The Biden-Harris Administration’s American Rescue Plan (ARP) provided states and school districts with $130 billion to help students recover, succeed, and thrive. Schools across the country are using ARP funds to safely remain open for in-person learning, to help students grow academically, and to support students’ mental health needs. States and school districts are required to engage with families as they make decisions about using these funds and parents and families should talk with their local leaders about whether students’ needs are being met.
Below is a checklist you can use to ask school leaders during back-to-school and beyond about how they are supporting students, including by using ARP funds. The strategies in this checklist are ones that support students’ learning, mental health, and overall well-being.
While not all school leaders and teachers may know how specific programs at their school are funded, they can tell you if these effective strategies are in place.
Every school district must spend at least 20 percent of its ARP funding on activities to address the pandemic’s effects on learning. But many districts are spending well more than this amount.
President Biden has specifically called on states and districts to use ARP funds to ensure schools have enough teachers and staff, provide tutoring and mentoring, and expand high-quality summer and afterschool programs. These strategies support greater learning and well-being as students recover from the pandemic.
States and school districts are required to post their plans for ARP Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds, sometimes referred to as ESSER III, online. Districts should communicate to your community how they are spending these funds through multiple channels. Parents and community members can access their state’s plan, and many district plans, through this U.S. Department of Education map. If your school district’s plan is not linked on the Department of Education map or easy to find on your district’s website, contact your school district for its ARP spending plan.
As you learn about the programs that your school community offers, it may be helpful to consider strong examples of how ARP funds are delivering supports for students across the country. Together, we can all work to ensure ARP funds provided by the Biden-Harris administration continue to deliver for our nation’s students.
