On Friday, Aug. 27, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced the approval of Illinois' American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) plan and distributed remaining ARP ESSER funds to them. Illinois' 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.

As schools and states begin the new school year, the Department released the Return To School Roadmap, which provides key resources and supports for students, parents, educators, and school communities to build excitement around returning to classrooms this school year and outlines how federal funding can support the safe and sustained return to in-person learning. ARP funds can be used to support the roadmap's efforts.

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. Illinois is receiving $5 billion total in ARP ESSER funds, and today's approval of their plan will result in the release of the final $1.6 billion. Additionally, the Department approved plans for Alaska, Connecticut, and Louisiana. Today's approvals mean a total of 32 ARP ESSER state plans have been approved since June. The Department has approved plans supporting more than 50 percent of students nationwide.

"I am excited to announce approval of Illinois' 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."

"Our students are safe and supported as they fully return to in-person learning this year, thanks to these incredible federal resources," said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carmen I. Ayala. "We continue to do everything possible to ensure each and every student can attend school in-person safely this fall. The approval of our state plan will allow us to make even greater equity-driven investments in teacher retention and students' mental health and academic growth. I want to highlight that, as part of our state plan, school districts will receive an additional $300 million distributed through the Evidence-Based Funding tiers, so communities can address the local impact of the pandemic on students' learning and wellbeing."

"The pandemic created unprecedented disruptions and burdens for students, teachers, and families in Illinois. That's why I worked alongside the Biden-Harris Administration to include this federal funding in the American Rescue Plan to get kids back to school safely," said U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin. "I'm happy to see the Department of Education approve Illinois' plan, which will help schools implement protocols to maintain a safe and supportive environment for students and educators as we enter a new school year."

The ARP ESSER state plans approved by the Department today, including Illinois, 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:

• Returning to In-Person Learning: The Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) expects school districts to offer in-person instruction for the 2021-2022 school year.
• Addressing the Academic Impact of Lost Instructional Time: CSDE will use ARP ESSER resources to support a model K-8 curricula. This will include high-quality instructional materials that will be made available on the state's Open Education Resources portal; two digital platforms to support learning acceleration and credit recovery; high-dosage tutoring to support students with specific learning disabilities; and expanded pathways to educator certification focused on multilingual educators, special education educators, educators of color, and male educators. Additionally, CSDE will partner with the juvenile justice system and contracted residential treatment programs to provide high-quality instructional resources, devices, and access to digital curricula to align with the public school setting.
• Investing in Summer Learning and Expanded Afterschool Programs: CSDE launched a competitive Expansion Grant program to provide up to $25,000 to summer enrichment programs to expand capacity for summer 2021 and an Innovation Grant program to provide up to $250,000 to summer enrichment programs that scale-up summer enrichment opportunities. For summer 2021, more than $8.6 million was allocated to grant recipients. The state is taking a similar approach to fund comprehensive afterschool programs.
• Supporting Students' and Educators' Social, Emotional, and Mental Health Needs: CSDE will use ARP ESSER funds to help address the mental health challenges of transitioning back to the classroom. CSDE will fund schools to partner with community-based mental health agencies to provide on-site mental health specialists to support students. Other potential investments include support for existing mental health providers, working with or creating more school-based health centers, and hiring or deploying more behavioral health staff.
• Supporting Family Engagement: CSDE will use ARP ESSER funding to support school district efforts to strengthen educators' engagement with families. CSDE is continually engaging with stakeholders, including community-based and parent organizations, to determine the best use of ARP ESSER funds to further family and community engagement and to support districts in their efforts. As CSDE implements the initiatives outlined in its state plan, additional future family and community engagement efforts to gather input may include, but are not limited to, public forums, ThoughtExchanges, community visits, focus groups, and surveys.

A total of 46 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:

• Launched the Return To School Roadmap to provide key resources and supports for students, parents, educators, and school communities to build excitement around returning to classrooms this school year and outline how federal funding can support the safe and sustained return to in-person learning
• 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.