ESSER III Funds for Colorado

Funding Breakdown

A total $1.17 billion in ESSER III funds will be allocated to the Colorado Department of Education Agency (CDE) and local education agencies (LEAs = school districts). Below that, you can see how much your school districts will receive. As an OST provider, we hope you will advocate to your local school districts to partner with you to provide OST programs for their students using funds from their 20% minimum reserve for learning loss, which explicitly calls out summer and afterschool programs as an allowable use.

Timeline & Status

• March 11, 2021: American Rescue Plan (ARP), including ESSER III funds, signed into law
• April 11, 2021: U.S. Department of Education provided states with ESSER III spending guidelines (COVID-19 Handbook Vol. 2), which include OST and summer learning and enrichment as evidence-based interventions for accelerated learning and explicitly recommends partnering with community-based organizations to implement those interventions
• CDE ESSER III Information Page American Rescue Plan – Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) Fund | CDE (state.co.us)
• May 2, 2022 – CDE grant opportunity ESSER Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELO) Grant Program | CDE (state.co.us)
• Now: School districts have submitted budgets to CDE detailing their ESSER III fund plans. Districts may open up a Request for Proposals (RFP) from community organizations as a way to use the 20% reserve for learning loss which can be used for afterschool and summer programs.
• Now: CAP is advocating at state, regional, and local levels for learning loss, summer, and afterschool reserves to be invested in community partnerships
• Now: Community-based organizations are advocating to school districts for learning loss reserve to be invested in OST programs with their organizations

Federal & State Information

U.S. Department of Education

• COVID-19 Handbook Vol. 1 – Strategies for Safely Reopening Elementary and Secondary Schools
• COVID-19 Handbook Vol. 2 – Roadmap to Reopening Safely and Meeting All Students’ Needs (ESSER III spending guidelines)
• ARP ESSER III Fact Sheet (PDF)

Colorado Department of Education

• ARP ESSER III Grant Total Allocation Amounts by School District
• CDE ESSER III Application Page
• CDE ESSER Allowable Uses Document 
• CDE Timelines associated with ESSER III