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# U.S. Department of Education Approves Georgia’s Plan for Use of American Rescue Plan Funds to Support K-12 Schools and Students, Distributes Remaining $1.4 Billion To State

# U.S. Department of Education Approves Georgia’s Plan for Use of American Rescue Plan Funds to Support K-12 Schools and Students, Distributes Remaining $1.4 Billion To State

July 22, 2021

**Contact:  **press@ed.gov

                                    -  	More Resources	Georgia Fact Sheet      
Today, the U.S.  Department of Education (Department) announced the approval of Georgia’s  American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP  ESSER) plan and distributed remaining ARP ESSER funds to them. Georgia’s plan  details how the state is using and plans to use ARP ESSER funds to safely  reopen and sustain the safe operation of schools and equitably expand  opportunity for students who need it most, particularly those most impacted by  the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier this year,  the Department distributed two thirds of the ARP ESSER funds, totaling $81  billion, to 50 states and the District of Columbia. The remaining third of the  funding to states will be made available once state plans are  approved. Georgia is receiving $4.2 billion total in ARP ESSER funds,  and today’s approval of their plan will result in the release  of the final $1.4 billion. Additionally, the Department approved  plans for Delaware, Iowa, Kansas, and New Mexico. Earlier this month, the  Department approved the plans for 11 other states and the District of Columbia.

“I am excited to announce approval of Georgia’s  plan,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “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 approval of these plans  enables states to receive vital, additional American Rescue Plan  funds to quickly and safely reopen schools for full-time, in-person learning;  meet students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs; and  address disparities in access to educational opportunity that were exacerbated  by the coronavirus pandemic. The state plans that have been submitted to  the Department lay the groundwork for the ways in which an unprecedented  infusion of federal resources will be used to address the urgent needs of  America’s children and build back better.”

“In Georgia, we’ll  be using ARP funds to support student learning, address lost learning  opportunities, ensure safe school environments, and expand resources and  supports for student mental health and wellbeing,” State School Superintendent  Richard Woods said. “From deploying state-level Academic Recovery Specialists,  to establishing school-based health clinics, to providing opportunity grants to  fund access to CTAE, fine arts, world-language, dual enrollment, and more—we  are focused on using our resources to directly support schools and students.” 

“For countless  Georgia students, providing access to a quality education means ensuring access  to their highest ambitions—and I know how important that is, firsthand.” said  Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock. “I am glad the Department of Education approved this  plan that will better support Georgia’s students and educators by investing in  structural improvements to Georgia’s school buildings and helping address  learning loss among our students.”

“After a  challenging year of learning for our students and our parents, it is important  that we do all we can to invest in our children and their futures,” said Rep.  Lucy McBath. “Thanks to the hard work of the Biden Administration and my  colleagues here in Georgia, this funding will provide vital resources for our  schoolchildren, schoolteachers, and school districts. This is more funding to  uplift our community, strengthen our schools, and create opportunities for our  kids to grow and succeed.”

The  ARP ESSER state plans approved by the Department today, including Georgia, show  how states are using federal pandemic resources to support safe in-person  instruction and meet the social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs  of students—with a focus on the students most impacted by the pandemic. For  example: 
- Addressing the Academic Impact of Lost Instructional       Time:  The Georgia Department of       Education’s (GaDOE) evidence-based interventions will include deploying       the state’s Continuous Improvement Teams, designed to support schools by       increasing bandwidth, infrastructure, and equipment for students and       educators; creating and curating standards-aligned instructional resources       and courses; and providing responsive and relevant professional learning.
- Investing       in Summer Learning and Expanded Afterschool Programs:  GaDOE will use ARP ESSER funds       this summer to provide evidence-based summer learning and enrichment       programs and afterschool programs for students across the state. In order       to ensure that programming is widely available and of a high caliber that       will promote recovery and future academic and development success, the       Georgia Statewide Afterschool Network (GSAN) will administer the Building       Opportunities in Out-of-School Time (BOOST) grants. The BOOST program will       offer three-year grants, renewed annually to community-based organizations       that operate comprehensive out-of-school time programming over the summer       months, after school during the academic year, or year-round, with the       goal of providing evidence-based programming focusing on academic and       non-academic barriers for students most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.       GaDOE will grant $45 million to organizations with statewide reach and       impact that operate year-round programming and would serve at least 2,000       youth annually across at least 15 counties, and $40 million to 100 to 120       community driven organizations operating afterschool and summer learning       programs. 

A  total of 41 states and the District of Columbia have submitted their ARP ESSER  state plans to the Department. The Department is reviewing the plans  expeditiously and is in contact with states to ensure their plans meet all  necessary requirements in order to access the remaining funds, as outlined in  the ARP. The Department also is in contact with states that have not yet  submitted plans, the vast majority of which are due  to state board of education or legislative review requirements.

The distribution of ARP ESSER funds is part of the Department’s  broader effort to support students and districts as they work to reengage  students impacted by the pandemic, address inequities exacerbated by COVID-19,  and build our education system back better than before. In addition to  providing $130 billion for K-12 education in the American Rescue Plan to  support the safe reopening of K-12 schools and meet the needs of all students,  the Biden-Harris Administration also has: 
- Released       three  volumes of the COVID-19 Handbook.
- Held       a  National Safe       School Reopening Summit .
- Prioritized       the vaccination of educators, school staff and child care workers. As of       the end of May an estimated 84% of teachers and school staff were fully       vaccinated. 
- Provided       $10 billion in funding for COVID-19 testing for PreK-12 educators, staff,       and students. 
- Launched       a series of Equity Summits focused on addressing inequities that existed       before, but were made worse by the pandemic.
- Released       a  report on the disparate impacts of COVID-19 on underserved       communities.
- Developed       a  Safer Schools and       Campuses Best Practices Clearinghouse elevating hundreds of best practices to support schools’ efforts to reopen       safely and address the impacts of COVID-19 on students, educators, and       communities.

In addition to the actions the Biden Administration  has taken to reopen schools, the President has proposed critical investments  through his Build Back Better agenda that will enable schools to rebuild  stronger than they were before the pandemic, such as investing billions to  build a diverse educator workforce, expand access to pre-K to all families, and  invest in school infrastructure, among other provisions. 
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