By Bill DeBaun, Senior Director of Data and Strategic Initiatives
Reading time: Two minutes
In a “Dear Colleague” letter released last week, United States Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona offered states, postsecondary institutions,
and school districts with guidance about how to use pandemic relief funds to support students’ college and career pathways.
The letter reads in part:
“The purpose of this letter is to describe how states and local educational
agencies (LEAs) can continue to respond to the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic by using funds appropriated under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act
to develop and expand pathways to student success after high school by investing in efforts to:
Expand access to dual enrollment opportunities so that every young person can earn college credit in high school and get a head start in earning a postsecondary credential.
Provide strong career and college advisement and navigation supports so that every young person can graduate high school with actionable postsecondary and career plans and the skills and resources needed to pursue them.
…
To the extent these funds remain available for obligation, states and [school districts] may use funding appropriated under ARP for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund, and CRRSA for the ESSER II Fund and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER II) for these purposes [emphasis added].”
NCAN has long advocated for the ESSER funding passed
by Congress to go toward postsecondary readiness, but this latest guidance spells out in black and white that these activities are allowable uses. This letter should cross the desk of every district superintendent and school principal in the United
States, given the significant portions of unspent ESSER dollars out there.
The Dear Colleague letters offers multiple examples of districts and schools using ESSER relief funding to advance dual enrollment and college and career advising.
These examples are a good start, but the InvestForward.US website from NCAN’s partner, ESG, has even more resources, including spotlights and step-by-step strategies to help students build
momentum, acquire knowledge, earn college credit, and directly enroll.
Have more questions about using ESSER funding for college and career readiness activities? Email NCAN's Senior Director of Data and Strategic Initiatives Bill DeBaun,
Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy Catherine Brown, or Senior Director of Strategic Programming MorraLee Keller.
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