The purpose of ESSER in general is to award subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs), such as school districts like Plano ISD, to address the impact that COVID-19 has had, and continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools.

LEAs, including school districts and charter schools, that received a Title I, Part A grant in school year 2020-2021 are eligible and will receive allocations for the ESSER III grant.

$12,418,588,778 is available to the state. Ninety (90) percent, or $11,176,729,900, will be awarded to eligible LEAs per the ARP statute. Note that only 2/3 of the total state allocation ($8,279,059,186) is available at this time.

Grant allocations are posted on the Grants Administration Entitlements page on the TEA website. 

TEA must allocate 90% of its total ESSER III grant by formula to LEAs. TEA must determine each LEA’s ESSER allocation in proportion to the amount of funds the LEA received under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) in the most recent fiscal year (2020-2021).

Funds may be used for allowable activities from March 13, 2020 (with approved pre-award) through September 30, 2023. The Tydings Amendment will then apply and LEAs will have the standard 12-month carryover period for a total grant period of March 13, 2020, through September 30, 2024.

The LEA must engage in meaningful consultation with stakeholders and give the public an opportunity to provide input in the development of its plan for the uses of ARP ESSER III funds. Specifically the LEA must engage in meaningful consultation with students; families; school and district administrators (including special education administrators); and teachers, principals, school leaders, other educators, school staff, and to the extent present in or served by the LEA tribes, civil rights organizations (including disability rights organizations) and stakeholders representing the interests of children with disabilities, English language learners, children experiencing homelessness, children in foster care, migrant students, children who are incarcerated, and other underserved students.

The LEA must provide its plan for the uses of ARP ESSER III funds in an understandable and uniform format; to the extent practicable, written in a language that parents can understand or, if not practicable, orally translated; and, upon request by a parent who is an individual with a disability, provide in an alternative format accessible to that parent.

The LEA program schedules to the ESSER III application, or a separate document containing all the information included in the program schedules, serving as the LEA’s plan for the uses of ARP ESSER III funds will be posted to the LEA’s website within 30 days of receiving its ESSER III Notice of Grant Award.

1. Any activity authorized under ESEA, IDEA, Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, or the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006
2. Coordination of preparedness and response efforts of LEA with State and local public health departments, and other relevant agencies, to improve coordinated responses among such entities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus
3. Activities to address the unique needs of low-income students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and foster care youth, including how outreach and service delivery will meet the needs of each student population
4. Developing and implementing procedures and systems to improve the preparedness and response efforts of LEAs
5. Training and professional development for staff of the LEA on sanitation and minimizing the spread of infectious diseases
6. Purchasing supplies to sanitize and clean the facilities of the LEA, including buildings operated by the LEA
7. Planning for, coordinating, and implementing activities during long-term closures, including providing meals to eligible students, providing technology for online learning to all students, how to provide guidance for carrying out requirements under IDEA, how to ensure other educational services can continue to be provided consistent with all Federal, State, and local requirements
8. Purchasing educational technology (hardware, software, and connectivity) for students that aids in regular/substantive educational interaction between students and instructors, including low-income students and students with disabilities, which may include assistive technology or adaptive equipment
9. Providing mental health services and supports, including through implementation of evidence based full-service community schools
10. Planning and implementing activities related to summer learning, including providing classroom instruction or online learning during summer months and addressing the needs of low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care, and supplemental afterschool programs, providing classroom instruction or online learning, addressing the needs of low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care
11. Addressing learning loss among LEA students, including low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care, including administering and using high-quality assessments, implementing evidence-based activities to meet the comprehensive needs of students, providing information and assistance to parents & families on effectively supporting students, and tracking student attendance and improving student engagement in distance education
12. School facility repairs and improvements to enable operation of schools to reduce risk of virus transmission and exposure to environmental health hazards, and to support student health needs
13. Inspection, testing, maintenance, repair, replacement, and upgrade projects to improve the indoor air quality in school facilities, including mechanical and non-mechanical heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, filtering, purification and other air cleaning, fans, control systems, and window and door repair and replacement
14. Developing strategies and implementing public health protocols including, to the greatest extent practicable, policies in line with guidance from CDC for the reopening and operation of school facilities
15. Other activities that are necessary to maintain the operation of and continuity of services in the LEA, including continuing to employ existing staff of the LEA to the greatest extent practicable