Over $3 billion is coming to Alabama schools from the three rounds of federal funding in order to address the challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools and districts have an unprecedented amount of money at their disposal to improve student outcomes and accelerate student learning, and we are tracking state and district spending with our new COVID School Spending Tracker.
How to Use the COVID School Spending Tracker:
This website keeps track of planned spending both at the district level and as a whole, statewide. For both the district and state trackers, remember that you can hover over any number for an explanation of what is included..
State Tracker:
Opening the COVID School Spending Tracker takes you to the front page, the state COVID spending tracker. On this page there are three tabs, one for each round of ESSER funding.
ESSER I Tab:
The big number in yellow at the top of the page is the total amount of money coming to Alabama schools from the CARES Act, passed in March 2020. Underneath that number you can find the following:
- The amount of the state reserve, or the maximum amount of money from the ESSER I fund that the state is allowed to keep to spend on statewide priorities.
- The amount of the money from the ESSER I fund that is going to local school districts.
- The amount and percentage of money spent so far.
- The number of days until the money must be completely spent.
This data comes from the US Department of Education’s COVID Spending Tracker. Click the button at the bottom of the page to see their website on Alabama COVID Spending.
ESSER II:
The big number in blue at the top of the page is the total amount of money coming to Alabama from CRRSA, or CARES 2, passed in December 2020. Underneath that number you can find the following:
- The amount of the state reserve, or the maximum amount of money from the ESSER I fund that the state is allowed to keep to spend on statewide priorities.
- The amount of the money from the ESSER I fund that is going to local school districts.
- The amount and percentage of money spent so far.
- The number of days until the money must be completely spent.
This data also comes from the US Department of Education’s COVID Spending Tracker. Click the link at the bottom of the page to see their website on Alabama COVID Spending.
ARP ESSER:
The big number in green at the top of the page is the total amount of money coming to Alabama from the American Rescue Plan, or ARP, passed in March 2021. Underneath that number you can find the categories shown on the picture below.
Under this section, you will see a green box labeled “District Tracker” where you can search for your local school district’s page by typing in their name in the search box then clicking on the district’s name when it populates.
Below the district tracker search function, you will find state demographics and state level student outcomes, based on Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program (ACAP) proficiency levels. This data is included because the goal of ESSER funds is to address learning loss and get students back on track, especially those most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to keeping up with how school districts across the state are spending their ESSER dollars, we will be looking at ACAP data to learn if spending is having a measurable impact on student achievement.
Local District Tracker
The district tracker has many of the same numbers as the state tracker, with a few differences.
ESSER I:
There are two numbers in yellow on the district ESSER I page: the total ESSER I funding and the ESSER I funding amount per pupil in the district. Between those two numbers, there is the percentage of funds spent so far. Above the box with this information, you can find a link to the district website, where you can find the district’s plan for spending all 3 rounds of funds as well as their reopening plans.
Under the tracker, you can find the button linking to the U.S. Department of Education’s own tracker, which breaks down how each district in the state is spending its funds by category.
ESSER II:
Similar to the ESSER I page, you will see the total ESSER II funding and the ESSER II funding amount per pupil in the district. Between those two numbers, there is the percentage of funds spent so far. Above the box, there is a link to the district website, where you can access their plans for spending.
When data is available, we will update this page to link to the U.S. Department of Education’s tracker of district ESSER II spending.
ARP ESSER:
In green, you will see the total ARP ESSER funding and the amount per pupil in the district. Between those numbers, you can find the amount spent so far. Above the box with this information, there is a link to the district website, where you can access their plan for spending.
In the box for each spending category, you will see the amount that the district is planning to spend for that category, as well as how much has been spent so far (these numbers will be updated when made available).
Below the spending tracker, there is information on the demographics of the district, and under that are district level student outcomes based on 2021 ACAP data. More years of ACAP scores will be added as data is available.
Last, there is an explanation of how the numbers on the page were calculated. You can also find a link to our data dictionary, which provides a fuller picture of what is included in each category in the tracker.
Interested in advocating for how this money is spent?
If you are interested in learning more about the most promising ways to spend this money, be on the lookout for our Local Advocate Toolkit, which will include more information about effective strategies for addressing learning loss and best practices for advocating to district leaders.
A+ is also planning a series of community events across the state where we will share the Local Advocate Toolkit along with the COVID School Spending Tracker. Are you interested in hosting one of these events in your school district? We are looking for individuals and community organizations that are connected to students and families across the state to co-host these events with. Let us know you are interested by emailing [email protected] with COVID School Spending Local Advocate Events in the subject line.
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