique needs of their community. Districts set up meal sites throughout their
communities including drive-thru options, set up multiple distribution times for
working families, and others delivered meals directly to homes or bus stops.
In addition, in the student listening session conducted by the contractor, numerous
students shared how helpful it was to have “free food” when they returned to
school.
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.
5
In order to identify the most critical and/or widespread issues facing schools and
students, the department used three primary sources: (1) the Colorado Education
Initiative (CEI) needs inventories, (2) extant student performance and enrollment
data, and (3) information from the findings from the consultant stakeholder
engagement process.
First, and as noted in the previous section, CDE worked in collaboration with
CEI, to conduct two needs inventories in the spring and fall of 2020 to determine
how to direct state set aside funds from ESSER I and ESSER II.
● In March and April 2020, the top four education supports identified as the
priorities across all regions of the state were: (1) student emotional support
(52%), (2) technical support for delivering remote learning (46%), (3)
online instructional support for teachers (41%), and (4) family engagement
practices (38%).
● When the assessment was conducted again in October 2020, the results
indicated that device and connectivity needs had declined since spring
2020; however, workforce and staffing needs were a major concern for
many districts throughout Colorado. Districts reported the following as
their top priorities for students: (1) K-3 reading loss (56% selected), (2)
high school student mental health (52%), (3) middle school mental health
(41%), and (4) overall quality of virtual instruction (37%). In terms of
teacher needs, districts reported priorities for teacher mental health (90%),
teacher professional development (58%), and teacher and leader turnover
(43%).
Second, CDE reviewed state required data collections, including enrollment
changes and statewide assessment results.
● Colorado’s school finance act provides subscriptions to K-3 reading
assessments for school districts. Close to half of Colorado students
participate in the program. Following the 2020-21 school year, CDE
analyzed reading outcomes for participating schools, which revealed an
overall increase of 9% in the number of students who were scoring below
benchmark at the beginning of the year when compared to 2018-2019.
These results improved only slightly throughout the school year with the
end of year results showing an increase of 6% from 2018-2019.
● CDE considered CMAS statewide assessment results. Data indicated:
○ Drops in the percentage of students who scored at Met/Exceeded
Expectations in grades 4 and 6 math fell to a level not previously
seen on CMAS math scores (since 2015). Grade 8 has experienced
a shift in testing population over the last couple of administrations
which does not allow for comparisons to be made across years.
○ Decreases in the percentage of students who scored at
Met/Exceeded Expectations in English language arts (ELA) in
grades 3, 5 and 7 that are consistent with levels from 3 to 5 years
ago.
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○ Black and Hispanic student groups were disproportionately
impacted compared to the White student group.
○ English learners e.g., (non-English proficient and limited English
proficient) were disproportionately impacted compared to
counterparts. Significant decreases in English proficiency were
also evident in ACCESS results (Colorado’s English language
proficiency assessment) in elementary and middle school.
○ Where reduction in gaps were identified between genders, it was
due to the disproportionate impact on females compared to males.
○ Additional information is provided in Table 1A.
● CDE considered PSAT/SAT statewide assessment results:
○ As a group, testers were higher achieving than non-testers based on
their individual prior achievement on state assessments; however,
data indicated a decrease in math achievement based on percent
met/exceeded expectations (met College Board College and Career
Readiness Benchmark) in grades 9 and 11.
● CDE analyzed student state assessment data using baseline growth data. In
summary, baseline growth data indicated an overall decrease most
significantly in mathematics, for English Learners, students with a
disability, and both Black and Hispanic students.
● In terms of statewide enrollment, the October 2020 student enrollment
count showed a 3.3% decrease in enrollment in Colorado K-12 public
schools as compared to October 2019, the first decrease in year-to-year
enrollment in over three decades. There were 30,024 fewer students in
preschool through 12th grade, with total statewide enrollment for
preschool to 12th grade at 883,199 students. The largest decreases were in
the earlier grades with 8,009 fewer students in preschool for a 23.3% drop
and 5,800 fewer kindergartners for a 9.1% decrease. An estimated 13,833
fewer first through fifth graders were counted in Colorado schools in 2020
compared to 2019–a 4.2% drop. Among races and ethnicities, white
students had the highest number change with 19,759 fewer students in
2020 compared to 2019, a 4.1% decline. American Indian or Alaska native
had the highest percent drop with 5.9% fewer students in 2020 than in
2019. The number of students reported as homeschooled doubled with
15,773 students counted in the fall of 2020 compared to 7,880 in 2019. A
total of 32,034 students registered in formal online educational programs
this year–9,586 more students than 2019 or a 43% increase.
Approximately 140 of the state’s 178 school districts reported drops in
enrollment with nearly 40 districts reporting increasing enrollment.
Third, to gather data regarding current needs of schools and districts, the
department contracted with an external consultant to conduct Colorado’s
stakeholder consultation process for use of ESSER funding. The consultant
conducted focus groups, administered a stakeholder survey, and summarized
findings in a report to the department and State Board of Education to inform
decision making for fund usage. The findings indicated five high-level priority
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areas for the state’s districts, schools, teachers and students: (1) Focusing on the
academic recovery from students including English language learners, students
with special needs, and students who were disproportionately impacted by the
pandemic; (2) Ensuring the physical, emotional and mental well-being of
students; (3) Providing resources, training and professional development for the
state’s educator workforce; (4) Supporting the emotional and mental well-being of
educators; and (5) ensuring schools and students have the technological resources
and supports necessary for implementing and accessing hybrid/remote instruction.
Based on the data and the knowledge of other programs and funding streams
already serving some of the needs indicated above, CDE has identified the
following three priorities for supporting the state’s education system in recovering
from the pandemic:
1) Accelerating learning – As the 2021 student data described above
indicates, the pandemic has adversely impacted student learning across the
state. However, as described in Part 3 below, the impact has been
amplified for students from underserved populations. CDE is focusing on
developing programs and initiatives that will drive success for all students
while accelerating learning for those most impacted by the pandemic to
make up ground lost in the past two years and close the state’s opportunity
and achievement gaps.
2) Increasing Student Engagement through Expanding Learning
Opportunities – Many students have felt disconnected from their schools
or communities during the pandemic, and there have been fewer work-
based learning opportunities. CDE is focusing on expanding the
opportunities for students to access career and technical education (CTE)
and workplace learning along with academically enriched learning that
occurs before school, after school, on a 5th day (for districts on a 4-day
week), during the summer, or when school is otherwise not in session.
3) Strengthening State Capacity – The pandemic and resulting move to
hybrid/virtual learning and transition to remote working has highlighted
the need for CDE to reconsider many of the data systems and supports
currently in place. There is a need for more flexibility in data collections,
such as student modality. CDE’s current collection system, Data Pipeline,
has limited frequency of collections, and requires a long lead time to add
additional data elements. This results in resources being diverted from the
critical work of providing pandemic assistance to support the state’s
schools and students. Modernization of this system will improve the
customer interface for district users, making it less of a burden, and allow
for more flexibility and resilience around data collections when more, or
targeted, data sets are required. In addition to functionality, improving the
security of Data Pipeline will take advantage of up-to-date information
security technology. The combination of these improvements will provide
a solid foundation upon which CDE can collect, secure, process and report
on data that will communicate the accurate story on educational
improvements and continuous improvement.
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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”)),
vi. Students experiencing homelessness,
vii. Children and youth in foster care,
viii. Migratory students,
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 2019-2020 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.
Complete the table below, adding rows as necessary, or provide a narrative
description.
Table A1.
Please note that a variety of factors should be considered when interpreting
Colorado state assessment results from spring 2021, including lower than
typical participation rates and disrupted learning experiences of many students
because of the pandemic. When identifying academic priorities in the table
below, CDE has used spring 2021 assessment data while taking these factors
into consideration.
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.
9
CDE does not collect data on social, emotional, or mental health needs of
students. In addition, data regarding attendance/absenteeism by student groups
will not be available prior to the submission of this state plan. CDE will
incorporate any subsequent data into the Department’s planning and adjust to
continue meeting the needs of Colorado students. This section will focus on
academic needs.
Student group Highest priority needs
Students from low-income 1) Academic Acceleration and Reengagement – Free and reduced
families lunch data are not as precise as in prior years. This is due to both
students starting school remotely and the flexibility afforded by the
USDA, CDE and Colorado school districts were able to offer free
meals to all students during the 2020-2021 school year through the
Summer Food Service Program. This allowance affected the number
of families applying for school meal assistance. These data should be
used cautiously. Any conclusions drawn from these data should take
that consideration into account.
That said, overall state assessment data from 2020-2021 shows that
there is a need to accelerate learning for all student groups across the
state and CDE believes this will hold true for the 2021-2022 school
year.
2) Food Insecurity – Based on a recent statewide survey conducted
by Hunger Free Colorado, 44% of households with children are
unable to consistently put healthy food on the table. The same survey
has shown that 1 in 6 children in Colorado are not getting adequate
nutrition because there is not enough money to purchase food.
Students from each racial or 1) Academic Acceleration and Reengagement – In 2021, the
ethnic background used by the percent of students who met or exceeded expectations decreased
State for reporting purposes – from 2019 for all race/ethnicity groups across all required tested
please add a row for each racial grades in English language arts (ELA) and math.
or ethnic group (e.g., identifying ● American Indian or Alaska Native students met or exceeded
disparities and focusing on expectations on CMAS ELA at rates of 19.4% (grade 3);
underserved student groups by 28.7% (grade 5); and 22.2% (grade 7).
race/ethnicity) ● American Indian or Alaska Native students met or exceeded
expectations on CMAS math at rates of 16.5% (grade 4);
11.5% (grade 6); and 13.6% (grade 8).
● Asian students met or exceeded expectations on CMAS ELA
at rates of 48.7% (grade 3); 61.3% (grade 5); and 63.7%
(grade 7).
● Asian students met or exceeded expectations on CMAS
math at rates of 49.1% (grade 4); 48.3% (grade 6); and
57.0% (grade 8).
● Black students met or exceeded expectations on CMAS ELA
at rates of 24.3% (grade 3); 30.6% (grade 5); and 28%
(grade 7).
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● Black students met or exceeded expectations on CMAS
math at rates of 12.8% (grade 4); 10.8% (grade 6); and
14.5% (grade 8).
● Hispanic students met or exceeded expectations on CMAS
ELA at rates of 22.1% (grade 3); 27.2% (grade 5); and
25.0% (grade 7).
● Hispanic students met or exceeded expectations on CMAS
math at rates of 12.0% (grade 4); 10.3% (grade 6); and
13.2% (grade 8).
● White students met or exceeded expectations on CMAS
ELA at rates of 48.9% (grade 3); 59.7% (grade 5); and
53.3% (grade 7).
● White students met or exceeded expectations on CMAS
math at rates of 38.0% (grade 4); 32.3% (grade 6); and
39.3% (grade 8).
● Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students met or exceeded
expectations on CMAS ELA at rates 26.3% (grade 3); 26.7%
(grade 5); and 37.2% (grade 7).
● Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students met or exceeded
expectations on CMAS math at rates of 16.4% (grade 4);
17.0% (grade 6); and 22.6% (grade 8).
● Students of two or more races met or exceeded expectations
on CMAS ELA at rates of 44.1% (grade 3); 54.0% (grade 5);
and 49.3% (grade 7).
● Students of two or more races met or exceeded expectations
on CMAS math at rates of 33.6% (grade 4); 29.0% (grade
6); and 33.9% (grade 8).
While the data above indicates the need for accelerated learning
opportunities was true across all student groups, this was specifically
true for black, Hispanic, and multiracial student groups.
● CMAS ELA: The estimated met/exceeded expectations
percentage point gaps included in the following table were
observed in spring 2021 with the white student group as the
reference group.
Grade 4 Grade 6 Grade 8
Asian 0.2 1.6* 10.4*
Black 24.6 29.1 25.3
Hispanic 26.8 32.5 28.3
Two or 4.8 5.7 4.0
more
*Comparison group out-performed reference group
● CMAS Math: The estimated met/exceeded expectations
percentage point gaps included in the following table were
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observed in spring 2021 with the white student group as the
reference group.
Grade 4 Grade 6 Grade 8
Asian 11.1* 16.0^ 17.7
Black 25.2 21.5 24.8
Hispanic 26.0 22.0 26.1
Two or 4.4 3.3 5.4
more
*Comparison group out-performed reference group
2) Food Insecurity – Based on a recent statewide survey conducted
by Hunger Free Colorado, “43% of non-white and Latinx households
are now struggling to put food on the table compared to 29% of
white Coloradans.”
Students by gender – please add 1) Academic Acceleration and Reengagement – Academic
a row for each gender (e.g., progress as measured through the 2021 assessment data shows that,
identifying disparities and for both female and male students, the proportion of students
focusing on underserved student meeting or exceeding expectations fell when compared to the same
groups by gender) grade in 2019.
● Females met or exceeded expectations on CMAS ELA in
2021 at rates of 44.2% (grade 3); 51.0% (grade 5); and
48.9% (grade 7). Females out-performed males in ELA with
approximate gaps of 6 percentage points for met/exceeded
expectations in grade 3; 7.5 percentage points in grade 5 and
11.9 percentage points in grade 7. However, the percentage
of females meeting or exceeding expectations decreased
from the last time students were tested in 2019 across all
grades, with declines ranging from about 2.7 percentage
points in grades 3 and 5 to about 6.2 percentage points in
grade 7.
● Females met or exceeded expectations on CMAS Math in
2021 at rates of 25.8% (grade 4); 22.5% (grade 6); and
29.4% (grade 8). When compared with the percent of
females who met or exceeded expectations in 2019, 2021
decreases ranged from 5.3 percentage points (grade 4) to 9.4
percentage points (grade 8).
● Males met or exceeded expectations on CMAS ELA in 2021
at rates of 36.2% (grade 3); 43.5% (grade 5); and 37.0%
(grade 7). When compared with the percent of males who
met or exceeded expectations in 2019, males in grade 5
performed consistently in 2021; however, the percent of
males meeting or exceeding expectations decreased by about
1.5 percentage points in grades 3 and 7.
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● Males met or exceeded expectations on CMAS math in 2021
at rates of 31.1% in grade 4; 25.6% in grade 6 and 29.7% in
grade 8. When compared with the percent of males who met
or exceeded expectations in 2019, decreases ranged from 4.8
to 5.5 percentage points in 2021. Males out-performed
females in grades 4 and 6 with approximate gaps of 5.3 and
3.1 percentage points for met/exceeded expectations
respectively. Males met/exceeded expectations at
approximately the same rate as females in grade 8.
English learners 1) Focus on English Language Proficiency – Preliminary English
language proficiency (ELP) growth data for 2020-21 suggests
significant declines in developing English at all grade spans:
● Elementary: Shows the biggest declines with a baseline
median growth percentile (MGP) of 32 in 2021, compared to
the 51 in 2020.
● Middle School: Shows a decline with a baseline MGP of 37
in 2021, compared to 51 in 2020.
● High School: Shows little change with a baseline MGP of 50
in 2021, compared to 51in 2020.
2) Academic Acceleration and Reengagement – Similar to other
student groups described above, English language learners need
supports to accelerate their learning as is identified in the following
assessment results:
● ELA: Approximately 44% (grade 3) to 52% (grade 5) of Native
English-speaking students met or exceeded expectations on
CMAS English Language Arts. English learners met or exceeded
expectations at rates of 10.3% (grade 3); 6.6% (grade 5); and
3.6% (grade 7) which was approximately 33.4 percentage points
(grade 3) to 45.4 percentage points (grade 5) lower than their
native English-speaking peers. When compared with the percent
of English learners who met or exceeded expectations ELA in
2019, decreases in 2021 ranged from 2.9 percentage points
(grade 5) to 4.0 percentage points (grade 7).
● Math: Approximately 26% (grade 6) to 32% (grades 4 and 8) of
native English-speaking students met or exceeded expectations
on CMAS math in 2021. English learners met or exceeded
expectations at rates of 4.2% (grade 4); 1.6% (grade 6) and 1.5%
(grade 8) which was approximately 25 (grade 6) to 31 (grade 8)
percentage points lower than their English-speaking peers. When
compared with the percent of English learners who met or
exceeded expectations in math in 2019, decreases in 2021 ranged
from 1.7 percentage points (grade 6) to 4.6 percentage points
(grade 4).
Children with disabilities 1) Academic Acceleration and Reengagement – Historically,
children and youth with disabilities have performed below their non-
disabled peers on state assessments. Due to the disruptions created
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by the pandemic, students with disabilities have been
disproportionately impacted as is evidenced by a decrease in
participation in state assessments and a continuation of significant
gaps between the number of students with disabilities meeting or
exceeding expectations on the state assessment and students without
disabilities.
2) Continuity of supports – Also, COVID related disruptions to in-
person learning have significantly interfered with delivery of some
IEP services, resulting in the need for compensatory services.
3) Extending Transition Services – For students with disabilities
who would normally have “aged out” of the K-12 support system at
the end of the 2020-2021 school year, the stakeholder engagement
process indicated there is a need for additional and/or extended
transition services due to the impacts of COVID.
Students experiencing 1) Outreach, identification, expedited enrollment and re-
homelessness engagement efforts – Verified identification numbers of students
experiencing homelessness from the 2020-21 school year are not
available to date. However, based on estimates shared by local
Colorado McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Liaisons, an
estimated 35% fewer children and youth experiencing homelessness
were identified and enrolled by Colorado public schools last school
year. The primary reason cited for lower homeless student numbers
at the start of the 2020-21 school year was the inability to identify
families/youth due to distance learning and/or school building
closures. Therefore, the pandemic seems to have significantly
exacerbated the ongoing problem of under-identification and lack of
services for homeless children and youth. Nationally, the School
House Connections organization echoes this same concern. The
organization estimates that prior to the start of the COVID-19
pandemic, schools were failing to identify an estimated 1 million
homeless children and youth. The COVID-19 pandemic has
increased this number; as a result, as many as 1.4 million homeless
K-12 children may be unidentified and unsupported by their schools.
Of note, School House Connections also found that while overall
homeless student identification and enrollment is down, the number
of children and youth experiencing homelessness has likely
increased due to the economic crisis.
Identification, outreach, and re-engagement efforts for students
experiencing homelessness are paramount in the coming school year.
2) Food Insecurity – As cited in the chart above, based on a recent
statewide survey conducted by Hunger Free Colorado, 44% of
households with children are unable to consistently put healthy food
on the table. The same survey has shown that 1 in 6 children in
Colorado are not getting adequate nutrition because there is not
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enough money to purchase food. It is estimated that this number is
much higher for children and youth experiencing homelessness.
3) Increased educational resources, community supports and
school stability – Liaisons also describe significant unmet needs
beyond access to education including lack of internet/insufficient
access to internet, shelter/housing, school transportation, mental
health supports and childcare. In order to benefit from targeted
educational protections and services, and accelerated academic
programs, children and youth experiencing homelessness must be
expeditiously connected with the critically needed school and
community supports listed above so they can participate in school
with vital basic needs met so they can be ready to learn.
Additionally, prior to the pandemic, Colorado students moved
schools more than twice their housed peers. Liaisons report this
number is increasing and expect it to continue to increase if federal
and state housing supports are decreased. When it is in their best
interest, it is imperative to keep children and youth in their school of
origin. On average it takes a student 4-6 months to academically
recover for each school move.
Children and youth in foster care 1) Re-engagement and Academic Acceleration – According to The
Impact of COVID-19 on Students in Foster Care (by Children Now),
prior to the pandemic, students in foster care fared worse than their
peers on multiple measures of educational engagement and
achievement due to the unique challenges they face. For example,
students in foster care were more than twice as likely as students
overall to be chronically absent from school during the 2018-19
school year, due to placement changes, school transfers, court
hearings, school discipline, and parental visitation.
In addition, students in foster care were more than four times as
likely as students overall to have been suspended one or more times
during the year. Further, these students were struggling to stay on
track in school, as they were far less likely to perform at grade level
in English and math compared to their peers. In the 2018-19 school
year, only 56 percent of foster youth graduated high school, nearly
30 percentage points lower than students overall (85 percent)
Unfortunately, recent studies predict that the pandemic will widen
the significant achievement gaps that already existed between
students in foster care and their peers. This means that, compared to
students not in foster care, foster youth are at disproportionate risk of
falling further behind in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years.
(Statistics above are from the Children Now report).
2) Increased school services, community supports and school
stability – The pandemic has created new barriers while, at the same
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time, exacerbating the challenges students in foster care faced prior
to COVID-19. During school closures this past school year, students
in foster care faced additional obstacles, including a lack of
technology, connectivity, and a supportive learning environment,
that made it difficult for them to fully engage in distance learning. In
a recent survey of Transitional Housing Placement for Non-Minor
Dependents (THPNMD) programs, a majority of providers reported
serving foster youth, including some in high school, who did not
have a laptop, internet, or access to tutoring during school closures.
Migratory students 1) Identifying Migrant Students – The biggest need for the migrant
program is increasing its ability to identify and recruit eligible
migrant students. The program cannot serve migrant students if CDE
cannot find them. The number of eligible migrant kids has decreased
every month since the pandemic hit in March 2020.
2) Connectivity – The second greatest need is high speed
connectivity to their communities. Many students have a device or
one can be provided to them but it is very hard to provide
connectivity.
3) Mental/Behavioral Health – The Third need is in the area of
mental and behavioral health supports that are culturally and
linguistically appropriate for the highly mobile migrant students.
Other groups of students Students in Facility Schools
identified by the State (e.g., The Facility Schools Board has provided information to CDE on the
youth involved in the criminal needs of facility school programs to provide safe learning
justice system, students who environments for students as well as additional supports to address
have missed the most in-person interruptions in learning.
instruction during the 2019-2020
and 2020-2021 school years, American Indian and Alaska Native Students
students who did not consistently Colorado has seen an increased gap in American Indian and Alaska
participate in remote instruction Native students’ academic performance, growth, and graduation rate
when offered during school which can be seen in the data presented disaggregated by student
building closures, LGBTQ+ racial and ethnic background.
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.
CDE has developed a COVID-19 Learning Impacts Toolkit to support LEAs in
responding to the impact of lost instructional time, including a response planning
section devoted to assessing students’ needs, using data-based problem solving,
engaging parents and the community, and developing a comprehensive response
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plan including strategies, benchmarks, action steps, and program monitoring. The
Toolkit includes resources for well-being and connectedness, expanded learning
opportunities, and instruction/intervention. To assist LEAs in using the response
planning guide, CDE developed and delivered the 2021 Equity and Excellence
Learning Series and support to LEAs as they implement their COVID-19 impacts
response plan using the COVID-19 Learning Impacts Toolkit. In addition, CDE
has created tools and resources to support LEAs in the continuous improvement
cycle through CDE’s Unified Improvement Planning Process.
CDE will host school and district leadership learning cohorts during the 2021-
2022 school year. The learning cohorts will be year-long opportunities for school
and district leaders to investigate a particular topic and to engage with other
leaders across the state of Colorado.
Furthermore, CDE has developed and delivered, in partnership with the Regional
Educational Laboratory-Central at Marzano Research, a series of program
evaluation training modules to support LEAs in evaluating the effectiveness of all
federally-funded programs. Additionally, over the years, CDE has enhanced its
tools and resources for LEAs on conducting comprehensive needs assessments
and using data to identify root causes of the improvement planning process.
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:
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;
Districts will be required to submit the Data Reporting Assurances to CDE that
will identify which students are participating in, and thus which schools/districts
are offering, fully remote instruction or in-person instruction.
Districts will be expected to identify and report those students who are
participating in the district’s 100% remote learning option as a result of COVID-
19 health concerns. This status will be included in the following data collections:
● 2021 Student October Count data collection; and
● 2021-22 End of Year data collection.
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The district will provide data for each school that indicates the number of whole
and partial days the entire school was forced to switch from in-person to remote
learning as a result of responding to COVID health and safety concerns. These
data will be provided through the Report Card March periodic collection within
CDE’s data collection system (called Data Pipeline).
Furthermore, schools and districts offering more than 40% of a student’s schedule
with blended learning courses and/or supplemental courses that are enrolled in a
traditional, brick-and-mortar school and that are not related to COVID health
reasons will be required to submit a variance waiver to CDE. The variance waiver
requires districts to identify how many students would be impacted by the
proposed learning model/activities, and provide the state assigned student
identifiers (SASIDs) for students participating in the proposed learning model(s).
The SASIDs for students participating in blended learning courses or
supplemental courses will provide the department the ability to determine which
schools are offering this mode of 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
Districts will be required to submit the following Data Reporting Assurances to
CDE through the mechanisms described below:
● Students who are participating in the district’s 100% remote learning
option as a result of COVID-19 health concerns. This status will be
included in the following data collections:
● 2021 Student October Count data collection; and
● 2021-2022 End of Year data collection.
● Data for each school indicating the number of whole and partial days the
entire school was forced to switch from in-person to remote learning as a
result of responding to COVID health and safety concerns through the
Report Card March periodic collection within the Data Pipeline.
● Schools and districts offering more than 40% of a student’s schedule with
blended learning courses and/or supplemental courses that are enrolled in
a traditional, brick-and-mortar school and that are not related to COVID
health reasons will be required to submit a variance waiver to CDE. The
variance waiver requires districts to identify how many students would be
impacted by the proposed learning model/activities, and provide SASIDs
for students participating in the proposed learning model(s).
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.
The Department annually collects enrollment and attendance data as part of the
Student October Count data collection. Because the state does not collect all of
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these data at the student level through legislatively mandated data collections,
CDE periodically gathers information regarding modes of instruction using
publicly available information posted on the websites of LEAs. The mode of
operations is not currently included as part of the annual collection limiting
CDE’s ability to disaggregate enrollment and attendance data by mode of
operation.
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.
CDE prepared and posted the required data, to the extent that such data were
available, on its website by June 21, 2021. However, some of the disaggregated
data is not currently available and will be added to the website as data become
available.
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.
Most Colorado schools have transitioned to in-person learning for the 2021-2022
school year. However, LEAs, in conjunction with state and local public health
officials, continue to monitor the impacts of the pandemic on their communities
and may adjust plans based on the developing circumstances. The mode of
operation for the 2020-2021 school year, to the extent that such data is available,
is attached in Table 1 of Appendix A.
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
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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;
Complete the table below, adding rows as necessary, or provide a
narrative description.
Prior to the passage of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental
Appropriations Act (CRRSA) and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act, CDE
partnered with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
(CDPHE) to provide a grant opportunity for LEAs on “Safe Schools Reopening”
Grant for any LEAs that faced challenges with reopening schools in fall of 2020.
CDE, in partnership with CDPHE and the Colorado Governor’s Office, developed
the Practical Guide for Operationalizing CDC’s School Guidance to help LEAs
ensure the safety and health of students as they transitioned back to in-person
learning beginning in the fall of 2021. The health guidance provided LEAs with
information and tools needed to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and safely
resume in-person instruction in partnership with local public health agencies,
including resources to address learning impacts, guidance on viewing cases and
outbreaks, and Health and Safety Guidelines for reopening schools. The impact of
policies and available funding for reopening schools were also outlined in the
COVID-19 Learning Impacts Toolkit.
Table B1.
Mitigation strategy SEA response
Universal and correct wearing of As part of the ARP ESSER III application for funds, CDE collected
masks the link to the LEAs’ Safe Return or Stay In-Person Plans and is
checking to make sure such plans address the CDC requirements for
Physical distancing (e.g., masks, physical distancing, hand-washing, cleaning and maintaining
including use of healthy facilities, and contact tracing.
cohorts/podding)
CDE has developed a checklist for LEAs to use to assess their own
Handwashing and respiratory plans against requirements, training has been and will continue to be
etiquette offered on planning requirements, and CDE will be providing
feedback to LEAs for how to amend or update plans to align with
Cleaning and maintaining
CDC requirements
healthy facilities, including
improving ventilation
Practical Guide for Operationalizing CDC’s School Guidance
Contact tracing in combination
with isolation and quarantine, in
collaboration with the State,
local, territorial, or Tribal health
departments
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Diagnostic and screening testing
Efforts to provide vaccinations to CDE works in close collaboration with CDPHE to disseminate
educators, other staff, and important health information to school districts. For the fall of 2021,
students, if eligible CDPHE is working to partner with schools and districts to host
vaccination clinics. Interest is being collected through an online
Vaccination Event Request Form. Furthermore, CDE is
disseminating information from CDPHE to share resources to
support educators, staff, and students who are interested in learning
where they can receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Schools also have
access to digital tools to support COVID-19 vaccine messaging
including social media graphics, print materials, and an adolescent
COVID-19 vaccine toolkit. Throughout the school year, CDPHE
will monitor disease transmission, severity, and vaccine
effectiveness trends as well as community feedback.
Appropriate accommodations for CDE developed guidance to address the individual needs of students
children with disabilities with with disabilities including the development of contingency learning
respect to the health and safety plans which would allow for a smoother transition to remote
policies instruction in the event that this was needed based on the individual
needs of a student. In addition, disability specialists from CDE’s
Office of Special Education work closely with school district staff to
support teachers in accommodating the needs of students, including
the development of appropriate accommodations to protect the
health and safety of children with disabilities.
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;
In addition to the Practical Guide for Operationalizing CDC’s School Guidance and the
Safe School Reopening Grant, CDE has been tracking the LEAs mode of
operation and providing guidance and support on using ESSER funds to resume
or sustain in-person instruction. Many of Colorado’s LEAs, particularly in rural
areas, provided in-person instruction throughout the 2020-2021 school year.
Although CDE does not have any policies requiring return to in-person
instruction, LEAs are encouraged to use ESSER funds to ensure the health and
safety of students and staff. CDE will be monitoring LEA’s Safe Return to In-
Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plans required under Section
2001(i)(1) of ARP, and the use of ESSER funds in support of such activities. CDE
will continue to offer supports to LEAs in resuming/sustaining in-person
instruction and progress monitor whether instruction is provided in-person or
remotely by adding data elements to existing collections during the 2021-2022
school year.
iii. To what extent the SEA and its LEAs consult with Federal,
State, and local health officials. This description should include,
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if available, whether the SEA and its LEAs have received
support for screening testing from their State or local health
department based on funding awarded by the CDC; and
CDE regularly partners with CDPHE in monitoring the current status of the
pandemic as it relates to schools as well as developing and disseminating
guidance and resources to support district and schools in developing policies and
processes to ensure safe return to in person learning. In addition, through funding
awarded by the CDC, CDPHE is providing a free COVID-19 school screening
testing program to LEAs to ensure that LEAs have the option to offer COVID-19
screening testing to students and staff.
iv. Any guidance, professional learning, and technical assistance
opportunities the SEA will make available to its LEAs.
Monthly training is being offered to LEAs that includes information and updates
on the recommendations and requirements for Safe Return to In-Person Plans,
multilayered prevention, and mitigation strategies, and how to respond to cases
and outbreaks in the school setting.
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;
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, emotional, mental health, and other needs,
which may include student health and food services;
iii. How the SEA will ensure that the LEA periodically reviews, no
less frequently than every six months for the duration of the
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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
iv. Describe, to the extent the SEA collects it, information about
LEA implementation, to the greatest extent practicable, of each
element of 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.
CDE’s LEA applications for funds include assurances that the LEA will continue
to provide services to students and ensure that student needs are being met. As
part of the ARP ESSER III application for funds, CDE is collecting the link to the
LEAs’ Safe Return to or Maintain In-Person Instruction and Continuity of
Services Plans. CDE has developed a checklist for LEAs to use to assess their
own plans against requirements, training has been and will continue to be offered
on planning requirements, meaningful stakeholder engagement as part of the plan
development, and CDE will be providing feedback to LEAs for how to amend or
update plans to align with CDC requirements.
CDE reviews each submitted Safe Return to In-Person Plan during the monitoring
process and provides feedback to LEAs when amendments or revisions to the plan
are necessary. CDE will require that plans be updated every 6 months and will do
random checks of plans to ensure plans are being updated as required. Training
has been provided regarding the requirements for the plans to meet CDC
requirements. These requirements will be revisited and trainings will continue
during the award period, as will periodic monitoring of plans.
During monitoring, implementation of the planned activities are reviewed and
feedback is provided to improve implementation, where appropriate.
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.
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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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.
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.
Throughout the pandemic, CDE has focused on engaging with the Colorado
education community as well as students and families to understand the needs
facing students, families, schools, and districts around the state. This included two
2020 needs inventories conducted in conjunction with the Colorado Education
Initiative (CEI), a 2019-20 COVID-19 stakeholder workgroup and a stakeholder
engagement process conducted during July 2021, in addition to CDE’s regular
stakeholder consultations with superintendents, advocacy organizations, teacher’s
cabinet, education organization leaders, district leaders, school nurses, and
legislators, among others.
First, and as noted earlier in this plan, CDE worked in collaboration with CEI, to
conduct two needs inventories in the spring and fall of 2020 to determine how to
direct state set aside funds from ESSER I and ESSER II.
In March and April 2020, the top four education supports identified as the
priorities across all regions of the state were: (1) student emotional support (52%),
(2) technical support for delivering remote learning (46%), (3) online instructional
support for teachers (41%), and (4) family engagement practices (38%).
When the assessment was conducted again in October 2020, the results indicated
that device and connectivity needs had declined since spring 2020; however,
workforce and staffing needs were a major concern for many districts throughout
Colorado. Districts reported the following as their top priorities for students: (1)
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K-3 reading loss (56% selected), (2) high school student mental health (52%), (3)
middle school mental health (41%), and (4) overall quality of virtual instruction
(37%). In terms of teacher needs, districts reported priorities for teacher mental
health (90%), teacher professional development (58%), and teacher and leader
turnover (43%).
Additionally, as part of an effort to best allocate ESSER III funding, CDE
partnered with Keystone Policy Group to conduct a stakeholder engagement
process to inform the usage of the state’s set-aside. The process included focus
groups with critical stakeholders (parents, teachers, community organizations,
teachers, principals, superintendents, educator preparation programs, advocacy
organizations, and CDE staff) as well as an online survey designed to allow other
stakeholders unable to participate in the focus groups to share their input on the
needs facing their communities and suggestions on how CDE might best use the
ESSER III funds. Finally, additional feedback was submitted or provided by
stakeholders (including from legislators, advocacy groups, and CDE staff)
through formal proposals or during conversations outside of but during the same
timeframe as the formal stakeholder engagement process. Stakeholders were
notified through a variety of channels including social media, newsletters,
listservs, and, where feasible, direct email communication.
This entire stakeholder engagement process, including the proposals and
conversations noted above, resulted in a formal report, Colorado Department of
Education ESSER Funds Listening Tour: Listening & Learning to Inform CDE
Strategy, in which the consultant summarized findings while also providing the
unedited notes from focus groups and the unedited proposals/suggestions
provided outside the focus group and survey process. The findings indicated five
high-level priority areas for the state’s districts, schools, teachers and students: (1)
Focusing on the academic recovery from students including English language
learners, students with special needs, and students who were disproportionately
impacted by the pandemic; (2) Ensuring the physical, emotional and mental well-
being of students; (3) Providing resources, training and professional development
for the state’s educator workforce; (4) Supporting the emotional and mental well-
being of educators; and (5) Ensuring schools and students have the technological
resources and supports necessary for implementing and accessing hybrid/remote
instruction.
CDE took the time to review all avenues of stakeholder engagement, consider the
suggestions and priorities in light of the other work occurring in districts and
communities across the state, and drafted considerations for review by and
feedback from the State Board of Education (SBE). The draft considerations,
along with the full report submitted by Keystone Policy Group, were submitted
and presented to the SBE on August 12, 2021. The board discussed the
considerations in light of the feedback members had received from their
constituencies. CDE took the feedback provided by SBE during that meeting and
revised the considerations which were then approved by the SBE on August 24,
25
2021.
Additional detail regarding CDE’s engagement strategies for specific stakeholder
groups can be found in the table below:
Stakeholder Group Detail of Consultation
Students As detailed above, CDE’s stakeholder engagement strategy employed in July 2021 was
focused on gathering feedback from a broad spectrum of Colorado education stakeholders.
This included specific focus groups held with each of the following groups: parents,
teachers, community organizations, students, school leaders, district superintendents,
educator preparation programs, advocacy organizations, and CDE staff. Additionally, CDE
launched a feedback survey that allowed any Colorado education stakeholder, including
students unable to participate in the focus groups, to provide feedback on how best to use the
ESSER state reserves. These opportunities were shared through CDE’s regular newsletters
and listservs, the state-level education service organizations, the K-12 education advocacy
organizations, and social media.
Tribal Nations As detailed above, CDE’s stakeholder engagement strategy employed in July 2021 was
focused on gathering feedback from a broad spectrum of Colorado education stakeholders.
This included specific focus groups held with each of the following groups: parents,
teachers, community organizations, students, school leaders, district superintendents,
educator preparation programs, advocacy organizations, and CDE staff. Additionally, CDE
launched a feedback survey that allowed any Colorado education stakeholder, including
representatives from tribal nations unable to participate in the focus groups, to provide
feedback on how best to use the ESSER state reserves. These opportunities were shared
through CDE’s regular newsletters and listservs, the state-level education service
organizations, the K-12 education advocacy organizations, and social media.
CDE is a member of the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs (CCIA) which has met
biweekly since October 2020 to understand and support the pandemic-related education
concerns and needs of the Colorado tribal nations. In addition, a spring 2021 meeting of the
Colorado Indian Education Stakeholders included a discussion of how districts are using/can
use their ESSER funds which provided information as to how CDE can best complement the
pandemic recovery work of tribal nations.
Additionally, CDE continues to engage with the Tribal Nations to understand their needs and
will be holding an annual state-tribal consultation with leadership from CDE and leadership
with Colorado’s federally recognized tribes later in October 2021 to discuss specific
education needs, as well as identify areas for collaboration and support.
Civil rights As detailed above, CDE’s stakeholder engagement strategy employed in July 2021 was
organizations, focused on gathering feedback from a broad spectrum of Colorado education stakeholders.
including disability This included specific focus groups held with each of the following groups: parents,
rights teachers, community organizations, students, school leaders, district superintendents,
educator preparation programs, advocacy organizations, and CDE staff. Additionally, CDE
launched a feedback survey that allowed any Colorado education stakeholder, including
representatives from civil rights organizations unable to participate in the focus groups, to
provide feedback on how best to use the ESSER state reserves. These opportunities were
shared through CDE’s regular newsletters and listservs, the state-level education service
organizations, the K-12 education advocacy organizations (which includes the state’s local
Arc chapters which are focused on promoting and protecting the human rights of people with
disabilities), and social media.
26
Charter school As detailed above, CDE’s stakeholder engagement strategy employed in July 2021 was
leadership focused on gathering feedback from a broad spectrum of Colorado education stakeholders.
This included specific focus groups held with each of the following groups: parents,
teachers, community organizations, students, school leaders (including charter school
leaders), district superintendents (including charter network leaders), educator preparation
programs, advocacy organizations, and CDE staff. Additionally, CDE launched a feedback
survey that allowed any Colorado education stakeholder, including representatives from
charter school leadership unable to participate in the focus groups, to provide feedback on
how best to use the ESSER state reserves. These opportunities were shared through CDE’s
regular newsletters and listservs (including our charter listservs), the state-level education
service organizations, the K-12 education advocacy organizations (which includes
organizations representing the charter sector such as the Colorado Association of Charter
School Authorizers, the Charter School Institute, and the Colorado League of Charter
Schools), and social media.
Unions As detailed above, CDE’s stakeholder engagement strategy employed in July 2021 was
focused on gathering feedback from a broad spectrum of Colorado education stakeholders.
This included specific focus groups held with each of the following groups: parents,
teachers, community organizations, students, school leaders, district superintendents,
educator preparation programs, advocacy organizations, and CDE staff. Additionally, CDE
launched a feedback survey that allowed any Colorado education stakeholder, including
representatives from unions and their members unable to participate in the focus groups, to
provide feedback on how best to use the ESSER state reserves. These opportunities were
shared through CDE’s regular newsletters and listservs, the state-level education service
organizations (which includes the state-level teachers union), the K-12 education advocacy
organizations, and social media.
Stakeholders for As detailed above, CDE’s stakeholder engagement strategy employed in July 2021 was
children with focused on gathering feedback from a broad spectrum of Colorado education stakeholders.
disabilities This included specific focus groups held with each of the following groups: parents,
teachers, community organizations, students, school leaders, district superintendents,
educator preparation programs, advocacy organizations, and CDE staff. Additionally, CDE
launched a feedback survey that allowed any Colorado education stakeholder, including
stakeholders for children with disabilities unable to participate in the focus groups, to
provide feedback on how best to use the ESSER state reserves. These opportunities were
shared through CDE’s regular newsletters and listservs, the state-level education service
organizations, the K-12 education advocacy organizations (which includes the state’s local
Arc chapters which are focused on promoting and protecting the human rights of people with
disabilities), and social media.
Stakeholders for As detailed above, CDE’s stakeholder engagement strategy employed in July 2021 was
English learners focused on gathering feedback from a broad spectrum of Colorado education stakeholders.
This included specific focus groups held with each of the following groups: parents,
teachers, community organizations, students, school leaders, district superintendents,
educator preparation programs, advocacy organizations, and CDE staff. Spanish-language
interpretation was available for the parent, community organization, and student focus
groups. Additionally, CDE launched a feedback survey (available in both English and
Spanish) that allowed any Colorado education stakeholder, including stakeholders for
English language learners unable to participate in the focus groups, to provide feedback on
how best to use the ESSER state reserves. These opportunities were shared through CDE’s
regular newsletters and listservs, the state-level education service organizations, the K-12
education advocacy organizations (which includes organizations focused on advocating for
the rights and opportunities for English language learners), and social media.
27
Stakeholders for As detailed above, CDE’s stakeholder engagement strategy employed in July 2021 was
homeless children focused on gathering feedback from a broad spectrum of Colorado education stakeholders.
and children in This included specific focus groups held with each of the following groups: parents,
foster care. teachers, community organizations, students, school leaders, district superintendents,
educator preparation programs, advocacy organizations, and CDE staff. Additionally, CDE
launched a feedback survey that allowed any Colorado education stakeholder, including
stakeholders for homeless children and children in foster care unable to participate in the
focus groups, to provide feedback on how best to use the ESSER state reserves. These
opportunities were shared through CDE’s regular newsletters and listservs, the state-level
education service organizations, the K-12 education advocacy organizations, and social
media.
Additionally, CDE has worked to engage in multiple avenues of stakeholder engagement for
homeless children and children in foster care. This includes:
● Discussing and obtaining feedback from school district and BOCES McKinney-
Vento Homeless Education Liaisons and Child Welfare Education Liaisons;
● Attending ESSER/ESEA office hours with district staff to share funding
opportunities for foster and homeless students and get feedback specific to ESSER
for the educational needs of homeless and foster students;
● Presenting at the statewide Rural Alliance meetings and other leadership groups on
ESSER and education for homeless/foster students;
● Connecting and partnering with other state agencies and community-based
organizations; and
● Adding ESSER information to back-to-school webinars, new McKinney-Vento and
Child Welfare Education Liaison orientations and meetings of subgrantees.
Stakeholders for As detailed above, CDE’s stakeholder engagement strategy employed in July 2021 was
migratory children focused on gathering feedback from a broad spectrum of Colorado education stakeholders.
This included specific focus groups held with each of the following groups: parents,
teachers, community organizations, students, school leaders, district superintendents,
educator preparation programs, advocacy organizations, and CDE staff. Additionally, CDE
launched a feedback survey that allowed any Colorado education stakeholder, including
stakeholders for migratory children unable to participate in the focus groups, to provide
feedback on how best to use the ESSER state reserves. These opportunities were shared
through CDE’s regular newsletters and listservs, the state-level education service
organizations, the K-12 education advocacy organizations (which includes organizations
focused on advocating for the rights and opportunities for immigrant children such as Padres
& Jóvenes Unidos), and social media.
Stakeholders for As detailed above, CDE’s stakeholder engagement strategy employed in July 2021 was
children who are focused on gathering feedback from a broad spectrum of Colorado education stakeholders.
incarcerated This included specific focus groups held with each of the following groups: parents,
teachers, community organizations, students, school leaders, district superintendents,
educator preparation programs, advocacy organizations, and CDE staff. Additionally, CDE
launched a feedback survey that allowed any Colorado education stakeholder, including
stakeholders for children who are incarcerated unable to participate in the focus groups, to
provide feedback on how best to use the ESSER state reserves. These opportunities were
shared through CDE’s regular newsletters and listservs, the state-level education service
organizations, the K-12 education advocacy organizations (which includes organizations
such as Padres & Jóvenes Unidos which, among their issue portfolio, has focused ending the
school-to-prison pipeline), and social media.
Stakeholders for As detailed above, CDE’s stakeholder engagement strategy employed in July 2021 was
underserved focused on gathering feedback from a broad spectrum of Colorado education stakeholders.
28
students This included specific focus groups held with each of the following groups: parents,
teachers, community organizations, students, school leaders, district superintendents,
educator preparation programs, advocacy organizations, and CDE staff. Additionally, CDE
launched a feedback survey that allowed any Colorado education stakeholder to provide
feedback on how best to use the ESSER state reserves. These opportunities were shared
through CDE’s regular newsletters and listservs, the state-level education service
organizations, the K-12 education advocacy organizations (which includes organizations
focused on advocating for the rights and opportunities for a broad spectrum of students), and
social media.
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);
Complete the table below or provide a narrative description.
ESSER I funds were prioritized for providing devices, infrastructure, staffing, and
other resources needed to provide remote instruction, as well as providing meals
during school closures. With ESSER II funds, the priorities shifted from
addressing immediate needs associated with the pandemic to preparing for in-
person instruction, providing summer programming, and creating safe learning
environments for students. For example, although 18% of the ESSER I funds
were used for providing remote supports, that percentage dropped to 12% under
ESSER II. Conversely, spending funds on activities related to resuming in-person
instruction rose from 10% under ESSER I to 18% of ESSER II funds.
With ESSER II, CDE’s guidance and application review included a focus on
addressing the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on student groups.
During weekly office hours, CDE has provided LEAs guidance on identifying the
needs of students and groups and using ESSER funds to support the academic,
social, and emotional needs of students as they recover from the effects of the
pandemic. Separate trainings were provided on the types of activities that can be
funded with ESSER I and II funds in support of English Learners, students with
disabilities, students experiencing homelessness, children and youth in foster care,
and migratory students.
29
Additionally, ESSER I and II state reserve funds have been set aside and targeted
for supporting and addressing the needs of students with disabilities and Native
American students who have been significantly impacted by the pandemic.
Funding was provided to districts that serve Native American students and
directly to Tribal Nations. BOCES also received funding to provide direct
services to students with disabilities. A portion of the state reserve funds were
earmarked for providing online courses so that students in rural and remote areas
could benefit from online options to supplement in-person learning. For a
complete distribution of state reserve funds for specific student groups, please
visit CDE’s ESSER I and ESSER II webpages.
Colorado was awarded approximately $44 million in funding under the
Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER I) under the CARES Act.
Governor Jared Polis created the Response, Innovation, and Student Equity
(RISE) Education Fund to provide nearly $33 million in grants to education
organizations to support regional partnerships and initiatives that drove equity and
innovation in response to the pandemic. Additionally, the Governor provided
funding to support the integration of technology in education and educator
recruitment and retention efforts. CDE has worked closely with Governor Polis
and his staff to determine the usage of GEER II funding under the CRRSA Act.
Due to the success of the first round of the Response, Innovation, and Student
Equity (RISE) program, approximately $9 million of GEER II funds was used to
conduct a second round of competitive RISE grants, with a focus on equity,
innovation, and statewide representation. Approximately $9.4 million of GEER II
funds was directed to building extended learning opportunities and addressing
expanded learning gaps through the creation of the Colorado Tutoring Corps, a
program within AmeriCorps. This program will provide high-impact tutoring
services to K-12 students across the state. CDE continues to work closely with
Governor Polis to ensure a strategic use of any remaining GEER funds.
Table C1.
Funding source Prior/current SEA and LEA uses Planned SEA and LEA uses
(including funding amounts, if (including funding amounts, if
applicable) applicable)
ESSER I (CARES Act) Please see the narrative above.
GEER I (CARES Act)
ESSER II (CRRSA Act)
GEER II (CRRSA Act)
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 the total dollar amounts of ESSER I
30
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 I
Grantee Award Amount Awarded By Amount Obligated by June 7, 2021
90% allocations to LEAs $108,894,404 12/31/20 CDE does not track LEAs’ obligation of
funds.
BOCES for supporting $750,000 12/31/20 CDE does not track LEAs’ obligation of
students with disabilities funds.
Colorado Tribes $70,000 12/31/20 CDE does not track LEAs’ obligation of
funds.
Districts with Native $320,000 12/31/20 CDE does not track LEAs’ obligation of
American students funds.
Districts that did not receive or $1,500,000 12/31/20 CDE does not track LEAs’ obligation of
received a small allocation funds.
from the 90%
Districts, BOCES, and Tribes $1,300,000 12/31/20 CDE does not track LEAs’ obligation of
for connectivity to broadband funds.
BOCES for online courses to $3,000,000 5/7/21 CDE does not track LEAs’ obligation of
supplement in-person funds.
instruction
Facility Schools $584,400 5/7/21 CDE does not track LEAs’ obligation of
funds.
ESSER II
Grantee Award Amount Awarded By Amount Obligated by June 7, 2021
90% allocations to LEAs $467,391,880 9/30/21 CDE does not track LEAs’ obligation of
funds.
Districts and BOCES for $7,697,837 9/30/21 CDE does not track LEAs’ obligation of
supporting students with funds.
disabilities
Colorado Tribes $280,000 9/30/21 CDE does not track LEAs’ obligation of
funds.
Districts with Native $1,286,800 9/30/21 CDE does not track LEAs’ obligation of
American students funds.
Districts that did not receive or $5,723,543 9/30/21 CDE does not track LEAs’ obligation of
received a small allocation funds.
from the 90%
31
BOCES for operation and $1,767,000 9/30/21 CDE does not track LEAs’ obligation of
supporting brick and mortar funds.
schools
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, 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
CDE assigns a department staff member to serve as an ESEA Regional Contact
and a Support Coordinator for each LEA. These staff support the LEAs’ plan
development and leveraging of various funding streams to best meet local needs
based on the results of a comprehensive needs assessment. CDE has devoted
several Regional Networking Meetings and weekly office hours to support LEAs
in planning and leveraging the use of funds to best meet identified needs. CDE
encourages LEAs to first identify and prioritize needs, and then determine which
funding source can be used to effectively address the identified needs. Resources,
such as the Funding Matrix, have been used to guide these conversations. ESEA
Regional Contacts provide expertise on allowable and intended uses of funds
under ESSA and Support Coordinators facilitate conversations with various units
at CDE who oversee IDEA, WIOA, McKinney-Vento, and other available
funding streams that might be able to help meet identified needs.
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.
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.
32
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:
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;
Uses identified by CDE for these funds to support evidence-based interventions to
address the academic impact of lost instructional time as provided for under
section 2001(f)(1) of the ARP Act are:
● High-dosage tutoring and Expanded Learning Opportunities– An
intervention strategy backed by a significant body of evidence, Colorado
House Bill 21-1234 established a new program within CDE to provide
funding for high-dosage tutoring programs within Colorado schools. CDE
will use ESSER set-aside funding under the ARP Act to expand the
program beyond the funding provided in the state program and ensure that
such tutoring is available to a larger contingent of students across the state.
This could include partnering with districts, institutions of higher
education, and community organizations in the development of a tutoring
corps that would bring the tutoring services into schools. Similarly, an
expanded learning opportunities (ELO) grant program will be created to
provide funding for evidence-based afterschool and summer programs.
Eligible applicants include: public local education providers, public
libraries, Colorado community-based organizations, Indian tribes or tribal
organizations, or institutions of higher education or other public
agencies/entities. CDE will prioritize ELO applicants which identify and
describe an action plan to engage student populations which have been
most impacted by the pandemic, including students from low-income
families, children with disabilities, students with limited English
proficiency, racial and ethnic minorities, migrant students, students
experiencing homelessness, foster care youth, highly mobile students,
students who have become disengaged from school and/or dropped out of
school (out-of-school youth), students who may be at risk for academic
failure and/or at a high risk of dropping out, and/or other students
disproportionately affected by the pandemic (as demonstrated by
description and evidence provided by the applicant). Additionally, CDE
will prioritize rural and small rural school districts, applicants with clearly
identified evidence-based outcomes related to accelerating learning or
33
increasing student achievement in English Language Arts, Mathematics,
and/or English language proficiency, and applicants which include
programs and activities for students and their families.
● 21st Century Community Learning Centers - CDE will use ESSER set-
aside funding under the ARP Act to expand opportunities for the Nita M.
Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers which provide
opportunities for academic enrichment; offer students a broad array of
additional service, programs, and activities; and offer families of students
opportunities for active and meaningful engagement in their children’s
education. (Colorado has invested ESSER I and II funds into this program
already.)
● High-quality curricular and instructional materials – Having access to
high-quality, standards-aligned curricular materials and the instructional
resources necessary for implementing them are key components for
student success. CDE is aware that many schools and districts around the
state have not had the capacity to purchase those for their students. As
such, CDE will use a portion of ESSER set-aside funding to ensure that
districts have access to such curricular and instructional materials to
accelerate student learning. To meet the needs identified by Colorado
LEAs, CDE is using funds from all three ESSERs to fund high-quality
curricular and instructional materials. To accelerate learning recovery
from the COVID-19 pandemic, CDE will use ESSER funds to reimburse
districts for the purchase of eligible high-quality mathematics curricula
and K-3 ELA curricula. CDE will prioritize those LEAs which have
demonstrated academic need (based on recent state or local assessment
data) and have a high percentage (based on exceeding the statewide
enrollment percentages) of students in one or more of the following
underserved student groups: students qualifying for free-and-reduced
lunch, students with disabilities, English-language learners, and high
percentages of Black or African American, Hispanic/Latino, and/or
American Indian or Alaska Native students. CDE will also prioritize
districts which are designated as rural or small rural, and those LEAs
which served students who spent more than 50% of the 2020-21 school
year in remote learning or are designated with a Priority Improvement or
Turnaround plan (based on 2021 designations).
● Professional learning – High-quality instructional practice, especially
when aligned with high-quality curricular and instructional materials, is
another key component in student success. As the field of education
continues to evolve, it is essential that the educator workforce is provided
with professional learning opportunities that will support their professional
growth and prepare them with skills and knowledge necessary to support
the academic, social, emotional, and mental health of Colorado’s students.
For this reason, CDE will use a portion of ESSER set-aside funding
towards making targeted professional learning modules and other
professional learning opportunities available to districts, schools, and
teachers.
34
● Recruitment and retention of the educator workforce – No amount of
student growth would occur without the presence, expertise, and efforts of
educators and school support staff. However, as noted in Table F1 below,
recruitment and retention of the educator workforce is a concern that,
while present in Colorado prior to the pandemic, has only been
exacerbated throughout the past school year. In an effort to help bring
high-quality educators into schools most impacted by this shortage and
retain educators in those same schools, CDE will use a portion of ESSER
set-aside funding to create opportunities that encourage preservice
educators to enter the workforce, recruit high-quality educators to
Colorado schools, and establish mentoring retention programs that provide
support to new-to-service educators while also providing professional
growth opportunities for experienced educators. Other retention strategies
currently being piloted in the state will also be supported. For instance, an
interagency agreement has been created with the Colorado Center for
Rural Education (CCRE) at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) to
create a Substitute Pool Expansion Program to expand the substitute pool
for Colorado LEAs by reimbursing individuals up to $300 for the cost for
background checks, application fees, and compensation for attending a
Substitute Bootcamp at UNC. CCRE already has established processes,
procedures, and FTE available to begin issuing and managing the
Substitute Pool Expansion Program to fulfill the immediate need for
substitutes currently in the state of Colorado due to teacher absences
related to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Also, as described in
more detail in Section F, Part 1(iii), CDE is working in partnership with
the Lt. Governor’s office on expanding the AmeriCorps program in
Colorado as both a tutor and future teacher pipeline.
● Empowering Action for School Improvement (EASI) Grants – The
best evidence-based pathway(s) for improving schools requires a
thoughtful analysis of the needs of the school, the causes precipitating
those needs, and connecting funding to the right evidence-based
practice(s) for addressing those causes. With the impact of the pandemic
on student learning, CDE is anticipating that schools with performance
challenges prior to the pandemic have been disproportionately impacted
by the pandemic. Already in place, the EASI grant program allows CDE to
support eligible schools in exploring potential supports to meet their
schoolwide improvement needs, applying for an existing CDE service for
school improvement, funding the implementation of a program operated
by the district, and/or piloting new school improvement support programs.
CDE will use a portion of the ESSER set-aside funding to expand the
monies available through this program to address the impact of the
pandemic on student academic achievement, well-being, and health.
● Supplemental Funding for Districts that received little or no funding
under the 90%, BOCES, Special Education Administrative Units,
Tribal Nations, Facility Schools, and other High-Risk Populations –
Some Colorado school districts, BOCES and Tribal Nations received little
35
or no ESSER III LEA relief funding based on Title I allocations, but still
have high proportions of at-risk students. CDE has determined that a
portion of ESSER III funding set aside for state-level activities will go to
these entities to, among others, support Native American students and
students with special needs. This will help to ensure that the intent behind
the 90% of ESSER funds dedicated to high-need students to address the
pandemic impacts is met in Colorado.
● Career Connected Learning – The creation of career-connected learning
pathways and opportunities is a resource-intensive endeavor that Colorado
districts have not always had the capacity to undertake. Stakeholders from
across the state have indicated this as a critical need for student
engagement and success, given the impacts of the pandemic. As such,
CDE will use a portion of the ESSER set-aside funds to support the
creation of new career and technical education (CTE) programs including
the creation of collaborative partnerships among Colorado’s rural districts.
Online Learning – As a result of school closures during COVID-19, the
demand for online courses has increased significantly. However, the
majority of supplemental programs available to districts are asynchronous
and force students to learn independently. A portion of ESSER set-aside
funds will be used for expanding the capacity of Colorado’s statewide
supplemental online program by developing synchronous online courses to
offer to systems and students in need of live teacher-pupil instruction
through a virtual environment.
● Technical Assistance and Communication – Although CDE will be
providing technical assistance and communication supports, CDE is not
anticipating using funds under section 2001(f)(1) of the ARP Act to
support evidence-based interventions to address the academic impact of
lost instructional time.
SEA uses of state reserve under section 2001(f)(1) -- Academic Impact of Lost Instructional Time
State Plan Distribution
Program Description Eligibility
Category Mechanism
This expands the
Colorado state
program that funds
high-impact tutoring
High-Dosage High-Impact
programs to support Grant Program All Colorado LEAs.
Tutoring Tutoring Program
the acceleration of
student learning
coming out of the
pandemic.
A grant program will be
created to support
expanded learning All LEPs and
High-Dosage Expanded Learning
opportunities that Grant Program Colorado nonprofit
Tutoring Opportunities
leverage evidence- organizations.
based interventions to
support accelerating
36
student learning
(including high-dosage
tutoring) through
programs during the
traditional school day,
before- and
afterschool, during the
summer, and other
out-of-school time.
ESSER II funds added
16 21st Century
Community Learning
Center grantees
overseeing 33 school-
Expanded Nita M. Lowey 21st All LEPs and
based centers for two
Learning Century Community Grant Program Colorado nonprofit
years to provide Out-
Opportunities Learning Centers organizations.
of-School Time
programming. ESSER
III funds will expand
that programming for
an additional year.
A grant program will be
created to support
High-quality districts in the
Curricula and
curricular and purchase of high-
Instructional Grant Program All Colorado LEAs.
instructional quality K-8 math
Materials
materials curricula and K-3 ELA
curricula and
instructional programs.
This program will
involve both a
competitive grant
program as well as
technical assistance to
offer professional
learning to Colorado
educators. Topic areas
include: academic
acceleration in literacy
and math, supports for
English language Grant Program
Professional Professional
learners, trauma- and Technical All Colorado LEAs.
Learning Learning
informed instructional Assistance
practices, practices for
improving school
climate, and leveraging
district-wide strategic
planning to accelerate
student learning.
Additionally,
competitive grants will
be awarded for a pilot
program for rural
school districts to train
37
veteran math
educators to develop
and provide
professional
development to
colleagues.
Funding to support
AmeriCorps in creating
a Colorado tutoring
corps to provide LEAs
and those running
tutoring programs with Interagency
Recruitment
the tutors necessary Agreement with
and Retention
Tutoring Corps for the programmatic Lt. Governor's All Colorado LEAs.
of the Educator
success. Additionally, Office
Workforce
this program will (AmeriCorps).
support tutors in
accessing alternative
licensure program(s) in
order to expand the
educator workforce.
Funding to Interagency
compensate Agreement with
Recruitment individuals to spend
the University of
and Retention Substitute Pool the time to complete
Northern All Colorado LEAs.
of the Educator Expansion Program the teacher licensing
Workforce application and to Colorado
attend CDE’s
Substitute Boot Camp.
This program will
provide mentoring to
new-to-service
educators so as to
offer supports available
to those educators,
strengthen student All Colorado LEAs.
Recruitment achievement, and Eligible educators are
Early-Service
and Retention increase long-term Grant Program & those who started
Educator Mentoring
of the Educator educator retention. Contract their teaching career
Program
Workforce Additionally, a third- during or just prior to
party will be contracted the pandemic.
to create mentor
training curriculum and
support materials to
further enhance the
skills of mentor
teachers.
The EASI grant Districts and schools
Empowering program allows CDE to designated as (1)
Action for support eligible Grant Program & Comprehensive
School EASI Grants schools in exploring Technical Support and
Improvement potential supports to Assistance Improvement (CS)
(EASI) Grants meet their schoolwide and Targeted Support
improvement needs, and Improvement
38
applying for an existing (TS), Additional
CDE service for school Targeted Support and
improvement, funding Improvement (A-TS)
the implementation of under ESSA, and (2)
a program operated by Priority Improvement
the district, and/or Turnaround or Watch
piloting new school through the state
improvement support accountability system
programs. Additionally,
CDE will provide
professional learning
opportunities and
technical assistance to
schools and districts to
support
implementation of their
school improvement
efforts.
Funding is provided to
(A) LEAs receiving
Supplemental little or no funding
Funding for through the LEA 90%
Districts, allocation; (B)
BOCES, Funding to increase Direct grants to Colorado BOCES; (C)
Special Supplemental the reach and impact eligible local Colorado's tribal
Education, Funding of the LEA 90% education nations; (D) students
Tribal Nations, allocation. providers. in Colorado's facility
and other High- schools and detention
Risk centers; and (E)
Populations Administrative Unit’s
for students with
disabilities.
Strengthening student
engagement in
Two or more rural
learning through
Career- districts working
development of career-
Connected Rural Coaction Grant Program together on career-
connected learning
Learning connected learning
opportunities in
opportunities.
Colorado's rural
districts.
Funding will be used to
expand the capacity of
Colorado’s statewide
supplemental online
program by developing
synchronous online Colorado River
Online Learning Online Learning Grant Program
courses to offer to BOCES
systems and students
in need of live teacher-
pupil instruction
through a virtual
environment
39
To aid schools, districts, and BOCES in finding a start point for responding to the
unprecedented challenges raised by the pandemic, recovering from the
considerable loss of learning opportunities, and supporting them in strengthening
collaboration with students and families, CDE launched the Learning Impacts
Toolkit. This set of resources provides guidance to local leaders in establishing
response plans, identifying potential evidence-based interventions, and
considering how to approach funding identified programs. CDE intends to
continue evaluating this toolkit, exploring opportunities for expansion, and
encouraging LEAs to use this when applying for any of the funding opportunities
offered by CDE through the ESSER set-aside funding.
With all opportunities funded under this section, CDE will apply the evidence-
based definitions as established in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESEA
Section 1111(d)) when evaluating applications for funding. Specifically, programs
funded under these funding opportunities will be required to demonstrate their
effectiveness at improving outcomes for the student populations they propose to
serve as defined within one of four tiers:
● Tier 1 – “strong evidence from at least 1 well-designed and well-
implemented experimental study”;
● Tier 2 – “moderate evidence from at least 1 well-designed and well-
implemented quasi-experimental study”;
● Tier 3 – “promising evidence from at least 1 well-designed and well-
implemented correlational study with statistical controls for bias”; and
● Tier 4 – “demonstrates a rationale based on high-quality research findings
or positive evaluation that such activity, strategy, or intervention is likely
to improve student outcomes or other relevant outcomes.”
CDE is using administrative funds to fund a Data & Evaluation position to
disseminate evidence-based promising practices to the Colorado education
community and to ensure that ESSER-funded programs report on outcomes, as
required by the USDE. All planned CDE ESSER expenditures are tied directly to
the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on our state's population to address the
resulting needs. As such, this position will measure the impact of those programs,
in order to better serve students with the greatest needs resulting from the
pandemic.
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
40
CDE is initiating a planning process to review the most recent data to identify the
student populations most impacted by the pandemic. The data to be considered
includes:
● Colorado READ Act Assessments – Grades K through 3;
● Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) – Grades 3, 5, and 7
for English Language Arts/Literacy and Grades 4, 6, and 8 for
Mathematics;
● Colorado Alternate Assessment (CoAlt) – Grades 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, and 11 for
English Language Arts and Grades 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11 for Mathematics;
● PSAT and SAT – Grades 9 through 11; and
● Attendance data (when it is available).
Through this planning process, CDE staff and, as appropriate, community
stakeholders will focus on which students were most impacted over the past 18
months, consider what programs would best meet the needs of those students in
accelerating learning and increasing engagement for them, and focus
programming accordingly. For funding opportunities, applications will strongly
encourage that programs focus on the students identified as being most in need
and describe how the program is specifically designed to meet their needs. In
addition, the process for reviewing and approving programs under these funding
opportunities will prioritize programs that address the needs of student groups
identified in the process 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.
CDE is prioritizing students impacted by the pandemic through the grant
programs funded under this section. Through our grant programs, applications
from LEAs/organizations that serve or will focus resources on students who
received more than 50% of their instruction in the 2020-2021 school year via
remote instruction, students from historically underserved racial and ethnic
backgrounds, youth experiencing homelessness, foster youth, and students with
disabilities, among others, generally receive priority points through the scoring
rubrics. Applicants can use LEA attendance data, local and statewide assessments,
as well as other data maintained locally to demonstrate the impact of the
pandemic on students served.
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
41
respond to students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs.
The description must include:
In an effort to streamline and simplify the processes for applicants, CDE is
aligning the requirements for summer learning and enrichment (as described in
Section D, Part 2, of this plan) with the requirements for comprehensive
afterschool programming (as described in Section D, Part 3, of this plan). This is
done in alignment with Colorado House Bill 21-1259 requiring that CDE “create
a streamlined process for local education providers to access funding for extended
learning opportunities based on the specific needs of the local education
provider.” For this reason, the content is replicated in both sections. However,
CDE will, through coding within any funding application(s), carefully track the
funding distributed through this streamlined process as applicable to the required
uses under Section D, Part 2, or Section D, Part 3.
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;
CDE is leveraging programs under sections 2001(f)(2) and 2001(f)(3) of the ARP
Act to address the first two goals as outlined in Section A, Part 1: (1) supporting
academic acceleration for students most impacted by the pandemic with a focus
on math and literacy for students in grades K-8, and (2) expanding learning
opportunities to strengthen student engagement in learning in both the traditional
school day and beyond. To ensure that funding is made available as quickly as
possible, CDE has prioritized the usage of existing funding and programming
mechanisms while considering any potential barriers that exist for reaching
prioritized student populations.
SEA uses of state reserve under section 2001(f)(2) -- Evidence-Based Summer Learning and
Enrichment Programs
State Plan Distribution
Program Eligibility
Category Mechanism
A grant program will be created to
support expanded learning
opportunities that leverage evidence-
based interventions to support All LEPs and
Expanded Expanded
accelerating student learning Grant Colorado
Learning Learning
(including high-dosage tutoring) Program nonprofit
Opportunities Opportunities
through programs during the organizations.
traditional school day, before- and
afterschool, during the summer, and
other out-of-school time.
Expanded Nita M. Lowey ESSER II funds added 16 21st
Grant All LEPs and
Learning 21st Century Century Community Learning Center
Program Colorado
Opportunities Community grantees overseeing 33 school-based
42
Learning centers for two years to provide Out- nonprofit
Centers of-School Time programming. organizations.
ESSER III funds will expand that
programming for an additional year.
Eligible uses identified by CDE for these funds include:
● Extending high-dosage tutoring programs as described in Section D, Part
1, beyond the confines of the traditional school day.
● Expanded opportunities for the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community
Learning Centers which provide opportunities for academic enrichment;
offer students a broad array of additional service, programs, and activities;
and offer families of students opportunities for active and meaningful
engagement in their children’s education. (Colorado has invested ESSER I
and II funds into this program already.)
● Additional partnerships between districts and Community-Based
Organizations (CBOs) to provide academically enriching programming
outside the traditional school day to foster increased student engagement
in school.
● School-based summer academies or similar programming designed to
accelerate learning and avoid summer learning loss.
● Evidence-based summer programming that addresses the academic, social,
emotional, and mental health needs of students.
● Evidence-based programming that utilizes outside of school time (OST)
such as before-school, after-school, and fifth day (for four-day week
districts).
As referenced earlier, CDE created a suite of resources within the Learning
Impacts Toolkit to support schools, districts, and BOCES in finding a start point
for responding to the pandemic. This set of resources includes specific supports
for expanded learning opportunities including resources for restructuring the
school day (scheduling core and intervention time), extending the school day,
week and/or year, and summer learning. CDE intends to continue evaluating this
toolkit, exploring opportunities for expansion, and encouraging LEAs to use this
when applying for any of the funding opportunities offered by CDE through the
ESSER set-aside funding.
With all opportunities funded under this section, CDE will apply the evidence-
based definitions as established in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESEA
Section 1111(d)) when evaluating applications for funding. Specifically, programs
funded under these funding opportunities will be required to demonstrate their
effectiveness at improving outcomes for the student populations they propose to
serve as defined within one of four tiers:
● Tier 1 – “strong evidence from at least 1 well-designed and well-
implemented experimental study”;
43
● Tier 2 – “moderate evidence from at least 1 well-designed and well-
implemented quasi-experimental study”;
● Tier 3 – “promising evidence from at least 1 well-designed and well-
implemented correlational study with statistical controls for bias”; and
● Tier 4 – “demonstrates a rationale based on high-quality research findings
or positive evaluation that such activity, strategy, or intervention is likely
to improve student outcomes or other relevant outcomes.”
CDE is using administrative funds to fund a Data & Evaluation position to
disseminate evidence-based promising practices to the Colorado education
community and to ensure that ESSER-funded programs report on outcomes, as
required by the USDE. All planned CDE ESSER expenditures are tied directly to
the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on our state's population to address the
resulting needs. As such, this position will measure the impact of those programs,
in order to better serve students with the greatest needs resulting from the
pandemic.
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
CDE is initiating a planning process to review the most recent data to identify the
student populations most impacted by the pandemic. The data to be considered
includes:
● Colorado READ Act Assessments – Grades K through 3;
● Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) – Grades 3, 5, and 7
for English Language Arts/Literacy and Grades 4, 6, and 8 for
Mathematics;
● Colorado Alternate Assessment (CoAlt) – Grades 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, and 11 for
English Language Arts and Grades 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11 for Mathematics;
● PSAT and SAT – Grades 9 through 11; and
● Attendance data (when it is available).
Through this planning process, CDE staff and, as appropriate, community
stakeholders will focus on which students were most impacted over the past 18
months, consider what programs would best meet the needs of those students in
accelerating learning and increasing engagement for them, and focus
programming accordingly. For funding opportunities, applications will strongly
encourage that programs focus on the students identified as being most in need
and describe how the program is specifically designed to meet their needs. In
addition, the process for reviewing and approving programs under these funding
opportunities will prioritize programs that address the needs of student groups
identified in the process above.
44
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.
CDE is prioritizing students impacted by the pandemic through the grant
programs funded under this section. Through our grant programs, applications
from LEAs/organizations that serve or will focus resources on students who
received more than 50% of their instruction in the 2020-2021 school year via
remote instruction, students from historically underserved racial and ethnic
backgrounds, youth experiencing homelessness, foster youth, and students with
disabilities, among others, generally receive priority points through the scoring
rubrics. Applicants can use LEA attendance data, local and statewide assessments,
as well as other data maintained locally to demonstrate the impact of the
pandemic on students served.
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:
In an effort to streamline and simplify the processes for applicants, CDE is
aligning the requirements for summer learning and enrichment (as described in
Section D, Part 2, of this plan) with the requirements for comprehensive
afterschool programming (as described in Section D, Part 3, of this plan). This is
done in alignment with Colorado House Bill 21-1259 requiring that CDE “create
a streamlined process for local education providers to access funding for extended
learning opportunities based on the specific needs of the local education
provider.” For this reason, the content is replicated in both sections. However,
CDE will, through coding within any funding application(s), carefully track the
funding distributed through this streamlined process as applicable to the required
uses under Section D, Part 2, or Section D, Part 3.
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;
CDE is leveraging programs under sections 2001(f)(2) and 2001(f)(3) of the ARP
Act to address the first two goals as outlined in Section A, Part 1: (1) supporting
45
academic acceleration for students most impacted by the pandemic with a focus
on math and literacy for students in grades K-8, and (2) expanding learning
opportunities to strengthen student engagement in learning in both the traditional
school day and beyond. To ensure that funding is made available as quickly as
possible, CDE has prioritized the usage of existing funding and programming
mechanisms while considering any potential barriers that exist for reaching
prioritized student populations.
SEA uses of state reserve under section 2001(f)(3) -- Evidence-Based Comprehensive
Afterschool Programs
State Plan Distribution
Program Eligibility
Category Mechanism
A grant program will be created to
support expanded learning
opportunities that leverage evidence-
based interventions to support All LEPs and
Expanded Expanded
accelerating student learning Grant Colorado
Learning Learning
(including high-dosage tutoring) Program nonprofit
Opportunities Opportunities
through programs during the organizations.
traditional school day, before- and
afterschool, during the summer, and
other out-of-school time.
ESSER II funds added 16 21st
Nita M. Lowey Century Community Learning Center
All LEPs and
Expanded 21st Century grantees overseeing 33 school-based
Grant Colorado
Learning Community centers for two years to provide Out-
Program nonprofit
Opportunities Learning of-School Time programming.
organizations.
Centers ESSER III funds will expand that
programming for an additional year.
Eligible uses identified by CDE for these funds include:
● Extending high-dosage tutoring programs as described in Section D, Part
1, beyond the confines of the traditional school day.
● Expanded opportunities for the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community
Learning Centers which provide opportunities for academic enrichment;
offer students a broad array of additional service, programs, and activities;
and offer families of students opportunities for active and meaningful
engagement in their children’s education. (Colorado has invested ESSER I
and II funds into this program already.)
● Additional partnerships between districts and Community-Based
Organizations (CBOs) to provide academically enriching programming
outside the traditional school day to foster increased student engagement
in school.
● School-based summer academies or similar programming designed to
accelerate learning and avoid summer learning loss.
● Evidence-based summer programming that addresses the academic, social,
emotional, and mental health needs of students.
46
● Evidence-based programming that utilizes outside of school time (OST)
such as before-school, after-school, and fifth day (for four-day week
districts).
As referenced earlier, CDE created a suite of resources within the Learning
Impacts Toolkit to support schools, districts, and BOCES in finding a start point
for responding to the pandemic. This set of resources includes specific supports
for expanded learning opportunities including resources for restructuring the
school day (scheduling core and intervention time), extending the school day,
week and/or year, and summer learning. CDE intends to continue evaluating this
toolkit, exploring opportunities for expansion, and encouraging LEAs to use this
when applying for any of the funding opportunities offered by CDE through the
ESSER set-aside funding.
With all opportunities funded under this section, CDE will apply the evidence-
based definitions as established in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESEA
Section 1111(d)) when evaluating applications for funding. Specifically, programs
funded under these funding opportunities will be required to demonstrate their
effectiveness at improving outcomes for the student populations they propose to
serve as defined within one of four tiers:
● Tier 1 – “strong evidence from at least 1 well-designed and well-
implemented experimental study”;
● Tier 2 – “moderate evidence from at least 1 well-designed and well-
implemented quasi-experimental study”;
● Tier 3 – “promising evidence from at least 1 well-designed and well-
implemented correlational study with statistical controls for bias”; and
● Tier 4 – “demonstrates a rationale based on high-quality research findings
or positive evaluation that such activity, strategy, or intervention is likely
to improve student outcomes or other relevant outcomes.”
CDE is using administrative funds to fund a Data & Evaluation position to
disseminate evidence-based promising practices to the Colorado education
community and to ensure that ESSER-funded programs report on outcomes, as
required by the USDE. All planned CDE ESSER expenditures are tied directly to
the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on our state's population to address the
resulting needs. As such, this position will measure the impact of those programs,
in order to better serve students with the greatest needs resulting from the
pandemic.
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
47
CDE is initiating a planning process to review the most recent data to identify the
student populations most impacted by the pandemic. The data to be considered
includes:
● Colorado READ Act Assessments – Grades K through 3;
● Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) – Grades 3, 5, and 7
for English Language Arts/Literacy and Grades 4, 6, and 8 for
Mathematics;
● Colorado Alternate Assessment (CoAlt) – Grades 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, and 11 for
English Language Arts and Grades 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11 for Mathematics;
● PSAT and SAT – Grades 9 through 11; and
● Attendance data (when it is available).
Through this planning process, CDE staff and, as appropriate, community
stakeholders will focus on which students were most impacted over the past 18
months, consider what programs would best meet the needs of those students in
accelerating learning and increasing engagement for them, and focus
programming accordingly. For funding opportunities, applications will strongly
encourage that programs focus on the students identified as being most in need
and describe how the program is specifically designed to meet their needs. In
addition, the process for reviewing and approving programs under these funding
opportunities will prioritize programs that address the needs of student groups
identified in the process 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.
CDE is prioritizing students impacted by the pandemic through the grant
programs funded under this section. Through our grant programs, applications
from LEAs/organizations that serve or will focus resources on students who
received more than 50% of their instruction in the 2020-2021 school year via
remote instruction, students from historically underserved racial and ethnic
backgrounds, youth experiencing homelessness, foster youth, and students with
disabilities, among others, generally receive priority points through the scoring
rubrics. Applicants can use LEA attendance data, local and statewide assessments,
as well as other data maintained locally to demonstrate the impact of the
pandemic on students served.
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,
48
emotional, and mental health needs; and to use ARP ESSER funds to
implement evidence-based interventions.
To support districts in an evolving post-pandemic environment, CDE has
implemented several programs for emergency needs under section 2001(f)(4) of
the ARP Act. These programs are listed below.
● Supplemental Funding for Districts that received little to no funding
from the 90%, BOCES, Special Education Administrative Units,
Tribal Nations, Facility Schools, and other High-Risk Populations -
Some Colorado school districts, BOCES and Tribal Nations received little
or no ESSER III LEA relief funding based on Title I allocations, but still
have high proportions of at-risk students. CDE has determined that a
portion of ESSER III funding set aside for state-level activities will go to
these entities to, among others, support Native American students and
students with special needs. This will help to ensure that the intent behind
the 90% of ESSER funds dedicated to high-need students to address the
pandemic impacts is met in Colorado and ensure that all districts impacted
by the pandemic have funding available to them. (Allocation to specific
grantees. Same eligibility as the supplemental funding under 2001(f)(1).)
● Technical Assistance - Since the onset of the pandemic, Colorado’s
districts and schools have experienced an unprecedented set of challenges
to address the impacts of the pandemic: school closures; safely reopening
schools; flexing between in-person, hybrid, and remote instructional
modes; addressing lost and unfinished learning experiences; workforce
shortages; and an influx of federal funding. To meet these challenges,
districts and schools have worked hard to find thoughtful, creative, and
impactful solutions in order to ensure that Colorado’s students are able to
emerge from the pandemic stronger than before.
o 1) CDE is providing funding for Colorado LEAs to convene
leaders around pandemic-related challenges faced by their districts
and schools to identify shared challenges, sharing strategies and
solutions for addressing such challenges, identify potential
collaborations that could allow districts to jointly address shared
challenges, and document lessons learned on impactful strategies
so that those across the state can benefit from these efforts. (Grant
program open to all Colorado LEAs and CBOs.)
o 2) CDE will provide technical assistance funding to support
districts and community-based organizations to successfully
implement expanded-learning afterschool and summer programs
with an emphasis on the effective district-CBO partnerships.
(Contract with specific organizations with demonstrated capacity.)
o 3) CDE will provide funding to ensure LEAs have the capacity to
meet the need for transparency with their families and
communities regarding COVID-19 recovery efforts and to ensure
students most impacted by the pandemic are aware of and could
49
access the ESSER-funded services being offered. (Grant program
open to all Colorado LEAs and CBOs.)
o 4) CDE will provide funding to conduct research into potential
opportunities for rural school districts to share staffing,
instructional materials, and other resources. (Contract with specific
organizations with demonstrated capacity.)
o 5) CDE will provide funding to convene stakeholders from across
the state to address effects of the pandemic on youth mental health
as indicated by the significant increase in demand for pediatric
mental health services, violence, threats of violence, and false
reports of violence. Stakeholders will discuss the safety needs of
Colorado schools, examine best and promising practices and
policies from across the nation in addressing those needs, and
building a report of the group’s findings with recommendations for
the role of the of the state in addressing the needs and opportunities
related to improving student mental health and school safety
(Contract with specific organizations with demonstrated capacity.)
o 6) CDE will provide funding for a staff member to provide
technical assistance to support schools and districts with the
development and implementation of community safety plans that
can help address the health (social, emotional, mental) and safety
(physical, emotional, psychological) needs of students and staff,
particularly needs that have been exacerbated by the pandemic.
(Funding will support internal CDE position.)
● Integrated Data Systems - Data systems are the bedrock of
communicating critical information between SEAs and LEAs and then to
the general public–particularly during a public emergency such as a global
pandemic. ARP ESSER funds State reserve funds are being used to
respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by upgrading and modernizing
CDE’s data systems, including the state’s data collection system and
grants management system. These funds are being used to build robust
technical assistance systems to be used by districts in communicating with
CDE and implementing these systems. These data systems will allow for
easier submission of data by districts to CDE to identify inequities in our
state and, with a modernized grants management system, seamlessly apply
supports and services to those students disproportionately impacted by the
pandemic. Additionally, these systems will increase the ability for families
and communities to understand and access the programs being offered by
their districts. (Primarily contracts with specific organizations with
demonstrated capacity.)
● Educator Supports - The COVID-19 pandemic forced teachers to work
longer hours to support in-class and remote learning and meet increased
administrative tasks. Additionally, shifting resources to adapt to a new
teaching environment left classrooms without the resources needed to
execute daily teaching tasks successfully. As a result, teachers were left to
cover school supplies, instructional resources, and equipment out of their
50
personal income, which is additionally diminished by the rampant
inflation. Along with increasing burn-out, many abandoned their teaching
careers. CDE will be using ARP ESSER funds to provide easy access to
resources to support innovative, small-dollar value projects designed by
teachers at the classroom level to maintain teaching quality in the State’s
schools and retain teachers in their profession. This funding will help to
mitigate learning loss sustained by students for their successful future and
empower Colorado teachers leading to increased teacher retention. (Grant
with an organization with relevant expertise to provide these direct to
educator grants.)
● Transportation Assistance - As Colorado students and families continue
to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, CDE sought to
support and empower the state’s students and families in accessing high-
quality instruction. The pandemic has exposed and exacerbated the
academic and personal challenges many students face – particularly for
those students most in need. In order to accelerate student learning as we
emerge from the pandemic, it is essential that the state of Colorado
support students in accessing instruction that has demonstrated success in
supporting students in meeting statewide expectations of learning. CDE
will use set-aside funds to support students attending low-performing
schools in chronically low-performing districts so that they may access
high-quality learning at a higher-performing school through transportation
funding. (Grant program open to all Colorado LEAs and CBOs.)
● Statewide Capacity Building - No amount of student growth would occur
without the presence, expertise, and efforts of educators and school
support staff. However, as noted in Table F1 below, recruitment and
retention of the educator workforce is a concern that, while present in
Colorado prior to the pandemic, has only been exacerbated throughout the
past school year. In an effort to help bring high-quality educators into
schools most impacted by this shortage and retain educators in those same
schools, CDE will use a portion of ESSER set-aside funding to provide
staffing for the Early Childhood Career Navigation program which guides,
connects and supports individuals in the pursuit of a career in the field of
early childhood education. (Funding will support internal CDE position.)
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.
1. 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
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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;
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;
iii. How the LEA will spend its remaining ARP ESSER funds
consistent with section 2001(e)(2) of the ARP Act; and
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.
In order to meet timelines, make funds available to LEAs as quickly as possible,
but still allow for developing an LEA plan with meaningful stakeholder input,
CDE has created a two-step application/LEA plan process. All LEAs with an
allocation from the 90% distribution funds have already submitted a preliminary
application and have been awarded substantial approval by May 23, 2021, for the
use of ARP ESSER III funds so that they can obligate and use funds as necessary,
including for implementation of summer and afterschool programs. LEAs will be
submitting their plans and budgets for use of funds as soon as they have
determined local needs, gathered meaningful stakeholder input, and developed
plans that are responsive to the needs of their students.
The second component, or LEA plans, are due by December 16, 2021. The ARP
ESSER III LEA application for funds already requires a description of how at
least 20% of the funds will be used for evidence-based interventions to address
the academic impact of lost instructional time, an indication of which student
groups will be served, and how the remainder of the funds will be used for other
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allowable, reasonable, and necessary activities to respond to, prepare for, or
prevent the spread of COVID-19. Assurances have been updated to include
implementation of evidence-based interventions and other specified requirements
under ARP. Narrative questions require the LEAs to address how they will ensure
that the interventions, activities, and strategies they are implementing are effective
in addressing the academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of all
students, with particular attention to identifying and addressing any
disproportionate impact that the pandemic has had on specified student groups.
Monitoring of the LEA’s use of funds (see monitoring plans below) will allow
CDE to provide oversight and feedback on implementation of proposed LEA
plans.
CDE has provided ongoing training during office hours regarding the
requirements for LEA plans, including developing plans with meaningful
stakeholder input and making plans publicly available on the LEA’s website.
CDE will review LEA plans as part of the application process and will ensure
LEA plans were developed in partnership with stakeholders and made publicly
available on the LEA’s website during monitoring.
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.
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.
CDE is developing tools and resources for LEA plan development, which will
include guidance on engaging stakeholders as part of the process. The ARP
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ESSER III application for funds/LEA Plans will include questions pertaining to
the stakeholders engaged in the development process, input received, and how the
input was used in plan development. The department is beginning to support
discussion of these important issues, as evidenced by providing training to
districts from experts in Family, School, and Community Partnership (FSCP) on
how to meaningfully engage all key stakeholders, particularly those specified for
this process at the June 24, 2021, office hours.
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;
This process will begin with review of applications for use of funds/LEA plans.
CDE will be checking to ensure that at least 20% of the funds are used for
implementing evidence-based interventions to address academic impact of lost
instructional time. Training, guidance, and support have been and will continue to
be offered regarding identification, design, and implementation of evidence-based
interventions that meet ESEA, Section 8101 requirements.
CDE is developing tools and resources for ensuring that ESSER-funded evidence-
based interventions also meet the ESEA evidence-based interventions (EBI)
definitions and requirements, which have historically been relevant for
improvement activities funded with ESEA Title I Improvement (Section 1003)
funds. The resources will be expanded to apply to ESSER-funded activities.
Monitoring of the improvement plans from schools includes review of the
evidence-based strategies that have been identified and are being implemented.
CDE has also developed an allowable uses of funds table, which is being updated
to include evidence-based interventions allowable under ARP ESSER III. CDE is
offering training and support through the weekly office hours, Equity and
Excellence Conference Series, and the COVID-19 Learning Impacts Toolkit,
which includes a section on Extended Learning Opportunities.
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
In addition to the above, CDE’s application for funds and improvement planning
requirements include identifying and addressing the needs of all students, with
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particular attention to students from specified student groups. Through assurances
and description of the use of funds, CDE reviews, provides feedback, and
approves the use of funds for meeting the identified needs of student groups.
Resources for addressing the unique needs of student groups have been provided
via the CDE website and office hours for supporting English learners, students
experiencing homelessness, and other student groups.
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.
As described in part ii above, CDE’s application for funds and improvement
planning requirements include identifying and addressing the needs of all
students, with particular attention to students from specified student groups.
Through assurances and description of the use of funds, CDE reviews, provides
feedback, and approves the use of funds for meeting the identified needs of
student groups. Resources for addressing the unique needs of student groups have
been provided via the CDE website and office hours for supporting English
learners, students experiencing homelessness, and other student groups.
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 stated, CDE has developed a COVID-19 Learning Impacts Toolkit,
which includes topics such as addressing the needs of students through Equity and
Cultural Responsiveness when planning and delivering extended learning
opportunities and using data to assess local needs and problem-solve appropriate
and responsive solutions. The toolkit is being disseminated through the Equity
and Excellence Conference Series, with a focus on applying lessons learned from
across the state on how best to identify and strategize to address the impact that
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the pandemic has had on all students, but particularly those who have experienced
a disproportionate impact.
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.
Complete the table below, changing or adding additional rows as
needed, or provide a narrative description.
Table F1.
Area Data on shortages and needs Narrative description
Special educators All data pulled from the CDE In the 2020-21 year, of the 1,061 total Special
and related Educator Talent Research and Service Personnel (SSP) positions to hire, 75
service personnel Impact, Teacher Shortage (7%) remained unfilled for the school year and
and website: 49 (5%) were filled through a shortage
paraprofessionals https://www.cde.state.co.us/e mechanism, such as alternative licensure. The
ducatortalent/coloeducatorsho percentage of SSP positions going unfilled
rtagesurveyresultsdashboard remained relatively stable in comparison to the
prior year.
Just under 3% of Colorado’s special education
generalist positions were filled through a
shortage mechanism, and less than .82% were
left unfilled during the 2020-21 school year.
Of the 1,228 total paraprofessional positions to
hire, 92 (7%) remained unfilled for the entire
school year and 15 (1%) were filled through a
shortage mechanism. Though the percentage of
paraprofessional positions filled through a
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shortage mechanism was stable in comparison
to the prior year, there was an increase in the
percentage of paraprofessional positions that
remained unfilled.
English as a All data pulled from the CDE Colorado employs culturally and linguistically
second language Educator Talent Research and diverse-endorsed educators. The 2020-21 data
educators Impact, Teacher Shortage indicated that 22.5 FTE were still needed in
website: this arena at the beginning of the year. All
https://www.cde.state.co.us/e other CLD positions had been filled by
ducatortalent/coloeducatorsho qualified candidates. However, 11.5 positions
rtagesurveyresultsdashboard remained unfilled over the course of the year
due to supply.
STEM educators All data pulled from the CDE Colorado does not have a specific STEM
Educator Talent Research and educator endorsement. However, for math, the
Impact, Teacher Shortage 2020-21 educator shortage data collection
website: indicated that 80 positions still needed to be
https://www.cde.state.co.us/e filled at the beginning of the school year, with
ducatortalent/coloeducatorsho 51.7 positions being filled by direct hires after
rtagesurveyresultsdashboard the start of the year or a shortage mechanism
and 28.33 positions remaining unfilled the
entire year.
For science, the 2020-21 educator shortage
data collection indicated that 43.3 positions still
needed to be filled at the beginning of the
school year, with 29 positions being filled by
direct hires after the start of the year or a
shortage mechanism and 14.8 positions
remaining unfilled the entire year
CTE educators CDE issues educator CDE issues educator licensure certificates for
licensure certificates for CTE CTE on behalf of the Colorado Community
on behalf of the Colorado College System (CCCS). However, CTE data
Community College System specific to educator shortages is not collected
(CCCS). However, CTE data by CDE as that reporting runs through the
specific to educator shortages CCCS.
is not collected by CDE as
that reporting runs through
the CCCS.
Early childhood All data pulled from the CDE The 2020-21 educator shortage data collection
educators Educator Talent Research and indicated that 27 positions still needed to be
Impact, Teacher Shortage filled at the beginning of the school year, with
website: 21 of those positions being filled by direct hires
https://www.cde.state.co.us/e or shortage mechanisms and 2 positions
remaining unfilled the entire year.
57
ducatortalent/coloeducatorsho
rtagesurveyresultsdashboard
School All data pulled from the CDE The 2020-21 educator shortage data collection
counselors Educator Talent Research and indicated that 32 positions still needed to be
Impact, Teacher Shortage filled at the beginning of the school year, with
website: 20.5 positions being filled by direct hires after
https://www.cde.state.co.us/e the start of the year or a shortage mechanism
ducatortalent/coloeducatorsho and 11.5 positions remaining unfilled the entire
rtagesurveyresultsdashboard year.
Social workers All data pulled from the CDE The 2020-21 educator shortage data collection
Educator Talent Research and indicated that 47.2 positions still needed to be
Impact, Teacher Shortage filled at the beginning of the school year, with
website: 36.7 positions being filled by direct hires or a
https://www.cde.state.co.us/e shortage mechanism and 10.5 positions
ducatortalent/coloeducatorsho remaining unfilled the entire year.
rtagesurveyresultsdashboard
Nurses All data pulled from the CDE The 2020-21 educator shortage data collection
Educator Talent Research and indicated that 51.7 positions still needed to be
Impact, Teacher Shortage filled at the beginning of the school year, with
website: 39.7 positions being filled by direct hires or a
https://www.cde.state.co.us/e shortage mechanism and 12 positions
ducatortalent/coloeducatorsho remaining unfilled the entire year,
rtagesurveyresultsdashboard predominantly in the nonrural areas of the
state.
School All data pulled from the CDE The 2020-21 educator shortage data collection
psychologists Educator Talent Research and indicated that 44.4 positions still needed to be
Impact, Teacher Shortage filled at the beginning of the school year, with
website: 26.4 positions being filled by shortage
https://www.cde.state.co.us/e mechanisms and 18 positions remaining
ducatortalent/coloeducatorsho unfilled the entire year.
rtagesurveyresultsdashboard
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.
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As part of the CDE Strategic Plan, CDE annually surveys the state’s school
districts and BOCES about the employment of teachers, special services providers
(SSPs), and starting with the 2019-20 survey, principals/assistant principals and
paraprofessionals. The Educator Shortage Survey Results include the facts about
the number of vacant educator positions and the ways those vacancies were filled,
if they were filled at all. These shortage data allow CDE, LEAs and BOCES to
identify educator shortage areas across the state and report to the Colorado
Legislature to inform decisions regarding support for recruiting and retaining
educators. Information regarding 2020-21 Educator Shortage Survey results,
including the survey results summary, highlights, and additional details is
available on the CDE website, and widely distributed for all LEAs and BOCES to
utilize.
During the 2020-21 school year, ESSER I and ESSER II funds were allocated at
the SEA level to support professional development for new teachers through a
new educator boot camp where educators new to the profession learned critical
skills in supporting students in online and blended environments. Having this
resource available through the SEA has allowed districts to ramp up new to the
profession educators more quickly to meet the needs of students. GEER funds
were allocated to alternative educator preparation programs to immediately place
alternative educators in the classroom while providing those educators with wrap-
around support for learning pedagogy to support student learning needs.
One of the many issues continuing to face schools is a shortage of available
substitute educators to fill the classrooms and ensure continuity of teaching in the
event of pandemic-driven quarantine or illness as a result of COVID variants. In
response to the implications of COVID, CDE partnered with the Colorado Center
for Rural Education at the University of Northern Colorado, to offer stipends that
can be used to reimburse a variety of costs associated with obtaining a substitute
authorization and preparing for their first days as a substitute in the classroom.
CDE offered free virtual Substitute Boot Camp that focuses on the critical
learning substitutes need to enter school as guest educators and continued to offer
coaching and mentoring supports through the Troops to Teachers program and
TEACHColorado.org.
.
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).
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The Colorado Department of Education has partnered with all 43 Colorado
educator preparation programs in the state to increase the number of pre-service
educators being prepared for Colorado classrooms. State and federal funds have
been used to support the recruitment and preparation of alternative educators who
immediately enter the classroom or support team teaching through a residency-
based program. State-funded initiatives allocate tuition assistance and stipends
directly to alternative educators. The SEA has seen an increase of 800 educators
entering into the alternative educator pathways, particularly in hard to fill content
areas such as math and science in the last year and over this summer. The
alternative educator pathways have a clear focus on community “grow your own”
programs which includes a lens on ensuring community-based diverse educators
enter the field of education and are supported by mentorship and coaching
programs through TEACHColorado.org (a digital recruitment and support
platform used extensively in Colorado to bring in new teachers and support them
through their educator preparation).
During the 2020-21 school year, CDE partnered with the Colorado Workforce
Development Council (CWDC) to implement local recruitment initiatives for
substitutes and alternative educators through workforce development centers. This
program led to an increase in locally-based substitutes and alternative educators in
hard to fill geographic areas. To further this program, CDE and CWDC also
partnered with the AmeriCorps program through the Lt. Governor’s office. The
program supported employment of just under 100 Corp members in schools full-
time to serve as substitutes and/or mentors and tutors in after school programs.
Through additional GEER funding and as proposed in ESSER III funding, this
program will further expand into the 2021-22 school year, through a partnership
with AmeriCorps and CDE, AmeriCorps members holding a bachelor’s degree or
higher will enter into the Educator Preparation Residency Corp and serve two
years with the first year being focused on in-school, full-time supports as
substitute or paraprofessional educators and/or after school tutors through the
state funded GEER Reading or Math Tutoring Corp program. Members will serve
their second year as full-time alternative educator preparation educators enrolled
in a full-time residency educator preparation program with a Colorado-licensed
educator/mentor. Over 100 Reading and Math Corp members serving in the
school district in the 2020-21 year and just under 400 more members serving in
the Corp for the 2021-22 school year will be eligible for the optional educator
preparation program.
2. 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).
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From an educator talent recruitment perspective, CDE has altered educator
licensing rules to support faster entry of key support personnel, such as counselors
and school nurses, into the school system. The Colorado Department of
Regulatory Agencies (DORA) and CDE have partnered to expedite DORA
licensure of counselors, social workers, and psychologists to earn an educator
license on an interim basis. These professionals then complete induction and
mentoring activities that support their transition to an educational environment
while still acquiring the skills needed to be highly effective and safe in an
educational setting. By doing this, Colorado’s professionals can enter the
educational system more quickly and therefore support students faster.
For counselors, state funds through the Colorado School Counselor Corps Grant
Program (SCCGP) allows districts to hire more counselors to support Colorado
students. To ensure services are assisted, CDE offers monthly webinars for school
counselors who are part of the SCCGP, and welcome any other school counselor
who might want to attend. Additionally, three annual trainings for school
counselors are offered (and required for SCCGP participants) on topics of interest.
Additionally, CDE has extended the ability of key personnel such as counselors
by supporting virtual connections. For example, the Keynote session in one
training last year focused on how school counselors can connect with students and
perform their roles in a virtual space.
Last year, CDE also held monthly postsecondary workforce readiness (PWR)
Town Halls focused on areas of concern, including virtual school counseling, how
to re-engage students in the virtual space, how to create meaningful work-based
learning opportunities virtually, and other related topics. Planned for 2021-2022
school year, CDE will host monthly Town Halls focused on re-engaging students
who lacked engagement in COVID times, how flexibilities within Colorado’s
Graduation Guidelines can support student re-engagement and increase
graduation rates, etc.
With regard to school nurses, CDE responded quickly to the need for school
nurses to be informed quickly and often about the changing needs brought on by
COVID. CDE encouraged districts to use ARP ESSER funds to increase the
number of school nurses and mental health professionals available in their district.
To support the increase, CDE offered, and will continue to offer, a school nurse
orientation program for new school nurses and experienced school nurses who
want a refresher, a 3-day Virtual Orientation Program, monthly Virtual New
Nurse Webinars, and monthly Virtual New Nurse “Huddles” which are similar to
office hours where new nurses can get updates, ask questions, and establish peer
connections. For many school nurses in Colorado, the CDE orientation program
helps nurses satisfy their organization’s induction requirements. The department
also offers mentoring for new school nurses who did not have access to a
qualified professional, which also helps them satisfy a portion of their induction
requirement. Further, the department offers a monthly “School Nurse Update”
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virtual webinar to all nurses in Colorado and a “School Nurse Leadership” virtual
webinar to all school nurses in Colorado.
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
vi. Other reporting requirements reasonably required by the
Secretary (please refer to Appendix B of this template; final
requirements will be issued separately).
CDE’s ESSER applications under CARES, CRRSA, and now ARP have been
developed to allow the SEA to collect data on uses of funds, the number of
FTE/positions created with the funds, the number of technology equipment
purchased for students and staff, and other supports provided in response to the
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COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, CDE has several other existing student-,
school-, and district-level collections that can be used to address the data required
in the GAN. For example, CDE collects annual chronic absenteeism and
discipline data. CDE also collects teacher-level data that is used to ensure that
students from major races and students of poverty are not taught at a
disproportionate rate by teachers who are inexperienced, ineffective, or teaching
out of field. CDE is also in the process of assessing existing collections to
determine if any additional data fields need to be added in order to further analyze
the impact that the pandemic has had on Colorado students.
CDE’s Grants Fiscal Management Unit manages and reports data through FFATA
on a quarterly basis. Lastly, CDE’s School Finance Unit collects and makes
publicly available financial transparency data for the state, districts, and schools.
Finally, as described earlier, the pandemic has laid bare a significant need within
CDE’s data infrastructure. The systems used by the Department for transmitting
data between the LEAs and CDE for accountability and reporting purposes are
outdated and lack the flexibility necessary for nimble adaptation in this dynamic
environment. This has resulted in significant frustration and unnecessary
resources being diverted from other critical functions to ensure that CDE has the
necessary data.
As such, CDE will be committing a portion of the state’s set-aside funds to
strengthen the state's capacity to support the districts and schools across the state –
both now and in the future. CDE will modernize the Data Pipeline by which
districts share data with the Department in an effort to improve the customer
interface for district users, and modernize the technology to make it more flexible
and less of a burden for users. Input from districts will be used to identify
necessary functional improvements and the technology will be brought up to
today’s standards. This, combined with other internal system improvements at
CDE, will standardize data storage and security methods, making reporting more
uniform and consistent. Specifically, CDE will reduce the number of different
data collection mechanisms across the Department so that all collected data will
be contained in the same datastore or ones similar enough to easily integrate and
transfer data. This will streamline both the look and feel of data reported to the
public and back to districts, and will also make the maintenance of and
enhancements to the systems easier for CDE staff. This will save time and money
in the long run, freeing up funds for direct district support. These enhancements
will also result in a more flexible system of data collection, to accommodate
changes as needed in the data collected.
Additionally, CDE’s efforts to improve state capacity with the goal of improving
service to districts includes the implementation of customer and grant
management tools. Currently, CDE does not have enterprise-level grants or
customer management tools. Small single-unit tools are used for these purposes.
The grants management system will streamline requests and processes for
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districts, strengthen their strategic usage of grant funding, and reduce the burden
of data and information requests. Both internal enterprise-level productivity tools
will increase CDE’s ability to understand the greatest needs in our state and target
resources where students are most in need. Additionally, CDE staff productivity
and effectiveness will increase significantly by allowing greater visibility into
information necessary for school support personnel in the course of their
provision of educational services to the field to accelerate student learning. The
time saved by having information at their fingertips, including (but not limited to)
who visited the school/district last and for what purpose, what grant funds has the
school/district received or applied for, what commitments have been made by
CDE personnel, will save valuable time for CDE support specialists and technical
assistance providers to focus on accelerating academics rather than administrative
recordkeeping.
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.
CDE’s Office of ESEA Programs has an extensive, three-tiered approach to
monitoring that begins with an annual assessment of risk. The tiered approach
allows for an intensive review of the most at-risk LEAs, a targeted review of mid-
risk LEAs, and a universal review of low risk districts, with every district
participating in one of the tiers at least every 6 years. The same approach has been
applied to the monitoring of ESSER grantees, with a shortened cycle to occur
over the next 3 years. The monitoring of the use of ESSER funds includes a
review of the LEA’s practices against fiscal indicators to assess internal controls,
waste, fraud, and management of funds. In partnership with key stakeholders, the
ESEA monitoring indicators, which include assessing internal controls and
concerns with fraud, waste, abuse, or conflict of interest, were used as the
foundation for developing ESSER indicators and were expanded to also assess
compliance with CARES, CRRSA, and ARP requirements.
Monitoring activities under both ESEA and ESSER begin with a comprehensive
review and approval process of the LEA’s plans and proposed uses of funds. The
department provides feedback and requires changes if the proposed uses of funds
do not meet statutory and regulatory requirements, with an emphasis on
allowability, reasonableness, and allocability. The second step of CDE’s
monitoring process includes providing training and guidance to LEAs on statutory
and regulatory requirements. CDE has developed and published resources such as
a table of allowable expenses, a COVID-19 Education Funding website which
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was created when CARES Act passed and has been updated with CRRSA Act and
ARP Act information, ESSER FAQ documents, guidelines on timelines and due
dates, and planning tools.
Since May of 2020, CDE has been hosting weekly office hours for ESSER
grantees to provide training and guidance on the appropriate uses of funds,
requirements under CARES, CRRSA, and ARP Acts, and the documentation
necessary to be able to demonstrate compliance. Several office hours and
trainings have been focused on going beyond compliance and using funds to
effectively meet the needs of students, particularly students from historically
underserved populations or students who may have been disproportionately
impacted by the pandemic. Lessons learned and best practices have also been
shared through the Resources webpage and office hours to help prepare LEAs for
the ESSER monitoring activities that have begun for the 2021-2022 school year.
All ESSER grantees will be monitored between 2021-2022 and 2023-2024 to
ensure the LEAs’ plans and proposed budgets are implemented as approved by
the SEA. Prior to initiating monitoring activities in the fall of 2021, CDE
published the ESSER Monitoring webpage which delineates the monitoring
schedule for all LEAs, the monitoring indicators, and protocols and processes.
During the fall of 2021, CDE will provide training to LEAs on each monitoring
indicator to ensure that LEAs have a thorough understanding of the monitoring
plans and expectations.
Two CDE offices will be jointly responsible for conducting ESSER monitoring:
the ESEA Programs Office and the Grants Fiscal Management Unit. At this time,
CDE has hired one FTE to support the program monitoring and one to support the
fiscal monitoring under ESSER I. Each office (Grants Fiscal Management and the
ESEA Office) are in the process of hiring 3 additional FTE to implement the
monitoring plans under all 3 ESSER programs, including the additional
requirements under ARP ESSER III, such as reviewing the implementation of
evidence-based interventions to address academic impact of lost instructional
time. The additional FTE will allow for full implementation of the monitoring
activities, as well as the planned trainings and follow up support for any LEAs
that are not able to demonstrate compliance with CARES, CRRSA, or ARP
requirements.
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Appendix A: School Operating Status and Instructional Mode Data Template
Indicate the date or time period represented by the following data.
The 2020-2021 school year is represented in the data tables below, which are available on the
CDE website: https://www.cde.state.co.us/caresact/esser-reports.
The data presented at this time reflects the data available to the Colorado Department of
Education (CDE). CDE will be working with stakeholders, including district representatives and
legislators, to develop processes for collecting and reporting any missing data. This site will be
updated regularly as new data become available.
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.
Add or change rows as needed
The following table represents the number of schools in Colorado during the 2020-2021 school
year that offered fully remote or online-only instruction, both remote/online and in-person
instruction (hybrid model), and/or full-time in-person instruction. CDE currently gathers the
primary mode of instruction from local educational agency (LEA) websites. As a result, there are
a few caveats and limitations to this data.
Number of schools All schools Offered to Offered to Not
all students some students offered
Remote or online only 1,858 36 TBD** 1,822
School buildings open with both 1,858 323 115 1,420
remote/online and in-person instruction
(hybrid)
School buildings open with full-time in- 1,858 1,384 115 359
person instruction
To the extent data are available, please complete the above table for 1) all schools in the
State, and 2) separately for each instructional level (e.g., pre-kindergarten/elementary
schools, middle schools, high schools).
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Table 2
In the most recent time period available, what was the enrollment and mode of instruction
for the schools in your State?
The following table represents estimated student enrollment counts (for all students and
disaggregated for each student group) for each mode of instruction. As noted in the previous
section, CDE gathered the primary mode of instruction, as of May 2021, from LEA websites.
Currently, CDE is not able to report on student-level modes of instruction. Student enrollment
counts, therefore, reflect approximations based on each district’s primary mode of instruction
and each district’s 2020-21 pupil membership counts (based upon the Student October Count). If
a school was listed on the LEA’s website as being remote or online, for example, the students for
that school were counted towards the remote totals. In addition to the caveats and data limitations
related to mode of instruction, there are additional limitations associated with the student
enrollment counts reported.
Number of Total Remote or Both remote/online and in- Full-time in-
students enrollmen online only person instruction (hybrid) person instruction
t
(approximate) (approximate) (approximate)
Students from 347,436 12,314 100,921 234,201
low-income
families
White, not 451,324 15,659 131,543 304,122
Hispanic
Black or African 39,641 1,266 16,706 21,699
American, not
Hispanic
Hispanic, of any 294,135 9,582 92,405 192,148
race
Asian, not 27,771 356 10,018 17,397
Hispanic
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American Indian 5,745 212 1,462 4,071
or Alaskan
Native, not
Hispanic
Native Hawaiian 2,418 105 908 1,405
or Pacific
Islander, not
Hispanic
Two or more 40,090 1,244 12,870 25,976
races, not
Hispanic
Race/Ethnicity NA NA NA NA
information not
available
English learners 87,800 1,329 24,188 62,283
Children with 102,920 2,402 30,497 70,021
disabilities
Students 10,866 362 2,842 7,662
experiencing
homelessness
Children and 901 27 254 620
youth in foster
care
Migratory 2,782 45 402 2,335
students
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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;
● Impacts and outcomes (disaggregated by student groups) 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 groups) 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.
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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;
● 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
70
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).
71
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
72
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.
73
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.
GEPA STATEMENT
The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) has facilitated and participated in extensive stakeholder
engagement prior to and during the development of the ESSER Application and plan for the use of ARP
ESSER III funds, which has resulted in the refinement of systems in place prior to this application being
submitted today, as well as improved or new activities. These systems, as well as the stakeholder
engagement that supported their development, are described in greater detail in the body of Colorado’s
ESSA state plan approved by the U.S. Department of Education. Below is a brief listing of just a few of
the activities and systems CDE has in place in support of equitable access to a quality education for all
children in Colorado. The implementation of the following systems and activities, together with ongoing
stakeholder engagement, enables CDE to directly, or indirectly through the Local Education Agency’s
(LEA’s) actions, reduce barriers that may prevent the engagement of students, teachers, and others, in
federally funded programs based on gender, race, national origin, color, disability, or age.
● CDE hosts weekly ESEA and ESSER Office Hours to provide up-to-date guidance and
information for LEAs regarding use of federal funds in support of all students, based on identified
needs and in an equitable manner. The Federal Programs Unit, in partnership with other CDE
units, provides timely responses to LEAs regarding effective use of federal funds to best meet the
needs of students.
● CDE hosts ongoing stakeholder engagement with the ESEA Committee of Practitioners (CoP),
composed of regional superintendent representatives, school and district leaders, charter school
leaders, nonpublic school representatives, and Board of Cooperative Education Services
representatives. The purpose of the CoP is to provide input and insight regarding ESEA and
ESSER decision points. In partnership with the CoP, CDE facilitates exploration, consideration,
discussion, and resolution of any potential barriers for participation in federally-funded programs
and opportunities.
● The CDE Federal Programs Unit and the Exceptional Student Services Unit (ESSU) host an
annual Equity and Excellence Conference for special education directors, federal program
administrators, superintendents, principals, and fiscal managers. The conference provides an
opportunity for those supporting educators and students to collaborate and make connections
within their districts and across districts, both in an effort to increase their tools and resources for
putting equity into action in their schools. The topic of this year’s conference was responding to
the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on learning opportunities. Through this
conference, CDE is reducing barriers for student populations that may prevent their equitable
74
access or participation. Specifically, this conference reduces barriers that may exist related to a
student’s disability, age, or national origin.
● Together with other units in the Department, the CDE Federal Programs Unit has developed a
risk-based, tiered approach in the monitoring of school districts for federal program compliance
and program quality. The system is designed to enable LEAs to self-assess against the
requirements (and indicators) of federal programs and may also be used as the basis for onsite
program reviews and monitoring. Many of the federal program requirements directly pertain to
the equitable access of student groups to the benefits of the federal programs included in the
system. The monitoring protocols and processes have been updated to include ESSER
requirements.
● CDE has developed a Unified Improvement Planning (UIP) template and processes to support
schools and districts in their performance management efforts. The UIP template was introduced
to streamline the improvement planning components of state and federal accountability
requirements. The common UIP template and planning processes used represent a shift from
planning as a singular event to planning as a critical component of continuous improvement. This
process reduces the total number of separate plans that schools and districts are required to
complete with the intent of creating a single plan that has true meaning for its stakeholders, while
also providing a mechanism for external stakeholders to learn about schools’ and districts’
improvement efforts. Through the ongoing training and implementation of the UIP, CDE
facilitates school and district review of student performance through the intentional trend analysis
of disaggregated student data. CDE indirectly reduces barriers for student populations that may
prevent their equitable access or participation by requiring schools and districts to engage in a
continuous improvement cycle through the UIP template. Specifically, the UIP template enables
schools and districts to identify and remove barriers that may be related to a student’s disability,
national origin, or age.
● The Title IX State Coordinator works in the CDE Federal Programs Unit and provides ongoing
technical assistance to the field throughout the year. In addition to the Coordinator’s requisite
duties under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Coordinator also participates in
the Equity and Excellence Conference, hosted by the CDE Federal Programs Unit and the
Exceptional Student Services Unit (ESSU), provides best practices to the field regarding issues
arising or related to gender inequity, and provides guidance related to the overlap of federal and
state law related to gender inequity. The Coordinator enables LEAs to more effectively reduce
barriers for student populations that may prevent their equitable access or participation.
Specifically, the Coordinator reduces barriers that may exist related to a student’s gender.
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