ESSER 3 Funding Deadline
When is the ESSER 3 Funding Deadline?
Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) III funds must be allocated by September 2024. These funds can be used by qualifying schools towards the purchase of new technology. As of early 2024, there was more than $90B in unused ESSER III funds available for K-12 schools. What is ESSER 3?
The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021, Public Law 117-2, was enacted on March 11, 2021. The ARP Act provides additional funding for school districts to respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Education portion of ARP is known as the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds (ESSER III or ARP ESSER)What are the ESSER 3 Requirements?
A district that receives ESSER III funds must, within 30 days of receiving the funds, make publicly available on its website a plan for the safe return to in-person instruction and continuity of services. Before making the plan available, the district must seek public comment on the plan. If a district has developed a plan for the safe return to in-person instruction before March 11, 2021, then that plan meets the requirements described above.
A district that receives ESSER III funds must consult with the stakeholder groups listed below and formulate a plan that includes the following, which will all be captured on your ESSER III application.
- How the funds will be used to implement prevention and mitigation strategies aligned with CDC guidance;
- How the district will use its 20% set-aside to address the academic impact of lost instructional time through evidence-based interventions, such as summer learning or summer enrichment, extended day, comprehensive afterschool programs, or extended school year programs;
- How the district will spend its remaining ARP ESSER funds; and,
- How the district will ensure that interventions employed will respond to the academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of all students and particularly those disproportionately impacted, including students from low-income families, students of color, English learners, children w/ disabilities, students experiencing homelessness, children and youth in foster care,and migratory students.
- District must make its ESSER III Use of Funds Plan publicly available on its website within 30 days of receiving its ESSER III grant application approval email.