Ppr Int D70Edb5E79767E15 Arp Esser Application Letter To Chief State School Officers F03Af - Ppr Int D70Edb5E79767E15 Arp Esser.

Summary

Letter of April 21, 2021 from Secretary of Education Miguel A. Cardona to chief state school officers releasing the State plan template for the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund, which provides nearly $122 billion to state and local educational agencies. It says the Department made the first two-thirds of each state’s allocation, about $81 billion, available the month before and will release the remaining $41 billion once it approves a state’s plan. The template asks states to describe their needs, safe reopening, consultation, use of state set-asides, support for districts and educators, and monitoring, and carries civil rights and other assurances. Each state educational agency must submit its plan, or the state rules that prevent it and a submission date, by June 7, 2021.

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Full text

                                            THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION
                                                  WASHINGTON, DC 20202




                                               April 21, 2021

Dear Chief State School Officers:

During my visits to schools across the country, I’ve been inspired time and again by the excitement of
students and educators who can be together in person now that their school buildings have safely
reopened. I’ve also seen how our schools and districts are working intentionally to address the significant
academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of students, particularly for students who have been
most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) is confident in the ability of students and educators to
participate in safe in-person instruction consistent with necessary prevention strategies outlined in the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Operational Strategy for K-12 Schools through
Phased Prevention, and school districts across the Nation have made great strides toward this goal. The
CDC estimates that more than 80 percent of all school staff received at least one vaccination by the end of
March, and every State is now offering vaccines to any resident age 16 and older. While it is encouraging
that four out of every five schools that enroll students in grades 4 and 8 offered at least some in-person
instruction in February, our progress is uneven; and students of color, English learners, and students from
low-income backgrounds are disproportionately likely to still be in fully remote settings.

It will take significant resources to continue to reopen schools safely this spring, support sustained access
to in-person instruction, and achieve our shared commitment to building back better so that our Nation’s
education system addresses the needs of all students. The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 is
vital to support the future of our students, families, educators, and communities.

The ARP Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund provides nearly $122
billion to State educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) to meet the urgent
needs of schools and students. Last month, the Department made available to each SEA the first two-
thirds of its ARP ESSER allocation, or about $81 billion in immediate support. Today, I am pleased to
release the State plan template for the ARP ESSER Fund, which is designed to promote comprehensive
planning by SEAs and LEAs for the effective use of ARP ESSER funds to reopen schools safely this
spring; support sustained access to in-person instruction throughout the spring, summer, and into next
school year; and to address the academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of students. Once the
Department has approved an SEA’s plan, the Department will make the SEA’s remaining ARP ESSER
allocation available for use, totaling another $41 billion in funding nationwide.

Importantly, the template calls on SEAs to engage in meaningful consultation with stakeholders and the
public to develop their ARP ESSER plans. Through development of your State plan, you will find
opportunities to describe your State’s approach to using ARP ESSER funds with transparency,
effectiveness, equity, inclusive engagement, and strong fiscal safeguards. Your responses to the elements
that make up the State plan template will provide critical information to your stakeholders, the
Department, and the public about the use of these unprecedented resources. The State plan will also
inform the Department’s technical assistance to SEAs and LEAs and the Department’s approach to
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monitoring implementation of ARP ESSER funds to ensure accountability for the use of taxpayer-
provided resources and support ongoing progress to meet the needs of all students. In addition, the
template allows SEAs to fulfill the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations
(CRRSA) Act ESSER II 6-month reporting requirement in section 313(f) of the CRRSA Act.

The State Plan template includes sections for:

    •   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.

    •   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.

    •   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.

    •   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.

    •   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.

    •   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.

    •   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
Page 3 – Chief State School Officers


        and LEA levels to ensure high-quality data collection and reporting and to safeguard funds for
        their intended purposes.

The State plan template also includes several important assurances. One addresses civil rights protections,
reflecting the State’s responsibility to ensure that no person shall be excluded from participation in, be
denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination 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. Other important assurances, for example, address
transparency and compliance with ARP ESSER statutory requirements such as uses of funds,
maintenance of effort, and maintenance of equity.

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 (e.g., because of pre-existing State
board approval requirements) and a date by which it will be able to submit its complete ARP ESSER
plan. 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.

To support States in completing the ARP ESSER State plan and meeting ARP ESSER requirements, the
Department has also issued an accompanying notice of interim final requirements with additional details.
The notice is available here. These requirements are reflected in the enclosed SEA application template,
and are intended to promote accountability, transparency, and the effective use of ARP ESSER funds by
ensuring that each SEA meaningfully engages in stakeholder consultation and takes public input into
account in the development of its ARP ESSER State plan; ensuring that each LEA develops a plan for the
use of its ARP ESSER funds and engages in meaningful consultation and seeks public input as it develops
its plan; and clarifying how an LEA must meet the statutory requirement to develop a plan for the safe
return to in-person instruction and continuity of services.

I also want to draw your attention to the Department’s updated Guidance on Maintenance of Effort
Requirements and Waiver Requests under the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief
(ESSER) Fund and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund. Released earlier this
week, this guidance document addresses frequently asked questions about maintenance of effort (MOE)
requirements applicable to Federal pandemic relief and recovery funds for education and the process for
States to request an MOE waiver. The guidance explains that the Department’s approach to MOE waiver
requests will be rooted in the consideration of the impact on students and recognition that the purpose of
ESSER, GEER, and other Federal pandemic relief and recovery funds is to expand resources for K-12
schools and postsecondary institutions and their students, not to replace existing State commitments to K-
12 and postsecondary education.

Finally, we remain intensely focused on supporting SEAs and LEAs in addressing the immediate needs of
students. The Department’s resources include the COVID-19 Handbook Volume 1: Strategies for Safely
Reopening Elementary and Secondary Schools and Volume 2: Roadmap to Reopening Safely and Meeting
All Students’ Needs. Last month, educators from across the country joined our virtual National Safe
School Reopening Summit, where President Biden issued a call to action to make summer learning and
enrichment programs available to students across the Nation. To support States in these efforts, the
Department’s Summer Learning and Enrichment Collaborative will launch next week. The Collaborative
will bring together key stakeholders from each State to discuss how to build effective plans for high-
quality, evidence-based summer learning and enrichment focused on serving students most impacted by
the pandemic. More than 30 States have already signed up to participate in the Collaborative, and it is not
too late to join this important initiative.
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In all of these areas, the Department is eager and committed to continue partnering with SEAs, LEAs, and
the education community. Please do not hesitate to let me know how the Department can provide
additional support during this critical period.


                                                Sincerely,




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

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cc:     Governors


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