Rams Life
Skip to content
California Department of Education
July 2021
ESSER III Expenditure Plan
Local Educational Agency (LEA) Name
Contact Name and Title
Email and Phone
Ducor Union Elementary School District
Isidro Rodriguez, Superintendent
superintendent@ducor.k12.ca.us
559-534-2261
School districts, county offices of education, or charter schools, collectively known as LEAs, that receive Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds under the American Rescue Plan Act, referred to as ESSER III funds, are required to develop a plan for how they will use their ESSER III funds. In the plan, an LEA must explain how it intends to use its ESSER III funds to address students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs, as well as any opportunity gaps that existed before, and were worsened by, the COVID-19 pandemic. An LEA may also use its ESSER III funds in other ways, as detailed in the Fiscal Requirements section of the Instructions. In developing the plan, the LEA has flexibility to include community input and/or actions included in other planning documents, such as the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), provided that the input and actions are relevant to the LEA’s Plan to support students.
For more information please see the Instructions.
Other LEA Plans Referenced in this Plan
Plan Title
Where the Plan May Be Accessed
Ducor Elementary School District LCAP 2021-24
ELO Grant
Summary of Planned ESSER III Expenditures
Below is a summary of the ESSER III funds received by the LEA and how the LEA intends to expend these funds in support of students.
Total ESSER III funds received by the LEA
$927,672
Plan Section
Total Planned ESSER III Expenditures
Strategies for Continuous and Safe In-Person Learning
$410,000
Addressing Lost Instructional Time (a minimum of 20 percent of the LEAs ESSER III funds)
$517,672
Use of Any Remaining Funds
Total ESSER III funds included in this plan
$927,672
Community Engagement
An LEA’s decisions about how to use its ESSER III funds will directly impact the students, families, and the local community. The following is a description of how the LEA meaningfully consulted with its community members in determining the prevention and mitigation strategies, strategies to address the academic impact of lost instructional time, and any other strategies or activities to be implemented by the LEA. In developing the plan, the LEA has flexibility to include input received from community members during the development of other LEA Plans, such as the LCAP, provided that the input is relevant to the development of the LEA’s ESSER III Expenditure Plan.
For specific requirements, including a list of the community members that an LEA is required to consult with, please see the Community Engagement section of the Instructions.
A description of the efforts made by the LEA to meaningfully consult with its required community members and the opportunities provided by the LEA for public input in the development of the plan.
Throughout the 2020-21 year and continuing into the 2021-22 school year, analysis of options and consultation with our community took place regularly at Ducor School. With influx of state and federal emergency fundings, the LCAP consultation process included these emergency funds from the time they were announced. The superintendent/principal met monthly with certificated and classified staff to review needs, develop solutions and coordinate budgets, always with the goal of involving our community as informed decision-makers. The process included information and data sharing, analysis of findings, description of allowable expenditures, and facilitation of decision-making. All constituents thus have an empowered voice. The superintendent/principal reviewed each goal as well as progress in action. The superintendent/principal also explains to the staff how certain actions and services apply to common core training, English Learner Development training, mathematics, science, history, reading and writing programs available for teachers and supporting staff members to attend during the school year. It included regular consultation regarding the COVID emergency requirements and regulations as well as Ducor’s responses as well as mitigation options necessary and available and analysis of learning loss and other issues brought on by the emergency. The planning for the ESSER III remains coordinated with the district's LCAP goals and actions as well as other emergency funding.
Staff consultation and recommendations were reviewed to improve implementation of the plans and thus maximize benefit for students. Monthly, the superintendent/principal met with parents during parent club meetings. The group of parents, predominantly parents of English learners, serves as the Parent Advisory Committee and English learner Parent Advisory Committee. The parents are informed in the same way as staff. The discussions include ELD, reading, math, tutoring, field trips and curriculum with active input and advice from parents.
Every Wednesday afternoon, the superintendent/principal met with teachers. Teacher collaborative time involves regular business meetings, planning, budgeting, curriculum, student site team meetings and parent support discussion and is all included in planning and review. The ESSER III plan integrated many of the meetings, staff discussions and planning from the LCAP.
Every second Tuesday of each month, the school board meets for the monthly school board meetings. The superintendent/principal includes plan updates, discussion and review on the board agenda. The discussions include review, planning, budgeting, suggestions, evaluation and ideas.
Students are asked in surveys and classroom discussions what they would like to include in the LCAP planning. Many students inserted such items as technology, playground, athletic materials, field trips, musical instruments and many other ideas. The student input is very positive and well accepted by the staff. The ESSER III planning integrated many of the student ideas, suggestions and student responses from the LCAP.
Consultation and advice from the Tulare County Office of Education is an essential part of the planning process in these plans. We depend upon consultation from various departments at TCOE. Special Education, Migrant Education, content area consultants, and English Learner consultants all provide consultation and advice. As a very small, rural, isolated district, Ducor depends on interaction with and advice from our professional associations such as the CDE, State Board of Education, Small School Districts Association, County Counsel, and others who provide regular updates and alerts to be certain that all voices are heard. The district thus met with all required partners in development of this plan.
A description of how the development of the plan was influenced by community input.
Our community is in agreement that the following top concerns must be addressed through coordination of special and emergency relief funds:
get school back to normal, safely and responsible as soon as possible (all stakeholders almost every day)
address and mitigate concerns about distance learning difficulties, attendance and outcomes
mitigate increase in chronic absences
Identify, quantify and ameliorate lost learning (how do you know students lost learning, objectively?) and what will we do to remediate it?
Specific solutions incorporated into the plan from community consultation:
Specifically, this plan addresses the following in order to identify, quantify and ameliorate lost learning lost learning and remediate it over the long term.
Expanding academic, social, health, emotional, and mental health supports for students and staff, and
Strengthening acceleration of English Language Development and supports for English Learners
Actions and Expenditures to Address Student Needs
The following is the LEA’s plan for using its ESSER III funds to meet students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs, as well as how the LEA will address the opportunity gaps that existed before, and were exacerbated by, the COVID-19 pandemic. In developing the plan, the LEA has the flexibility to include actions described in existing plans, including the LCAP and/or Expanded Learning Opportunity (ELO) Grant Plan, to the extent that the action(s) address the requirements of the ESSER III Expenditure Plan.
For specific requirements, please refer to the Actions and Expenditures to Address Student Needs section of the Instructions.
Strategies for Continuous and Safe In-Person Learning
A description of how the LEA will use funds to continuously and safely operate schools for in-person learning in a way that reduces or prevents the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Total ESSER III funds being used to implement strategies for continuous and safe in-person learning
$410,000
Plan Alignment (if applicable)
Action Title
Action Description
Planned ESSER III Funded Expenditures
LCAP Goal 1; actions 2,3,and 4
support for teaching and learning
Full Time instructional support for teachers,staff, administration, coaches, and students to provide immediate assistance in the classroom and on campus, coordinated response to emergencies, and faithful implementation of mitigation efforts to assure that all students, staff and community are safe, secure, and active participants in teaching and learning.
$ 410,000
Addressing the Impact of Lost Instructional Time
A description of how the LEA will use funds to address the academic impact of lost instructional time.
Total ESSER III funds being used to address the academic impact of lost instructional ti
Plan Alignment (if applicable)
Action Title
Action Description
Planned ESSER III Funded Expenditures
LCAP; goal 1; action 8
Support for teaching and learning
Provide certificated levels to continue the integrity of the instructional program and assure continuous program improvement processes for unduplicated count students without interruption, increase instructional staffing and support to levels which will deepen and expand instruction for unduplicated count students.
$517,672
Use of Any Remaining Funds
A description of how the LEA will use any remaining ESSER III funds, as applicable.
Total ESSER III funds being used to implement additional actions
0
Plan Alignment (if applicable)
Action Title
Action Description
Planned ESSER III Funded Expenditures
Ensuring Interventions are Addressing Student Needs
The LEA is required to ensure its interventions will respond to the academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of all students, and particularly those students most impacted by the COVID–19 pandemic. The following is the LEA’s plan for ensuring that the actions and expenditures in the plan are addressing the identified academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of its students, and particularly those students most impacted by the COVID–19 pandemic.
Action Title(s)
How Progress will be Monitored
Frequency of Progress Monitoring
Support for teaching and learning
This will be monitored by the superintendent using existing and developing evaluation tools designed to measure the impact and effectiveness of supports provided. The superintendent will be assisted in this process by tools designed by the CSI consultant, who will also be responsible for quarterly and final summative reports.
progress will be monitored monthly with quarterly and annual summative reports.
Support for teaching and learning
This will be monitored by the superintendent and principal using district evaluation tools designed to evaluate the effectiveness of staff providing services.
progress will be monitored monthly with quarterly and annual summative reports.
ESSER III Expenditure Plan Instructions
Introduction
School districts, county offices of education (COEs), or charter schools, collectively known as local educational agencies (LEAs), that receive Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act, referred to as ESSER III funds, are required to develop a plan for how they will use ESSER III funds to, at a minimum, address students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs, as well as the opportunity gaps that existed before, and were exacerbated by, the COVID-19 pandemic.
The plan must be adopted by the local governing board or body of the LEA at a public meeting on or before October 29, 2021 and must be submitted for review and approval within five days of adoption. A school district must submit its ESSER III Expenditure Plan to its COE for review and approval; a COE must submit its plan to the California Department of Education for review and approval. A charter school must submit its plan to its chartering authority for review and to the COE of the county in which the charter school operates for review and approval.
In addition, consistent with the requirements of the ARP, Volume 86, Federal Register, page 21201, April 22, 2021, the ESSER III Expenditure Plan must be:
● Written in an understandable and uniform format;
● Written in a language that parents can understand, to the extent practicable;
o If it is not practicable to provide written translations to a parent with limited English proficiency, the plan must be orally translated for parents
● Provided in an alternative format to a parent who is an individual with a disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, upon request; and
● Be made publicly available on the LEA’s website.
For additional information regarding ESSER III funding please see the ARP Act Funding web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/cr/arpact.asp.
For technical assistance related to the ESSER III Expenditure Plan template and instructions, please contact LCFF@cde.ca.gov. For all other questions related to ESSER III, please contact EDReliefFunds@cde.ca.gov.
Fiscal Requirements
● The LEA must use at least 20 percent (20%) of its ESSER III apportionment for expenditures related to addressing the academic impact of lost instructional time through the implementation of evidence-based interventions, such as summer learning or summer enrichment, extended day, comprehensive afterschool programs, or extended school year programs.
o For purposes of this requirement, “evidence-based interventions” include practices or programs that have evidence to show that they are effective at producing results and improving outcomes when implemented. This kind of evidence has generally been produced through formal studies and research. There are four tiers, or levels, of evidence:
▪ Tier 1 – Strong Evidence: the effectiveness of the practices or programs is supported by one or more well-designed and well-implemented randomized control experimental studies.
▪ Tier 2 – Moderate Evidence: the effectiveness of the practices or programs is supported by one or more well-designed and well-implemented quasi-experimental studies.
▪ Tier 3 – Promising Evidence: the effectiveness of the practices or programs is supported by one or more well-designed and well-implemented correlational studies (with statistical controls for selection bias).
▪ Tier 4 – Demonstrates a Rationale: practices that have a well-defined logic model or theory of action, are supported by research, and have some effort underway by a State Educational Agency, LEA, or outside research organization to determine their effectiveness.
o For additional information please see the Evidence-Based Interventions Under the ESSA web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/re/es/evidence.asp.
● The LEA must use the remaining ESSER III funds consistent with section 2001(e)(2) of the ARP Act, including for:
o Any activity authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965;
o Any activity authorized by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA);
o Any activity authorized by the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act;
o Any activity authorized by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006;
o Coordination of preparedness and response efforts of LEAs 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 COVID-19;
o Activities to address the unique needs of low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, homeless students, and foster youth, including how outreach and service delivery will meet the needs of each population;
o Developing and implementing procedures and systems to improve the preparedness and response efforts of LEAs;
o Training and professional development for staff of the LEA on sanitation and minimizing the spread of infectious diseases;
o Purchasing supplies to sanitize and clean the facilities of an LEA, including buildings operated by such agency;
o Planning for, coordinating, and implementing activities during long-term closures, including providing meals to eligible students, providing technology for online learning to all students, providing guidance for carrying out requirements under IDEA, and ensuring other educational services can continue to be provided consistent with all Federal, State, and local requirements;
o Purchasing education technology (including hardware, software, and connectivity) for students who are served by the LEA that aids in regular and substantive educational interaction between students and their classroom instructors, including low-income students and children with disabilities, which may include assistive technology or adaptive equipment;
o Providing mental health services and supports, including through the implementation of evidence-based full-service community schools;
o Planning and implementing activities related to summer learning and supplemental after school programs, including providing classroom instruction or online learning during the summer months and addressing the needs of underserved students;
o Addressing learning loss among students, including underserved students, by:
▪ Administering and using high-quality assessments that are valid and reliable, to accurately assess students’ academic progress and assist educators in meeting students’ academic needs, including through differentiated instruction,
▪ Implementing evidence-based activities to meet the comprehensive needs of students,
▪ Providing information and assistance to parents and families of how they can effectively support students, including in a distance learning environment, and
▪ Tracking student attendance and improving student engagement in distance education;
Note: A definition of “underserved students” is provided in the Community Engagement section of the instructions.
o School facility repairs and improvements to enable operation of schools to reduce risks of virus transmission and exposure to environmental health hazards, and to support student health needs;
o Inspection, testing, maintenance, repair, replacement, and upgrade projects to improve the indoor air quality in school facilities, including mechanical and nonmechanical heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, filtering, purification and other air cleaning, fans, control systems, and window and door replacement;
o Developing strategies and implementing public health protocols including, to the greatest extent practicable, policies in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the reopening and operation of school facilities to effectively maintain the health and safety of students, educators, and other staff;
o Other activities that are necessary to maintain the operation of and continuity of services in LEAs and continuing to employ existing staff of the LEA.
Other LEA Plans Referenced in this Plan
In developing the plan, the LEA has flexibility to include community input and/or actions included in other planning documents, such as the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) and/or the Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELO) Grant Plan, provided that the input and/or actions address the requirements of the ESSER III Expenditure Plan.
An LEA that chooses to utilize community input and/or actions from other planning documents must provide the name of the plan(s) referenced by the LEA and a description of where the plan(s) may be accessed by the public (such as a link to a web page or the street address of where the plan(s) are available) in the table. The LEA may add or delete rows from the table as necessary.
An LEA that chooses not to utilize community input and/or actions from other planning documents may provide a response of “Not Applicable” in the table.
Summary of Expenditures
The Summary of Expenditures table provides an overview of the ESSER III funding received by the LEA and how the LEA plans to use its ESSER III funds to support the strategies and interventions being implemented by the LEA.
Instructions
For the ‘Total ESSER III funds received by the LEA,’ provide the total amount of ESSER III funds received by the LEA.
In the Total Planned ESSER III Expenditures column of the table, provide the amount of ESSER III funds being used to implement the actions identified in the applicable plan sections.
For the ‘Total ESSER III funds included in this plan,’ provide the total amount of ESSER III funds being used to implement actions in the plan.
Community Engagement
Purpose and Requirements
An LEA’s decisions about how to use its ESSER III funds will directly impact the students, families, and the local community, and thus the LEA’s plan must be tailored to the specific needs faced by students and schools. These community members will have significant insight into what prevention and mitigation strategies should be pursued to keep students and staff safe, as well as how the various COVID–19 prevention and mitigation strategies impact teaching, learning, and day-to-day school experiences.
An LEA must engage in meaningful consultation with the following community members, as applicable to the LEA:
● Students;
● Families, including families that speak languages other than English;
● School and district administrators, including special education administrators;
● Teachers, principals, school leaders, other educators, school staff, and local bargaining units, as applicable.
“Meaningful consultation” with the community includes considering the perspectives and insights of each of the required community members in identifying the unique needs of the LEA, especially related to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Comprehensive strategic planning will utilize these perspectives and insights to determine the most effective strategies and interventions to address these needs through the programs and services the LEA implements with its ESSER III funds.
Additionally, an LEA must engage in meaningful consultation with the following groups to the extent that they are present or served in the LEA:
● Tribes;
● Civil rights organizations, including disability rights organizations (e.g. the American Association of People with Disabilities, the American Civil Liberties Union, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, etc.); and
● Individuals or advocates representing the interests of children with disabilities, English learners, homeless students, foster youth, migratory students, children who are incarcerated, and other underserved students.
o For purposes of this requirement “underserved students” include:
▪ Students who are low-income;
▪ Students who are English learners;
▪ Students of color;
▪ Students who are foster youth;
▪ Homeless students;
▪ Students with disabilities; and
▪ Migratory students.
LEAs are also encouraged to engage with community partners, expanded learning providers, and other community organizations in developing the plan.
Information and resources that support effective community engagement may be found under Resources on the following web page of the CDE’s website: https://www.cde.ca.gov/re/lc.
Instructions
In responding to the following prompts, the LEA may reference or include input provided by community members during the development of existing plans, including the LCAP and/or the ELO Grant Plan, to the extent that the input is applicable to the requirements of the ESSER III Expenditure Plan. Descriptions provided should include sufficient detail yet be sufficiently succinct to promote a broad understanding among the LEA’s local community.
A description of the efforts made by the LEA to meaningfully consult with its required community members and the opportunities provided by the LEA for public input in the development of the plan.
A sufficient response to this prompt will describe how the LEA sought to meaningfully consult with its required community members in the development of the plan, how the LEA promoted the opportunities for community engagement, and the opportunities that the LEA provided for input from the public at large into the development of the plan.
As noted above, a description of “meaningful consultation” with the community will include an explanation of how the LEA has considered the perspectives and insights of each of the required community members in identifying the unique needs of the LEA, especially related to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A description of the how the development of the plan was influenced by community input.
A sufficient response to this prompt will provide clear, specific information about how input from community members and the public at large was considered in the development of the LEA’s plan for its use of ESSER III funds. This response must describe aspects of the ESSER III Expenditure Plan that were influenced by or developed in response to input from community members.
● For the purposes of this prompt, “aspects” may include:
○ Prevention and mitigation strategies to continuously and safely operate schools for in-person learning;
○ Strategies to address the academic impact of lost instructional time through implementation of evidence-based interventions (e.g. summer learning or summer enrichment, extended day, comprehensive afterschool programs, or extended school year programs);
○ Any other strategies or activities implemented with the LEA’s ESSER III fund apportionment consistent with section 2001(e)(2) of the ARP Act; and
○ Progress monitoring to ensure interventions address the academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs for all students, especially those students disproportionately impacted by COVID-19
For additional information and guidance, please see the U.S. Department of Education’s Roadmap to Reopening Safely and Meeting All Students’ Needs Document, available here: https://www2.ed.gov/documents/coronavirus/reopening-2.pdf.
Planned Actions and Expenditures
Purpose and Requirements
As noted in the Introduction, an LEA receiving ESSER III funds is required to develop a plan to use its ESSER III funds to, at a minimum, address students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs, as well as the opportunity gaps that existed before, and were exacerbated by, the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instructions
An LEA has the flexibility to include actions described in existing plans, including the LCAP and/or ELO Grant Plan, to the extent that the action(s) address the requirements of the ESSER III Expenditure Plan. When including action(s) from other plans, the LEA must describe how the action(s) included in the ESSER III Expenditure Plan supplement the work described in the plan being referenced. The LEA must specify the amount of ESSER III funds that it intends to use to implement the action(s); these ESSER III funds must be in addition to any funding for those action(s) already included in the plan(s) referenced by the LEA. Descriptions of actions provided should include sufficient detail yet be sufficiently succinct to promote a broad understanding among the LEA’s local community.
Strategies for Continuous and Safe In-Person Learning
Provide the total amount of funds being used to implement actions related to Continuous and Safe In-Person Learning, then complete the table as follows:
● If the action(s) are included in another plan, identify the plan and provide the applicable goal and/or action number from the plan. If the action(s) are not included in another plan, write “N/A”.
● Provide a short title for the action(s).
● Provide a description of the action(s) the LEA will implement using ESSER III funds for prevention and mitigation strategies that are, to the greatest extent practicable, in line with the most recent CDC guidance, in order to continuously and safely operate schools for in-person learning.
● Specify the amount of ESSER III funds the LEA plans to expend to implement the action(s); these ESSER III funds must be in addition to any funding for those action(s) already included in the plan(s) referenced by the LEA.
Addressing the Impact of Lost Instructional Time
As a reminder, the LEA must use not less than 20 percent of its ESSER III funds to address the academic impact of lost instructional time. Provide the total amount of funds being used to implement actions related to addressing the impact of lost instructional time, then complete the table as follows:
● If the action(s) are included in another plan, identify the plan and provide the applicable goal and/or action number from the plan. If the action(s) are not included in another plan, write “N/A”.
● Provide a short title for the action(s).
● Provide a description of the action(s) the LEA will implement using ESSER III funds to address the academic impact of lost instructional time through the implementation of evidence-based interventions, such as summer learning or summer enrichment, extended day, comprehensive afterschool programs, or extended school year programs.
● Specify the amount of ESSER III funds the LEA plans to expend to implement the action(s); these ESSER III funds must be in addition to any funding for those action(s) already included in the plan(s) referenced by the LEA.
Use of Any Remaining Funds
After completing the Strategies for Continuous and Safe In-Person Learning and the Addressing the Impact of Lost Instructional Time portions of the plan, the LEA may use any remaining ESSER III funds to implement additional actions to address students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs, as well as to address opportunity gaps, consistent with the allowable uses identified above in the Fiscal Requirements section of the Instructions. LEAs choosing to use ESSER III funds in this manner must provide the total amount of funds being used to implement actions with any remaining ESSER III funds, then complete the table as follows:
● If the action(s) are included in another plan, identify the plan and provide the applicable goal and/or action number from the plan. If the action(s) are not included in another plan, write “N/A”.
● Provide a short title for the action(s).
● Provide a description of any additional action(s) the LEA will implement to address students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs, as well as to address opportunity gaps, consistent with the allowable uses identified above in the Fiscal Requirements section of the Instructions. If an LEA has allocated its entire apportionment of ESSER III funds to strategies for continuous and safe in-person learning and/or to addressing the impact of lost instructional time, the LEA may indicate that it is not implementing additional actions.
● Specify the amount of ESSER III funds the LEA plans to expend to implement the action(s); these ESSER III funds must be in addition to any funding for those action(s) already included in the plan(s) referenced by the LEA. If the LEA it is not implementing additional actions the LEA must indicate “$0”.
Ensuring Interventions are Addressing Student Needs
The LEA is required to ensure its interventions will respond to the academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of all students, and particularly those students most impacted by the COVID–19 pandemic, including students from low-income families, students of color, English learners, children with disabilities, students experiencing homelessness, children in foster care, and migratory students.
The LEA may group actions together based on how the LEA plans to monitor the actions’ progress. For example, if an LEA plans to monitor the progress of two actions in the same way and with the same frequency, the LEA may list both actions within the same row of the table. Each action included in the ESSER III Expenditure Plan must be addressed within the table, either individually or as part of a group of actions.
Complete the table as follows:
● Provide the action title(s) of the actions being measured.
● Provide a description of how the LEA will monitor progress of the action(s) to ensure that they are addressing the needs of students.
● Specify how frequently progress will be monitored (e.g. daily, weekly, monthly, every 6 weeks, etc.).
California Department of Education
June 2021