RFP 2025-0500-0047 Covid-19 Funding Specialist

RFP 2025-0500-0047 Covid-19 Funding Specialist

The Department of Education and Early Development, Division of Innovation and Education Excellence, is soliciting proposals for a vendor who will facilitate COVID-19 funding and associated allowable expenditures and reporting requirements for American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER), ARP Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (ARP EANS, and ARP Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY). The successful vendor will work with DEED leadership to ensure that all requirements are fulfilled, and the successful implementation of all activities are completed.

On Thursday, March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act was signed into law. It was an unprecedented $1.9 trillion package of assistance measures, including $122 billion for the ARP Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund. Funds are provided to states and districts to help safely reopen and sustain the same operation of schools and address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Nation’s students. Alaska was awarded $358,770,937 in ARP ESSER funds. Of that amount, $322,893,843 was required to be awarded to school districts. One requirement for ARP ESSER funds is that school districts spend at least 20% of their allocation to address the impacts of lost instructional time during the pandemic. The amount required for all Alaskan school districts to spend on addressing learning loss is $64,578,768.60. For more information regarding ARP ESSER funds in Alaska click here .

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 authorized a second round of funding to provide services or assistance to non-public schools (ARP EANS). With two exceptions, the requirements of ARP EANS are the same as those of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 (CRRSA Act). The two exceptions are: 1) a state education agency (SEA) may only provide services or assistance under ARP EANS to non-public schools that enroll a significant percentage of students from low-income families and are most impacted by COVID-19 and (2) an SEA may not use ARP EANS funds to provide reimbursements to any non-public school for costs the school incurred to address the impact of the COVID-19 emergency.

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021. The ARP Act included an unprecedented $800 million reservation within the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund to support the specific and urgent needs of homeless children and youth in recognition of the extraordinary impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on students experiencing homelessness. The ARP Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY II) Fund provides an additional $1,321,933.50 for Alaska school districts in addition to the $440,574.00 provided under ARP-HCY.

Please see attached documents for additional information.