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Welcome to Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund

Note, ESSER funds have been fully expended as of June 30th, 2025. 
If you have any questions, please reach out;
all communication will be forwarded to an inbox.

Federal COVID-19 relief funding has come in three packages: ESSER I (CARES) ESSER II (CRRSA) ESSER III (ARP) Eligible district and charter schools applied to receive their allocation of ESSER I, II, and III funds. ADE received a portion of funds f

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been three separate federal relief and recovery packages. Each came with education funding for the Arizona Department of Education and eligible public schools. Those schools have been allocated funding through three different installments of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund. These highly flexible funds are designed to help address local relief, prevention and preparation, and recovery efforts relative to COVID-19.

Key Terms 

  • LEAs - Local education agencies, including public district and charter schools
  • Federal Recovery Dollars or ESSER - total monies given to the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) through all three federal COVID-19 relief packages
  • ADE ESSER Project Funds - activities funded by ESSER funds at the discretion of ADE - also referred to as set aside funds. 
  • American Rescue Plan (ARP) School and Community Grantees - refers to those receiving discretionary funds from ADE's ESSER III set aside dollars. These grantees went through a competitive procurement process to receive these funds. 
  • ESSER I - includes grant monies allocated to eligible LEAs. These funds come from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES).
  • ESSER II - includes grant monies allocated to eligible LEAs. These funds come from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA)
  • ESSER III - includes grant monies allocated to eligible LEAs. These funds come from the American Rescue Plan (ARP).

Click below to find more information, guidance, and resources about each set of funds. Questions about ESSER applications and implementation should be directed to [email protected].

ESSER I & II ESSER III ADE ESSER Set Aside Projects  ARP School and Community Grantees