ARP ESSER Health and Safety Plan

Guidance, Template, and Resources

This page was created on June 4, 2021.

Section 2001(i)(1) of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act requires each local education agency (LEA) that receives funding under the ARP Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund to develop and make publicly available on the LEA's website a Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan, hereinafter referred to as a Health and Safety Plan.

Based on ARP requirements, 90 percent of ARP ESSER funds will be distributed to school districts and charter schools based on their relative share of Title I-A funding in FY 2020-2021. Given Federally required timelines, LEAs eligible to apply for and receive this portion of the ARP ESSER funding must submit a Health and Safety Plan that meets ARP Act requirements to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) by Friday, July 30, 2021, regardless of when the LEA submits its ARP ESSER application.

Each LEA must create a Health and Safety Plan that addresses how it will maintain the health and safety of students, educators, and other staff, and which will serve as local guidelines for all instructional and non-instructional school activities during the period of the LEA's ARP ESSER grant. The Health and Safety Plan should be tailored to the unique needs of each LEA and its schools and must take into account public comment related to the development of, and subsequent revisions to, the Health and Safety Plan.

The ARP Act and U.S. Department of Education rules require Health and Safety plans include the following components:

1. How the LEA will, to the greatest extent practicable, implement prevention and mitigation policies in line with the most up-to-date guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the reopening and operation of school facilities in order to continuously and safely open and operate schools for in-person learning;
2. How the LEA will ensure continuity of services, including but not limited to services to address the students' academic needs, and students' and staff members' social, emotional, mental health, and other needs, which may include student health and food services;
3. How the LEA will maintain the health and safety of students, educators, and other staff and the extent to which it has adopted policies, and a description of any such policy on each of the following safety recommendations established by the CDC:
1. Universal and correct wearing of masks;
2. Modifying facilities to allow for physical dis​tancing (e.g., use of cohorts/podding);
3. Handwashing and respiratory etiquette;
4. Clea​ning and maintaining healthy facilities, including improving ventilation;
5. Contact tracing in combination with isolation and quarantine, in collaboration with State and local health departments;
   
6. Diagnostic and screening testing;
7. Efforts to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to school communities;
8. Appropriate accommodations for children with disabilities with respect to health and safety policies; and
9. Coordination with state and local health officials.

The LEA's Health and Safety Plan must be approved by its governing body and posted on the LEA's publicly available website by July 30, 2021.* The ARP Act requires LEAs to post their Health and Safety Plans online in a language that parents/caregivers can understand, or, if it is not practicable to provide written translations to an individual with limited English proficiency, be orally translated. The plan also must be provided in an alternative format accessible, upon request, by a parent who is an individual with a disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Each LEA will upload in the eGrants system its updated Health and Safety Plan and webpage URL where the plan is located on the LEA's publicly available website.

The ARP Act requires LEAs to review their Health and Safety Plans at least every six months during the period of the LEA's ARP ESSER grant. LEAs also must review and update their plans whenever there are significant changes to the CDC recommendations for K-12 schools. Like the development of the plan, all revisions must be informed by community input and reviewed and approved by the governing body prior to posting on the LEA's publicly available website.

LEAs may use the template to revise their current Health and Safety Plans to meet ARP requirements and ensure all stakeholders are fully informed of the LEA's plan to safely resume instructional and non-instructional school activities, including in-person learning, for the current school year. An LEA may use a different plan template or format provided it includes all the elements required by the ARP Act, as listed above.

* The July 30, 2021, deadline applies only to school districts and charter schools that received federal Title I-A funds in FY 2020-2021 and intend to apply for and receive ARP ESSER funding.

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

The ARP ESSER application indicates LEAs must develop and make publicly available a Plan for Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services. What is that?

Section 2001(i)(1) of the ARP Act requires each LEA that receives ARP ESSER funds to develop and make publicly available on the LEA's website a Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan, hereinafter referred to as a Health and Safety Plan. As the U.S. Department of Education outlines specific requirements for the Health and Safety Plan, the plan will be different than the one each LEA submitted for the 2020-21 school year. In the interest of consistency, PDE developed a sample template that LEAs can use to revise existing local Health and Safety Plans to satisfy ARP ESSER requirements.

LEAs that received federal Title I-A funds in FY 2020-2021 and that intend to apply for and receive ARP ESSER funding must develop, post, and submit a Health and Safety Plan and the associated URL to PDE in eGrants by July 30, 2021.

Are all LEAs required to submit Health and Safety Plans to PDE by July 30, 2021?

Only school districts and charter schools that received federal Title I-A funds in FY 2020-2021 and that intend to apply for and receive ARP ESSER funding must develop, post, and submit a Health and Safety Plan and the associated URL to PDE in eGrants by July 30, 2021. PDE will provide additional guidance in the event ARP ESSER funding is made available to other LEAs.

What are the Health and Safety Plan requirements under ARP ESSER?

The ARP Act and U.S. Department of Education rules require LEAs receiving ARP ESSER funding to develop Health and Safety Plans that include the following components:

1. How the LEA will, to the greatest extent practicable, support prevention and mitigation policies in line with the most up-to-date guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the reopening and operation of school facilities in order to continuously and safely open and operate schools for in-person learning;
2. How the LEA will ensure continuity of services, including but not limited to services to address the students' academic needs, and students' and staff members' social, emotional, mental health, and other needs, which may include student health and food services;
3. How the LEA will maintain the health and safety of students, educators, and other staff and the extent to which it has adopted policies, and a description of any such policy on each of the following safety recommendations established by the CDC:
1. Universal and correct wearing of masks;
2. Modifying facilities to allow for physical distancing (e.g., use of cohorts/podding);
3. Handwashing and respiratory etiquette;
4. Cleaning and maintaining healthy facilities, including improving ventilation;
5. Contact tracing in combination with isolation and quarantine, in collaboration with the State and local health departments;
6. Diagnostic and screening testing;
7. Efforts to provide vaccinations to school communities;
8. Appropriate accommodations for children with disabilities with respect to health and safety policies; and
9. Coordination with state and local health officials.

LEAs also must solicit and consider public comment when developing and revising the Plan.

Is there a template that LEAs can use to develop or revise their Health and Safety Plans?

Yes. PDE developed a Health and Safety Plan template (Word) that is posted on the website and within the LEA's ARP ESSER grant application in eGrants.

Can an LEA submit its current Health and Safety Plan?

An LEA's current plan can be utilized as long as it is updated to include the elements unique to the ARP ESSER requirements.

How long will the Health and Safety Plan remain in effect?

Each LEA must create a Health and Safety Plan that addresses how it will maintain the health and safety of students, educators, and other staff, and which will serve as the local guidelines for all instructional and non-instructional school activities during the period of the LEA's ARP ESSER grant.

How does the LEA submit the plan to PDE?

Each LEA will upload in eGrants its Health and Safety Plan along with the webpage URL where the plan is located on the LEA's website.

What should the LEA do if its governing body will not meet before the July 30, 2021 deadline to submit the Health and Safety Plan to PDE?

By July 30, 2021, the LEA should submit in eGrants its preliminary, unapproved Health and Safety Plan, signifying when the board meeting for approval will occur, and the URL where the approved plan will be posted on the LEA's public website. Then, upon approval by the LEA's governing body, the LEA will submit the final approved Health and Safety Plan and URL no later than September 1, 2021.

NOTE: The July 30 deadline applies only to school districts and charter schools that received federal Title I-A funds in FY 2020-2021 and that intend to apply for and receive ARP ESSER funding.

How often should an LEA review and/or revise its plan once it has been approved by the LEA's governing body and submitted to PDE?

ARP ESSER requires that LEAs review their plans at least every six months during the entire period of the LEA's ARP ESSER grant. LEAs also must review and update their plans whenever there are significant changes to the CDC recommendations for K-12 schools. Like the development of the plan, all revisions must be informed by community input and reviewed and approved by the governing body prior to posting on the LEA's publicly available website.

Does an LEA need to submit to PDE each revision of the plan once the original plan is posted?

No. The LEA should submit the URL to the webpage where the current, and all future Health and Safety Plans, is located. That way PDE and the public always have access to the most current version of the LEA's Health and Safety Plan.

If an LEA applies for ARP ESSER funding after July 30, 2021, is it still required to develop and submit a Health and Safety Plan?

Yes. School districts and charter schools that received federal Title I-A funds in FY 2020-2021 and that intend to apply for and receive ARP ESSER funding must develop, post, and submit a Health and Safety Plan and the associated URL to PDE in eGrants by July 30, 2021, regardless when the LEA's ARP ESSER application is submitted.