LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky received Thursday the final third of its portion of its American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief plan (ARP ESSER), totaling another $611 million.
The U.S. Department of Education announced the new funding in a news release Thursday morning. The new money rounds out Kentucky's portion of the ARP ESSER funding, which totaled $2 billion. The initial $1.3 billion was released to the state on March 24.
“I am excited to announce approval of Kentucky’s plan,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in the release. “It is heartening to see, reflected in these state plans, the ways in which states are thinking deeply about how to use American Rescue Plan funds to continue to provide critical support to schools and communities, particularly as we move into the summer and look ahead to the upcoming academic year."
The money can be used to support efforts laid out in the department's "Return to School Roadmap." Among the highlights of Kentucky's plan:
- Return to In-Person Learning in 2021
- All schools in Kentucky will offer in-person instruction in the 2021-2022 school year.
- Safely Reopening Schools and Sustaining Safe Operations
- The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and the Kentucky Department of Public Health collaborated on more than 50 guidance documents, promoted early vaccination for the education workforce, and facilitated in the creation of COVID-19 vaccination sites at schools. Facemasks will be required in all preschool through 12th grade settings.
- Supporting Students Most Impacted by the Pandemic
- KDE has equity resources that will be used to support districts in their efforts to address the disproportioned impact of COVID-19.
- Addressing the Academic Impact of Lost Instructional Time
- KDE will offer professional development in literacy instruction for educators and staff, and increase student and teacher access to high-quality and instructional resources. KDE has also provided guidance and will offer technical assistance to implement accelerated learning summer programs with integrated social-emotional learning, high-intensity tutoring, and vacation academies.
- Investing in Summer Learning and Expanded Afterschool Programs
- KDE is offering summer learning grants in 2021 to districts that provide comprehensive summer learning programs to expand access to populations disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, reduce financial and physical access barriers, and expand and improve programs. KDE will provide technical assistance and monitor effectiveness of these grantees. Additionally, KDE will also fund a summer enrichment program with AmeriCorps focused on outdoor environmental education activities.
- Supporting Students’ and Educators’ Social, Emotional, and Mental Health Needs
- Each of the state’s eight education cooperatives have contracted with KDE to create a Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) team to assist schools and districts in their efforts to accelerate learning and address social-emotional needs due to school closures and inconsistencies in student participation in remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this effort and with ARP ESSER funds, a CRRSA coordinator, a learning acceleration specialist, and an SEL specialist will work with districts to accelerate student learning.
- Staffing to Support Students’ Needs
- KDE will work with the Kentucky Association for Psychology in Schools and the Kentucky Association of School Social Workers in an effort to better understand the support needed to create more access to these professionals for students. KDE has produced a Trauma-Informed Toolkit that includes guidance, strategies, behavioral interventions, practices and techniques to assist school districts and public charter schools in developing a trauma-informed approach. Additionally, KDE is working collaboratively with the Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities on creating and communicating an integrated mental health model in Kentucky.
“I am grateful for the approval of Kentucky’s ARP ESSER plan,” said Jason Glass, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Education. “This plan will assist in the safe reopening and in-person operation of our schools, while addressing not only the academic needs of our students, but their social, emotional and mental health needs as well. Instead of returning to the traditional way of doing things, our priority is to return to a better than normal school year.”
For more on the U.S. Department of Education's "Return to School Roadmap," click here.
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