On Thursday, July 22, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced the approval of Iowa’s American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) plan and distributed remaining ARP ESSER funds to them. Iowa’s plan details how the state is using and plans to use ARP ESSER funds to safely reopen and sustain the safe operation of schools and equitably expand opportunity for students who need it most, particularly those most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier this year, the Department distributed two thirds of the ARP ESSER funds, totaling $81 billion, to 50 states and the District of Columbia. The remaining third of the funding to states will be made available once state plans are approved. Iowa is receiving $775 million total in ARP ESSER funds, and today’s approval of their plan will result in the release of the final $258 million. Additionally, the Department approved plans for Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, and New Mexico. Earlier this month, the Department approved the plans for 11 other states and the District of Columbia.

The ARP ESSER state plans approved by the Department today, including Iowa’s, show how states are using federal pandemic resources to support safe in-person instruction and meet the social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs of students—with a focus on the students most impacted by the pandemic. For example:

• Addressing the Academic Impact of Lost Instructional Time: The Iowa Department of Education (IDOE) will support school districts to implement evidence-based interventions and practices to be determined that address accelerated learning in the context of COVID-19. The IDOE also will train and provide coaching through a statewide implementation network and provide curated lists of evidence-based interventions and practices from reviewed organizations.
• Investing in Summer Learning and Expanded Afterschool Programs and Supporting Social, Emotional, and Mental Health Needs: The IDOE will support school districts to select and implement evidence-based interventions and practices that address summer school programming in the context of COVID-19. IDOE also will use ARP ESSER funds to support implementation of evidence-based comprehensive after-school programs that integrate before- and after-school programs and wraparound care.

A total of 41 states and the District of Columbia have submitted their ARP ESSER state plans to the Department. The Department is reviewing the plans expeditiously and is in contact with states to ensure their plans meet all necessary requirements in order to access the remaining funds, as outlined in the ARP. The Department also is in contact with states that have not yet submitted plans, the vast majority of which are due to state board of education or legislative review requirements.

The distribution of ARP ESSER funds is part of the Department’s broader effort to support students and districts as they work to reengage students impacted by the pandemic, address inequities exacerbated by COVID-19, and build our education system back better than before. In addition to providing $130 billion for K-12 education in the American Rescue Plan to support the safe reopening of K-12 schools and meet the needs of all students, the Biden-Harris Administration also has:

• Released three volumes of the COVID-19 Handbook.
• Held a National Safe School Reopening Summit.
• Prioritized the vaccination of educators, school staff and child care workers. As of the end of May an estimated 84% of teachers and school staff were fully vaccinated.
• Provided $10 billion in funding for COVID-19 testing for PreK-12 educators, staff, and students.
• Launched a series of Equity Summits focused on addressing inequities that existed before, but were made worse by the pandemic.
• Released a report on the disparate impacts of COVID-19 on underserved communities.
• Developed a Safer Schools and Campuses Best Practices Clearinghouse elevating hundreds of best practices to support schools’ efforts to reopen safely and address the impacts of COVID-19 on students, educators, and communities.

In addition to the actions the Biden Administration has taken to reopen schools, the President has proposed critical investments through his Build Back Better agenda that will enable schools to rebuild stronger than they were before the pandemic, such as investing billions to build a diverse educator workforce, expand access to pre-K to all families, and invest in school infrastructure, among other provisions.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Public Health’s website shows the number Covid patients in Iowa hospitals has been increasing over the past three and a half weeks. In RMCC Region 4 (southwest & western Iowa), the data show nine patients are hospitalized with COVID, three are in an ICU, three people were admitted over the previous 24-hours, and one person was on a ventilator. Statewide, the largest group of current confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations, as of today (Thursday), were in the 50-to 59 age bracket.

Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa is an eye doctor who’s the former director of the state health department. She went on the floor of the U.S. House yesterday (Wednesday) to urge Iowans to get vaccinated. “For the last few months, I have traveled across my district administering vaccines to Iowans. It has been a pleasure to see my constituents and the entire country have a renewed sense of freedom and a return to normal,” Miller-Meeks said, but fully engaged living is threatened the Delta variant, which is causing increased hospitalizations and deaths, especially among those unvaccinated.”

Miller-Meeks says if you haven’t gotten a shot and have concerns, talk to your doctor. “It is miraculous to have three safe and effective vaccines for Covid-19 so rapidly,” Miller-Meeks says. “…Decades of research informed the development of these break-through vaccines and millions have been vaccinated with tremendously low risk.”

As she spoke, Miller-Meeks, who is a Republican, positioned a large photo showing her giving a Covid shot to the chairman of the Iowa G-O-P. Forty-seven percent of Iowans are fully vaccinated according to the Iowa Department of Public Health’s data.