What is ARPA
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.
ARP ESSER provides significant federal resources to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic that, for some LEAs, comprise millions of dollars of emergency funding. The interim final rule requirement states that each LEA will develop a plan for the use of those funds. The developed plans ensure the ARP ESSER funds are being used consistent with statutory requirements and meet the needs of schools, students, and educators, in particular those students most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
ESSER III Grant period ends September 30, 2023; Carryover ends September 30, 2024
Click Here to link to Georgia Insights GA Department of Education
Alphabet Soup- Acronym Guide
CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
ESSER: Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds
ESSER I (CARES Act): Coronavirus Aid, Relief, And Economic Security Act
ESSER II (CRRSA Act): Coronavirus Response & Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act
ESSER III (ARPA): American Rescue Plan Act
GaDOE: Georgia Department of Education
LEA: Local Education Agency
SEA: State Education Agency
SEL: Social Emotional Learning |
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Return to School Plan
The DCSS Start of School Committee began meeting in June to plan for the upcoming school year. The committee revised the Learning by Design document to reflect new guidance and procedures utilizing 4 classifications. The committee reconvened in August to update the guidance on The Learning by Design document to reflect three levels of classifications of COVID spread and was updated as of August 25, 2021. Below is the infographic that depicts the classifications and the recommendations for face coverings.
Click here for the Learning by Design updated guidance published August 25, 2021.
Click here for the latest 2021-2022 Return to School Plan.
Click here for the 2020-2021 Return to School Plan.
Use of Funds
DCSS announces plan to utilize ARP Funds to overcome Learning Loss and unfinished learning and facility improvements to reduce the transmission of viruses. Also included in the plan is the 2021-2022 Return to School Plan. Our plan will be submitted to GaDOE for review and approval. Over the next three years the funds will be used to address our priorities and throughout the ARP Grant timeframe we will continue to monitor progress, and re-evaluate the plan as needed. If it is necessary to revise the current plan we will seek stakeholder input based on current system needs.
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PRIORITIES
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Learning Loss & Acceleration
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Social Emotional Mental Health Wellbeing
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Facility Improvements
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