ESSER Funding- CARES Act, CRRSA Act, & ARP Act

In response to the economic outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Congress passed three bills that provided immediate and direct economic assistance to state and local educational agencies through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds.  These funds were provided to support areas with the greatest need, where the academic and non-academic components for school districts had the greatest impact due to COVID-19.  As additional funding was provided, the intent of the funds was to support States and local school districts’ efforts to safely reopen schools, address significant gaps in learning, and support measures of implementation that will continue to reduce the effects of COVID-19 on students and families.

 

CARES Act

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump on March 27, 2020.  The funding provides flexibility for states to respond to the COVID-19 emergency in K-12 schools.  Funds to local school districts may be used for coronavirus response activities, such as planning for and coordinating during long-term school closures, purchasing educational technology to support online learning for all student, and additional activities authorized by federal elementary and secondary education laws.

 

CRRSA Act

The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriation (CRRSA) Act signed into law by President Donald Trump on December 27, 2020, provides an additional $54.3 billion for an ESSER II fund.  Following the same distribution as the CARES Act, which is based on the share of ESEA Title I, Part A funds follows the same use for coronavirus-response activities.  Planning for and coordinating activities that address learning loss, preparing schools for reopening, testing, repairing, upgrading projects to improve air quality in school buildings, and additional activities authorized by federal elementary and secondary education laws are continually permitted. 

 

ARP Act

The American Rescue Plan (ARP)Act was signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021, to speed up the United States recovery from the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing recession.    
​ARP ESSER funds will allow SEAs to take additional steps to safely reopen schools for in-person instruction and keep them open, and to address the 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.

Districts are required to seek community input on how these funds will be spent to support students.  The Vidalia City School System is prioritizing the use of the ARP funds to support the District's strategic priorities in the following areas:

  • After school learning opportunities
  • Summer learning opportunities
  • Purchasing of technology and digital devices
  • Additional professional learning for teachers and staff
  • Providing faculty and staff training to support social/emotional needs of students
  • Facilities maintenance, cleaning, and upgrades
  • Ensuring buildings have enough substitutes
  • Hiring additional staff to meet meet student needs
  • Providing additional programs and resources to address identified needs
  • Provide hazard pay and retention bonuses for staff

You can provide input for any or all of these items by completing our survey here. 

 

 

ESSER Funding Transparency

The ESSER funding dashboard provides the public an opportunity to access information about how much of the funds have been used so far to improve student learning, address lost learning opportunities, support students’ mental health and wellbeing, and more.

The dashboard shows spending under all three rounds of ESSER funding – through the CARES Act in May 2020, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act in January 2021, and the American Rescue Plan in March 2021. 

To view the ESSER funding dashboard on the Georgia Department of Education website click here. 

 

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