40+ ARP ESSER plans submitted, 28 approved: Supporting afterschool and summer enrichment (Part 3)

Two months after state education agencies were asked to submit their proposed state plans for the use of American Rescue Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) Funds to the US Department of Education, almost half of all states have had their plans approved. The Department has posted all 44 state plans that were submitted as of August 11, along with approval letters for 27 and the District of Columbia. The Department continues to review plans and the remaining 7 plans are expected to be submitted soon. As part 3 in our blog series tracking the state ARP ESSER plans, see an update on plan trends below, as well as links to several open afterschool and/or summer enrichment grant programs funded through ARP ESSER dollars. Part 1 and Part 2 of our blog series provide additional background information on the state plans.

As a reminder, the American Rescue Plan (ARP) provides $122 billion for Pre-K through 12th grade education, a portion of which can be used to support young people during the hours they are out of school. 

In addition to state goals, plans for reopening schools in person, and how funds will be coordinated with other federal and relief funds; each plan was required to provide a description of how the state plans to use their 1 percent state level set aside for comprehensive afterschool programs, their 1 percent state level set aside for summer enrichment programs, and the 5 percent state level set aside for learning recovery. States were also asked to share how they will direct school districts to use the 90 percent of funds they receive including the 20 percent at the local level to be used for learning recovery.

An in-depth review of the afterschool and summer enrichment sections of the 44 state plans submitted as of August 11, 2021 found the following trends:

• 11 states have proposed to combine the comprehensive afterschool and summer enrichment set asides into one funding stream in support of year-round out-of-school-time programming:
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • Georgia
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Massachusetts
  • Nebraska
  • New York
  • Utah
  • Wyoming
• 18 states include 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21^st CCLC) in varying involvement – from expanding support for existing 21st CCLC grants, to using the 21st CCLC evidence base or infrastructure:
  • Delaware
  • Hawaii
  • Illinois
  • Kentucky
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • New Mexico
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Rhode Island
  • Washington
  • West Virginia
  • Wyoming
• 21 states and the District of Columbia propose grant funding for comprehensive afterschool programs which include partnerships between community-based organizations and nonprofits. The evidence base for out-of-school-time programs suggests that partnerships between community-based providers and schools are essential to yielding strong outcomes:
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Delaware
  • District of Columbia
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • Indiana
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Maryland
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • New Mexico
  • North Dakota
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Utah
  • Washington
  • Wyoming
• Ten states propose allocating the afterschool set aside funding directly by formula to school districts, or limiting grants for afterschool programming to school districts as the only eligible entity:
  • Alabama
  • Idaho
  • Iowa
  • Nevada
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • Pennsylvania
  • Texas
  • West Virginia
• 17 states and the District of Columbia propose grant funding for summer enrichment programs which include partnerships between community-based organizations and nonprofits:
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Connecticut
  • District of Columbia
  • Georgia
  • Indiana
  • Kansas
  • Minnesota
  • New Mexico
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Rhode Island
  • Tennessee
  • Utah
  • Washington
  • Wyoming
• 13 states propose allocating the summer enrichment set aside funding directly to school districts, or limiting grants for afterschool programming to school districts as the only eligible entity:
  • Alabama
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maryland
  • Nevada
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • Texas
  • West Virginia
• 16 states asked for more time to fully develop their afterschool and/or their summer learning strategies as they collect additional data and stakeholder feedback before proposing a plan:
  • Arizona (afterschool and summer)
  • California (afterschool)
  • Connecticut (afterschool)
  • Delaware (afterschool and summer)
  • Iowa (afterschool and summer)
  • Maine (afterschool)
  • Massachusetts (afterschool and summer)
  • Michigan (afterschool and summer)
  • Missouri (afterschool and summer)
  • Montana (afterschool and summer)
  • New Hampshire (afterschool)
  • Ohio (afterschool and summer)
  • Oklahoma (afterschool)
  • Oregon (afterschool and summer)
  • South Dakota (afterschool and summer)
  • Washington (afterschool)
• 13 states mentioned in their plans that they are coordinating with their statewide afterschool network:
  • Arkansas
  • Connecticut
  • Georgia
  • Indiana
  • Massachusetts
  • Minnesota
  • Nebraska
  • Ohio
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • Utah
  • Washington
  • Wyoming

Several states have posted grant funding opportunities that afterschool and/or summer learning providers may be eligible to apply for:

For more information on each of these state plans, see the Department of Education listing with links to each plan.