Description

The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 authorized the ARP Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) fund to provide substantial relief to students and educators who have been profoundly affected by the novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). From the ARP ESSER Fund, the US Department of Education (USED) awarded a grant of $2,112,051,487 to the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) to support schools in safely reopening and sustaining safe operations of schools while meeting the academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of students resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds will enable the SCDE and local educational agencies (LEAs), and more directly schools, to support students who have been most severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and are likely to have suffered the most because of longstanding inequities in our communities and schools that have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

Program Office

Office of Emergency Programs

Eligible Applicants

Public school districts/local education agencies (LEAs) in South Carolina

Total Funding Available

Ninety percent of the funds the SCDE has received, $1,900,846,338, must be subgranted to LEAs. By law, the LEA subgrant amounts are determined in proportion to the amount of Title I, Part A funds the LEA received in summer 2020.

Funding Detail

The SCDE will award one subgrant per LEA. By law, each LEA received two-thirds of their subgrant by May 24, 2021. An LEA must submit a complete subgrant application package per this announcement to receive the remaining third of its subgrant.

Project Term

March 24, 2021 through September 30, 2024

Application Window

Opens June 24, 2021. Closes August 24, 2021 at 5 p.m.

Technical Assistance Session

The SCDE’s Office of the State Superintendent held a technical assistance session on May 19, 2021, to provide an overview of the ARP Act and ARP ESSER subgrant requirements. View the ARP Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) Technical Assistance Webinar (download slide deck). Another recorded technical assistance session reviewed the ARP ESSER application package and instructions. View the ARP ESSER Subgrant Application: Requirements and Submission Process (download slide deck).

Contact

Dr. John R. Payne
Deputy Superintendent
SCESSER@ed.sc.gov

Documents

ARP ESSER Application Guidance (DOCX, 607kb - 6/24/21)
ARP ESSER Online Application
ARP ESSER Plan (PDF, 2mb - 8/19/21)
ARP ESSER Spending Plan Form (XLSX, 99kb - 7/16/21)
Program-Specific Assurances (for electronic signatures) (PDF, 173kb - 6/24/21)

Program Web Page

ARP ESSER Funding Information