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ESSER III ARP Public Notice

The Baird Independent School District (ISD) has applied for the American Rescue Plan (ARP)  Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief III (ESSER III) Federal grant for funding. These federal funds were appropriated to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for public education purposes under the ARP Act through the ESSER III Fund. 

ARP ESER III Overview: The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021, Public Law 117-2, was enacted on March 11, 2021. The ARP Act provides additional funding for school districts to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Education portion of ARP is known as the Elementary and  Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III or ARP ESSER) Fund. 

General grant specifics are as follows: 

  • Grant Timeframe: Grant expires September 30, 2023. If needed, districts can carry over unused funds and be allowed to continue spending until September 30, 2024. Districts will be required to follow all federal, state, and local regulations and requirements for federal grant administration and fiscal spending of funds. 
  • The Baird ISD has been allocated $705,654 (estimate) to be expended over a 3-year period. 

ARP ESSER III Purpose: The purpose of the ARP ESSER III fund is to address learning loss and support the safe reopening and sustaining safe operations of schools while meeting students'  academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds address the impact that COVID-19 has had, and continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools. ARP ESSER III grant funds were issued for one-time or short-term types of expenditures to address the identified needs caused by the pandemic. Although long-term uses of  the ARP ESSER III funds are also allowable, the Baird ISD makes no assumptions that the state will  provide replacement funds for ARP ESSER III in future yea

Plan for ARP ESSER III Use of Funds: Baird ISD plans to use the funds to address learning deficits created by COVID-19 related school interruptions. Our primary focus will be on  providing student academic support in the following ways: 

  • Targeted interventions 
  • Targeted tutoring 
  • Smaller class sizes in lower elementary grades 
  • Highly engaging curriculum 
  • Technologies to support academic enrichment 

Public Notification and Comments: Input and comments were requested to help Baird ISD  determine how to prioritize spending of the ARP ESSER III funds. Please visit Baird ISD district webpage and click on ESSER III Public Information to view the survey, which was open until  July 16, 2021. Baird ISD’s final plan reflects student and staff needs and incorporates public input and comments.