American Rescue Plan Act - ESSER III

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) signed into law on March 11, 2021 provided nearly $122 billion for the Elementary and Secondary School Relief Fund (ESSER). ARP ESSER funds are provided to state educational agencies (SEAs) in the same proportion as each State received under Title I-A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in fiscal year (FY) 2020. An SEA must allocate at least 90 percent of its ARP ESSER grant funds to its local educational agencies (LEAs) in the same proportion that the LEA received under Title I-A of ESEA in fund year 2020. The LEA must reserve at least 20 percent of their total ARP ESSER allocation to address the academic impact of lost instructional time on all students, through the implementation of evidence-based interventions.

The U.S. Department of Education published Interim Final Requirements on April 22, 2021 requiring a LEA receiving ARP ESSER funds to submit a LEA ARP ESSER Plan and a LEA Plan for the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services. If a LEA had already developed a plan for safe return to in-person instruction and continuity of services prior to the enactment of ARP that meets the statutory requirements of section 2001(i) but did not address all of the requirements in the IFR, the LEA must revise and post its plan no later than six months after receiving its ARP ESSER funds. This applies even if a LEA has been operating full-time in-person instruction but does not apply to fully virtual schools and LEAs.

Giddings ISD is portion of the ESSER III funds as determined by the funding formula is $2,790,584 (initially, $2,789,683) At least 20%  or $558,116.80 (initially, $557,936.60) of the total allocation, must be set-aside for learning loss mitigation.

The District conducted a survey of stakeholders during the month of July 2021 to determine priorities for allocation of these funds to meet local needs related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan that has been developed by the District based on these priorities can be found at the link below. The District will gather feedback and revise the plan accordingly throughout the cycle of the ESSER III grant. The District will provide opportunities for stakeholders to formally provide input on a periodic basis at a minimum of every six months throughout the grant cycle.

As of August 2022, the District provided the following opportunities for stakeholders to formally provide input on the ESSER III Plan and Safe Return to In-Person and Continuity of Services Plan:

  • Giddings ISD Board of Trustees Meetings, Public Input, third Thursday of each month, 7:00 PM

  • Giddings ISD District Improvement Committee Meeting, October 13, 2021, 5:00 PM

  • Giddings ISD District Improvement Committee Meeting, February 15, 2022, 5:00 PM

  • Giddings ISD Board of Trustees, ESSER III Public Meeting, February 17, 2022, 6:45 PM

  • Giddings ISD Board of Trustees, Board Meeting - ESSER III Report and Discussion, August 23, 2022, 7:00 PM

Please contact Shane Holman at lee.holman@giddings.txed.net or (979) 542-2854 if you have any questions about the ESSER III grant, the ESSER III Plan, the Safe Return to In-Person and Continuity of Services Plan, or if you would like to informally provide feedback.

ESSER - III Plan, English

ESSER - III Plan, Spanish

Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan