LEAs, including school districts and charter schools, that received a Title I, Part A grant in school year 2020-2021 are eligible and will receive allocations for the ESSER III grant.

The purpose of ESSER, in general, is to award subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs), such as school districts like Wichita Falls ISD, to address the impact that COVID-19 has had, and continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools.

Grant allocations are posted on the Grants Administration Entitlements page on the TEA website.

TEA must allocate 90 percent of its total ESSER III grant by formula to LEAs. TEA must determine each LEA’s ESSER allocation in proportion to the amount of funds the LEA received under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) in the most recent fiscal year (2020-2021).

Yes, LEAs must expend a minimum of 20 percent of their grant funds on:

• Evidence-based interventions, such as summer learning, extended day comprehensive after school programs, or extended school year programs; and
• Ensuring interventions respond to students’ academic, social, and emotional needs and address the disproportionate impact of coronavirus on student populations as defined in ESEA, Title I, Part A, students experiencing homelessness, and youth in foster care.

1. Any activity authorized under ESEA, IDEA, Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, or the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006
2. Coordination of preparedness and response efforts of LEA with State and local public health departments, and other relevant agencies, to improve coordinated responses among such entities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus
3. Activities to address the unique needs of low-income students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and foster care youth, including how outreach and service delivery will meet the needs of each student population
4. Developing and implementing procedures and systems to improve the preparedness and response efforts of LEAs
5. Training and professional development for staff of the LEA on sanitation and minimizing the spread of infectious diseases
6. Purchasing supplies to sanitize and clean the facilities of the LEA, including buildings operated by the LEA
7. Planning for, coordinating, and implementing activities during long-term closures, including providing meals to eligible students, providing technology for online learning to all students, how to provide guidance for carrying out requirements under IDEA, how to ensure other educational services can continue to be provided consistent with all Federal, State, and local requirements
8. Purchasing educational technology (hardware, software, and connectivity) for students that aids in regular/substantive educational interaction between students and instructors, including low-income students and students with disabilities, which may include assistive technology or adaptive equipment
9. Providing mental health services and supports, including through implementation of evidence-based full-service community schools
10. Planning and implementing activities related to summer learning, including providing classroom instruction or online learning during summer months and addressing the needs of low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care, and supplemental after school programs, providing classroom instruction or online learning, addressing the needs of low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care
11. Addressing learning loss among LEA students, including low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care, including administering and using high-quality assessments, implementing evidence-based activities to meet the comprehensive needs of students, providing information and assistance to parents & families on effectively supporting students, and tracking student attendance and improving student engagement in distance education
12. School facility repairs and improvements to enable operation of schools to reduce risk of virus transmission and exposure to environmental health hazards, and to support student health needs
13. Inspection, testing, maintenance, repair, replacement, and upgrade projects to improve the indoor air quality in school facilities, including mechanical and non-mechanical heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, filtering, purification, and other air cleaning, fans, control systems, and window and door repair and replacement
14. Developing strategies and implementing public health protocols including, to the greatest extent practicable, policies in line with guidance from CDC for the reopening and operation of school facilities
15. Other activities that are necessary to maintain the operation of and continuity of services in the LEA, including continuing to employ existing staff of the LEA to the greatest extent practicable.