American Rescue Plan - Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) Fund

Although ARP ESSER III allows for the same uses of funds as ESSER I and II, there are additional requirements that have been added under ARP, which include:

• 20% of funds are used for addressing academic impact of lost instructional time.
• An LEA Use of Funds Plan
• An LEA Safe In-Person Plan
• Maintenance of Equity

The additional ARP ESSER III funds will be distributed according to the same process as the ESSER I and ESSER II funds with 90% flowing to local education agencies based on the Title I formula and 10% reserved for state-level activities. Like the original ESSER dollars, only 0.5% of the total state award may be used for administration activities.

Under ARP ESSER III, Colorado has received $1,166,328,632 with at least $1,049,695,769 for direct distribution to districts and no more than $116,632,863 for state-level priorities. View ARP ESSER III allocations (PDF). On June 25, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education revised Colorado's allocation to $1,167,153,961, which increased the 90% allocation for direct distribution to districts to $1,050,438,565. View the revised ARP ESSER III allocations (PDF).

Allowable uses include:

• coordinating preparedness and response efforts with State, local, Tribal, and territorial public health departments to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19;
• training and professional development on sanitizing and minimizing the spread of infectious diseases;
• purchasing supplies to sanitize and clean the LEA's facilities;
• repairing and improving school facilities to reduce risk of virus transmission and exposure to environmental health hazards;
• improving indoor air quality;
• addressing the needs of children from low-income families, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and foster care youth;
• developing and implementing procedures and systems to improve the preparedness and response efforts of LEAs;
• planning for or implementing activities during long-term closures, including providing meals to eligible students and providing technology for online learning;
• purchasing educational technology (including hardware, software, connectivity, assistive technology, and adaptive equipment) for students that aids in regular and substantive educational interaction between students and their classroom instructors, including students from low-income families and children with disabilities;
• providing mental health services and supports, including through the implementation of evidence-based full-service community schools and the hiring of counselors.

Additional Resources

• View the ESSER Allowable Uses Document
• Using ESSER Funds to Pay for Multi-Year Subscriptions or Licenses
• ESEA Office Hours Recorded Webinars and Presentation Materials
• ESSER Budget Resources
• ESSER III Narrative Question Guidance

Using priorities identified with stakeholder input, the Commissioner has used ARP ESSER III State Reserve funds for a variety of purposes. Nearly $25 million was distributed to LEAs that received no or little funds from the 90% direct allocations to LEAs, districts serving American Native students, BOCES, Administrative Units, and Facility schools. The breakdown of funds allocated to each entity can be found here.

State reserve funds are also being used to provide competitive grants based on the identified priorities. More information about these opportunities can be found on the ESSER State Reserve webpage.

The law requires the U.S. Department of Education to award funds to states within 60 days of its enactment with the ability to use funds until Sept. 30, 2023. The Tydings amendment allows an additional 12 months to use funds extending the use until Sept. 30, 2024.

The ARP Act does not directly address allocation of district ESSER III funds to charter schools that are not standalone LEAs. The clear legislative intent, however, is to benefit all public schools and students regardless of school type. CDE asks that districts include their charter schools on equal footing with traditional schools, when determining the most important educational needs as a result of COVID-19, consistent with the intent of the ARP Act and the intent of Colorado law, see C.R.S. 22-30.5-112(3). LEAs must meaningfully engage all school leaders, including charter school leaders, in determining their plans for using ARP ESSER III funds.

Due to the requirement within the ARP Act for LEAs to use at least 20% of funds to address learning loss, CDE is developing guidance to assist districts as they work with their charters on fund distribution.

The ARP (section 2002) includes a separate program of Emergency Assistance for Non-Public Schools (EANS). Consequently, LEAs do not provide equitable services under ARP ESSER. Under EANS, an SEA provides services or assistance to nonpublic schools that enroll a significant percentage of children from low-income families and are most impacted by COVID-19. Unlike the GEER - EANS funds, the ARP EANS funds may not be used to provide reimbursements for costs incurred by non-public schools.