BIE Implementation of American Rescue Plan (ARP) Funding

Of the $850 million in American Rescue Plan funding, BIE plans to allocate the funding as follows:

• $85 million (10%) will be managed by BIE School Operations for investments such as the buildout of a Learning Management System and ventilation improvement projects.
• Of the remaining $765 million, the distributions are as follows:

• 70% or $535.5 million will be allocated to K-12 schools based on the Weighted Student Unit formula
• 30% or $229.5 million will be allocated to Tribally Colleges and Universities based on student count.

• Currently completed: funding allocations to K-12 Bureau-operated schools.
• Plan for April 25th completion: funding allocations for K-12 TCS; grant specialists entering grant documents for school drawdown.
• Plan for April 23rd completion: TCU agreements are in process

BIE is using the same set of allowable costs identified by the Department of Education for CARES Act funding, the categories are:

(1) Coordination of preparedness and response efforts of local educational agencies with State, local, Tribal, and territorial public health departments, and other relevant agencies, to improve coordinated responses among such entities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.

(2) Providing principals and others school leaders with the resources necessary to address the needs of their individual schools.

(3) Activities to address the unique needs of low-income children or students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and foster care youth, including how outreach and service delivery will meet the needs of each population.

(4) Developing and implementing procedures and systems to improve the preparedness and response efforts of local educational agencies.

(5) Training and professional development for staff of the local educational agency on sanitation and minimizing the spread of infectious diseases.

(6) Purchasing supplies to sanitize and clean the facilities of a local educational agency, including buildings operated by such agency.

(7) Planning for and coordinating during long-term closures, including for how to provide meals to eligible students, how to provide technology for online learning to all students, how to provide guidance for carrying out requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.) and how to ensure other educational services can continue to be provided consistent with all Federal, State, and local requirements.

(8) Purchasing educational technology (including hardware, software, and connectivity) for students who are served by the local educational agency that aids in regular and substantive educational interaction between students and their classroom instructors, including low-income students and students with disabilities, which may include assistive technology or adaptive equipment.

(9) Providing mental health services and supports.

(10) Planning and implementing activities related to summer learning and supplemental afterschool programs, including providing classroom instruction or online learning during the summer months and addressing the needs of low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care

(11) Other activities that are necessary to maintain the operation of and continuity of services in local educational agencies and continuing to employ existing staff of the local educational agency