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Good Morning Superintendents and Business Managers,
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021. The ARP Act includes nearly $122 billion for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) Fund that allows state and local education agencies to take additional steps to safely reopen schools for in-person instruction and keep them open, and to address disruptions to teaching and learning resulting from the pandemic.
This includes using funds to enact appropriate measures to help schools to invest in mitigation strategies consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Operational Strategy for K-12 Schools to the greatest extent practicable; address the many impacts of COVID-19 on students, including from interrupted instruction; implement strategies to meet students’ social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs; offer crucial summer, afterschool, and other extended learning and enrichment programs; support early childhood education; invest in staff capacity; and avoid devastating layoffs at this critical moment, ensuring that all students have access to teachers, counselors, and other school personnel to support their needs.
As a result of the ARP Act, the Oregon Department of Education was allocated $1.121 billion from the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) for ESSER III.
Federal Funding Requirements
Per the ARP Act, ODE is required to meet certain requirements on how the funds must be allocated and distributed. ODE’s ESSER III funding of $1,121,028,734 must be utilized as follows:
- No less than 90% of the resources or $1,008,925,861 must be allocated to school districts in the same manner as the 2020-21 Title I district funding formula. Each school district receiving an award must designate no less than 20% of the grant funding to address learning loss through 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, and emotional needs and address the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on the student subgroups described in section 1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(B)(xi)), students experiencing homelessness, and children and youth in foster care.
- 10% of funding, or $112,102,873 is dedicated to a state set aside of which $78,472,011 (at least 7 percent of the 10 percent set aside) must be allocated for three specific activities and interventions that respond to students’ academic, social, and emotional needs and address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on underrepresented student subgroups, including each major racial and ethnic group, children from low-income families, children with disabilities, English learners, gender, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children and youth in foster care:
- 5% ($56,051,437) of the total ARP ESSER allocation must be used for the implementation of evidence-based interventions aimed specifically at addressing learning loss, such as summer learning or summer enrichment, extended day, comprehensive afterschool programs, or extended school year programs.
- 1% ($11,210,287) of the total ARP ESSER allocation must be used for evidence-based summer enrichment programs.
- 1% ($11,210,287) of the total ARP ESSER allocation must be used for evidence-based comprehensive afterschool programs.
Of the remaining $33,630,282 state set-aside, $5,605,144 (0.5%) is dedicated for state administration costs, with the balance of $28,025,718 allocated for any eligible activities for responding to the pandemic.
ODE has developed the “Oregon Invests & Envisions Equity in Education” Framework to guide district and state investments under the ARP ESSER allowable uses:
ODE is pleased to announce it has been approved to award $1,013,758,759 of ESSER III to meet the required 90% allocation to eligible school districts, as well as provide minimum grant funding for school districts not eligible for the 90% requirement; and funding for the four State Sponsored Charter Schools and Oregon School for the Deaf. The school district allocations, including the pass through funding for the State Sponsored Charter Schools, can be found on the ESSER III webpage.
Although the ARP Act does not require pass-through of ESSER Funds from the LEA to its charter schools, we strongly recommend that sponsoring districts consider the needs of all of their students and provide supports for their charter schools. This would be similar to ESSER I and ESSER II.
After the allocation of these funds, there are $101,664,831 of unobligated ESSER III set aside resources that remain. ODE will be engaging with school and community partners and coordinating with the Governor’s Office in completing a required federal application and plan that outlines the framework in how these remaining resources will be allocated. This application is due June 7, 2021. There will be more information on this process in the coming weeks.
If you have any questions, please contact Mike Wiltfong, Director of School Finance and School Facilities, or contact Savanah Solario. Thank you!
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