American Rescue Plan Act and ESSER III Funds

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARP), passed on March 11, 2021, provided $122.7 billion in supplemental ESSER funding (known as the ESSER III) for districts across the country to claim. LEAs must reserve at least 20% of the funding they receive to address learning loss.

Two-thirds of ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds are immediately available to states while remaining funds will be made available after states submit ESSER implementation plans. States’ specific allocations and ARP plans can be found here. States have released plans for implementation, though a few states have yet to share a concrete plan for allocating these funds to LEAs.

Looking Forward to 2022

Here we have highlighted important information about the ESSER III (ARP) funds. Following this information exists a table for educators to use to identify how much funding their school/district has received in ESSER III funds. We hope that this information will empower educators to approach their administrators and ask how their district is planning on using ARP funds to address learning loss from COVID-19.

Many districts have yet to finalize how these ARP funds will be spent to accelerate student learning and bridge the learning gap created by the COVID-19 pandemic – you can be a part of this allocation process at your school by advocating for your students’ needs to your administration!

Information about how Math & Movement’s play-based, exploratory programming qualifies as an allowable use of ESSER III funds (as well as how to implement said programming at your district) can be found here!

Esser III Funds

What are the ESSER Funds?

ESSER I (March 2020)

The ESSER funds under the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) were provided to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) to address the impact that COVID-19 has had, and continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools across the country. This includes developing and implementing plans for educational services and continued learning, whether school campuses are open or closed.

ESSER II (December 2020)

The ESSER II funds under the CRRSA Act (Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act) were provided to LEAs to help school districts and other LEAs safely reopen schools, restore and maintain high-quality learning environments, measure and effectively address significant learning loss, and take other actions to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the students and families who depend on our K-12 schools.

ESSER III (March 2021)

The ESSER III funds under the ARP Act (American Rescue Plan Act) was signed into law on Thursday, March 11, 2021. The $122 billion of funds for ARP ESSER are provided to State educational agencies and school districts to help safely reopen and sustain the safe operation of schools. LEAs must reserve at least 20% of funds to address learning loss through the implementation of evidence-based interventions and ensure that those interventions respond to students’ social, emotional, and academic needs and address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on underrepresented student subgroups.

Allowable Uses for ESSER III Funds - Addressing Learning Loss

LEAs must reserve no less than 20% of its ESSER III allocation to address the academic impact of lost instructional time through the implementation of evidence-based interventions. Allowable uses of this portion of funds are:

1. Summer learning or summer enrichment

2. Extended day

3. Comprehensive after school programs

4. Extended school year programs

5. Evidence-based high dosage tutoring

6. Full-Service Community Schools

7. Mental health services and supports

8. Adoption or integration of social-emotional learning into the core curriculum/school day

9. Other evidence-based interventions

Additional Resources and Program Ideas

Are you looking for movement-based, exploratory program ideas to meet ESSER allowable uses? Check out this page from one of our partner organizations, Math & Movement.

The “National Math + Science Initiative” has created a helpful worksheet for educators to use to plan for learning solutions that qualify as allowable uses of ARP ESSER funds.

ESSER III Allocation Chart (by State)

To determine how much ARP ESSER (III) funding will be allocated to your district/school, please follow the link associated with your home state. In order to locate your school within the PDF file or website, search for the name of your school/district using ctrl+f. Please note that some district allocation plans have already calculated the amount of funding that must be set aside to address learning loss.

MINIMUM LEA ALLOCATION of ESSER II: also called ARP ESSER 

STATE MINIMUM LEA ALLOCATION of ESSER III STATE MINIMUM LEA ALLOCATION of ESSER III
Alabama
$1,818,063,419
Nebraska
$491,317,757
Alaska
$1,818,063,419
Nevada
$964,798,553
Arizona
$2,323,888,827
New Hampshire
$315,451,470
Arkansas
$1,127,905,050*
New Jersey
$2,488,128,933
California
$13,561,996,091
New Mexico
$881,150,630
Colorado
$1,049,695,769
New York
$8,089,902,752
Connecticut
$995,327,887
North Carolina
$3,239,272,535
Delaware
$369,660,568
North Dakota
$274,740,191
Florida
$6,334,421,794*
Ohio
$4,024,860,387
Georgia
$3,824,434,120
Oklahoma
$1,344,224,313
Hawai’i
$371,095,888*
Oregon
$1,008,925,861
Idaho
$395,947,837
Pennsylvania
$4,497,257,836
Illinois
$4,549,489,249
Rhode Island
$373,514,049
Indiana
$1,795,260,650
South Carolina
$1,900,846,338
Iowa
$697,064,594
South Dakota
$343,817,312
Kansas
$747,526,664
Tennessee
$2,238,874,273
Kentucky
$1,876,295,841
Texas
$11,176,729,900
Louisiana
$2,344,916,992*
Utah
$553,973,463
Maine
$370,172,954
Vermont
$256,647,724
Maryland
$1,756,023,122
Virginia
$1,898,541,676
Massachusetts
$1,647,115,266
Washington
$1,667,250,964
Michigan
$3,347,849,815
West Virginia
$685,276,135
Minnesota
$1,188,581,311
Wisconsin
$1,386,706,369
Mississippi
$1,464,478,069*
Wyoming
$273,338,452
Missouri
$1,760,876,294
D.C.
$347,685,439
Montana
$343,817,312

*pending approval or preliminarily allocated

Please note this is just an educational resource guide. Be sure to visit your state’s website to find most up to date information before making decisions.

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

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