CCSSO Coronavirus Update -

CCSSO Initial Review ARP ESSER State Plans Memo 8.6.21

Sample Language for Building and Ventilation Assessment and Upgrade RFP FINAL 7.22.21

Here are highlights from this week’s newsletter:

During next week’s ESSER use of funds discussion (Thurs, 8/12 2-3 pm EST), we will discuss maintenance of equity and we will be joined by USED officials. More information is below in the CCSSO Resources
Experts from MIT and other institutions came together to create sample RFP language for states or districts to use for upgrading ventilation systems in school buildings. CCSSO contributed to this effort. Please see Other Resources section below or the attached document for more information.
CCSSO has announced new webinars. One is focused on leveraging COVID relief funds to support student and staff wellbeing and connection. The other is a new series that will focus on MTSS for whole child development. Check out the CCSSO Resources section for all the details on how to register.
Congress continues work on bipartisan infrastructure legislation. More information on where this legislation stands is below in the Federal Resources and Advocacy
ED announces approval of four more state ARP Plans and releases the “Return to School Roadmap.” More information is below in the Federal Resources and Advocacy

We have a pretty full newsletter with many more updates provided below, as well as updates from CT, MA, NH, OK, OR and WV. Here are this week’s updates as of 11 a.m. ET on Friday, August 6 (we are sending late this week to capture a few more updates):

CCSSO Resources

NEW! CCSSO’s High-Quality Instructional Materials and Professional Development (IMPD) Network Overview Case Study: The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the entire landscape of teaching and learning, as U.S. educators strive to best serve the evolving needs of students who are learning in a variety of settings. As states work to deliver equitable educational opportunities to each and every student, they are prioritizing the role of instructional materials in a high-quality education. In 2017, CCSSO created the High Quality Instructional Materials and Professional Development (IMPD) Network to support states in encouraging school districts to adopt high-quality instructional materials and provide aligned professional development for faculty. The IMPD Network, which began with 8 states, has expanded to 13 members and is continuing to grow. This introductory overview shows how IMPD Network states are updating their policies and practices to embrace and incentivize quality, resulting in significant upticks in the adoption of high-quality materials. Their transformative work is resulting in meaningful change on the ground—and is especially valuable during a time when educational innovation has become an imperative. Learn more and access the overview case study here.
New webinar on leveraging COVID relief funds for mental health and wellbeing: Join CCSSO, the Healthy Schools Campaign and the National Center for School Mental Health on Wednesday, August 11 at 2 p.m. ET for a webinar featuring insights from our new resource: Leveraging Federal COVID Relief Funding to Support Student and Staff Wellbeing and Connection: Opportunities for State Education Agencies. Michigan Superintendent Michael Rice will join the conversation to share actions they’re taking in Michigan to support student and staff wellbeing and connection and experts from CCSSO, HSC and NCSMH will provide an overview of K-12 COVID relief funding and identify ways in which the funding can be used to support student and staff wellbeing and connection. Please click here to learn more and to register.
New webinar series on MTSS and Whole Child Development: CCSSO is launching a webisode series on Effective Multi-Tiered System of Supports for Whole Child Development drawing from our new joint toolkit with AIR and CASEL on intentional SEL and MTSS integration. CCSSO’s Effective Multi-Tiered System of Supports for Whole Child Development Webisode Series on integrating social emotional learning into MTSS frameworks launches August 17 at 2 p.m. ET. The first webinar, Creating a Comprehensive Framework to Support Whole Child Development, focuses on whole child development, school climate, and related teaching strategies and will feature Linda Darling-Hammond from the Learning Policy Institute. You can register for the webinar series here.

State Updates

CT $16 Million To Support Local Special Education COVID-19 Recovery Efforts: This week, Governor Lamont and Acting Commissioner of Education Charlene Russell-Tucker announced that more than $16 million in ESSER II funds will be deployed to provide support and services to accelerate learning for more than 80,000 special education students.
MA Releases Fall 2021 COVID-19 Guidance for Districts and Schools: The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released guidance, developed jointly with the Department of Public Health, to outline recommendations on masking, COVID-19 testing and quarantine protocols for this fall. All districts and schools will be required to be in-person, full-time, five days a week this fall.
NH First Four School Districts Announce Creation of Learning Pods: The New Hampshire Department of Education announced the first four School District Recovering Bright Futures Learning Pods grants. In partnership with Prenda, the Department created the Recovering Bright Futures program to bring an innovative instructional model to New Hampshire students, families and schools. District Pods are embedded in New Hampshire school districts and provide students a unique learning environment. The grants are provided through COVID-19 response funds received by the State.
OK Introduces Early Learning Inventory Tool: To enable teachers to quickly determine student learning and development after a year of pandemic disruptions, the Oklahoma State Department of Education announced that the Oklahoma Early Learning Inventory is available at no cost to all kindergarten and first-grade teachers.
OR Releases Digital Learning Resource: The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) recently released a resource for districts to utilize in the planning, implementation and leadership for digital learning. The digital learning team at ODE will continue to develop this resource through continued collaboration with educators and leaders from around the state.
WV Releases Back to School Guidance: The West Virginia Board of Education and the West Virginia Department of Education released the back-to-school guidance for the 2021-22 school year. The information is designed to provide county school systems with strategies to facilitate the safe return to school and the continued operation of schools without interruption. The information offers key mitigations for schools and extracurricular activities as well as other protocols to assist counties as they begin the new school year.

Federal Resources and Advocacy

Congress Continues Work on Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation: This week, Congress continued its work on bipartisan infrastructure legislation and the Senate released bill text. The legislative proposal has the support of the White House; see fact sheet. While the bipartisan legislation does not have a strong focus on K-12 education, there are a number of education-related provisions included:

$500 million to support energy-efficiency improvements and renewable energy improvements at public school facilities;
$500 million to support increasing transportation energy efficiency for school buses and mass transit, in addition to other vehicles;
$200 million to support voluntary testing or compliance monitoring for and remediation of lead contamination in drinking water at schools and child care programs;
$5 billion (FY22-FY26) to support a Clean School Bus Program;
$42.45 billion to establish a Broadband Access, Equity and Deployment program (not education-specific, but major implications for K-12 students and families).

The Senate is likely to vote on the legislation as soon as this weekend. CCSSO supports the funding for K-12 school infrastructure and has endorsed the Reopen and Rebuild America’s Schools Act. While this is not included in the legislative package described above, we are encouraging Congress to include school construction in legislation that will be considered this fall under budget reconciliation and will keep you posted on its progress.

ED Summer Learning & Enrichment Collaborative Reminder to register for the next Summer Learning & Enrichment Collaborative Virtual Session – Thursday August 12 3-5 p.m. ET!: During the final virtual session of the Summer Learning and Enrichment Collaborative on August 12, we will focus on conversation on our most important stakeholders: students! This session will offer opportunities to reflect on the decisions we made this summer, how we can reimagine what is possible in creating safe, supportive, exciting spaces for students to learn and thrive, and how we can carry these lessons forward as we head back to school. Our session will begin with a conversation between Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and a panel of inspiring students to discuss how they have been impacted by summer programs and offer their advice to education leaders for how to reimagine, redesign and rebuild engaging learning and enrichment opportunities throughout the year. We will also be joined by representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide the latest updates on guidance and resources for healthy and safe return to school. The draft agenda and registration information can be found here.
Upcoming Deadline for FCC Emergency Connectivity Fund: On Tuesday, June 29, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced schools and libraries can begin filing applications for the $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund. The fund can be used towards purchasing laptops and tablets, Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers and broadband connections. The FCC will receive requests from June 29, 2021 to August 13, 2021 for the 2021-2022 school year. To learn more, click here. Instructions on how to apply for funding can be found here.
ED Releases “Return to School Roadmap”: On Monday, August 2, ED released their Return to School Roadmap to support students, schools, educators, and communities in preparing for the 2021-2022 school year. The White House also released a fact sheet highlighting the Administration’s efforts to safely reopen to schools and support students. To read the fact sheet, click here. To read the press release for the Return to School Roadmap, click here.
ED Announces Approval of Four More State ARP Plans: ED announced the approval of Hawaii, Montana, New York, and Pennsylvania’s State ARP plans and released their remaining ARP ESSER funds. Congratulations to each of these states!
CDC updates its website: On Thursday, the CDC updated the Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools on its website to align with CDC’s existing guidance for fully vaccinated people and assist K-12 schools in opening for in-person instruction and remaining open. These announces were made several days ago, but CDC is now updating the text of its website to align.
ED Releases Final Priority and Grant Notice on Technical Assistance and Dissemination to Improve Services and Results for Children With Disabilities: Today, ED released its final priorities for technical assistance and dissemination to improve services and results for children with disabilities and technical assistance on State data collection for the National Assessment Center. ED also released a grant notice for this program. The deadline for transmittal of applications for the grant is September 7, 2021. To read the final priority, click here. To read the grant notice, click here.
Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Releases Study on the Promise of Community Schools: Today, IES released a study on the promise of community schools based on an assessment of the impact of the New York City Community Schools Initiative. To read the study, click here.
ED Awards $10 Million in Projects to Train and Recruit Qualified Native American Educators: On Wednesday, August 4, ED announced that it awarded 29 grants totaling $10 million through the Indian Education Professional Development Program to train and recruit qualified Native American educators. To read the press release, click here.
Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) Requests Comments on National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs: On Wednesday, August 4, FNS requested comments on buying American in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. Comments are due on or before November 2, 2021. To read the Federal Register notice, click here.
IES Releases Blog on English Learners with or at Risk for Disabilities: On Wednesday, August 4, IES released a blog post about English learners with or at risk for disabilities. To read the blog, click here.
IES Releases Study on Using Social and Emotional Learning and School Climate to Inform Decisionmaking: On Tuesday, August 3, IES released results from using a survey of social and emotional learning and school climate to inform decisionmaking. To read the study, click here.
3.2021 Senate HELP Committee Holds Executive Session: On Tuesday, August 3, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held an executive session to markup four bills and vote on the nominations of three individuals, including Catherine Lhamon to be Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at ED. The Senate HELP Committee voted 11-11 on advancing the nomination of Catherine Lhamon. This means the Committee will transmit a notice of a tie vote to the Secretary of the Senate. The nominations will then await a motion to discharge the nomination in a vote by the full Senate. To learn more, click here.
ED Requests Comments on Progress in International Reading Literacy Study: On Monday, August 2, ED requested comments on the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study Main Study Data Collection. Comments are due on or before September 1, 2021. To read the Federal Register notice, click here.
ED Requests Comment on the Common Core of Data (CCD) Survey: On Monday, August 2, ED requested comments on the CCD School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS) 2021-2023. Comments are due on or before September 1, 2021. To read the Federal Register notice, click here.
IES Releases Report on the Role of Staff Surveys in Leader Evaluation: On Monday, August 2, IES released a report exploring the potential role staff surveys in school leader evaluation. To read the report, click here.
IES Releases Blog on Remote Data Collection: On Monday, August 2, IES released a blog post explaining how remote data collection enhanced one grantee’s classroom research during COVID-19. To read the blog post, click here.

Other Resources

NEW! Sample RFP language for ventilation: We know that building and ventilation upgrades are top of mind for many schools and districts right now. As a result, the Infection Prevention and Control in Schools Task Force worked with experts at MIT and MASS Design Group, among others, to create sample RFP language that states, schools and districts can use as they consider RFPs and other procurement for ventilation. CCSSO and the National Council on School Facilities contributed to this project. The attached document is written to assist states and/or districts in providing guidance on assessing the air quality and disease transmission of single classrooms or ventilation systems in any given school building, and to examine the systems and spaces holistically and with an expansive definition of human and environmental health. If you have any questions, please feel free to email sumpter@newamerica.org. The document also is saved in CCSSO’s shared folder.
Learning Heroes back-to-school tools for parents: Learning Heroes launched Team Up for Success along with National PTA and Univision. It is an ongoing series of parent communications highlighting free research-based tools and resources throughout the year. To start, the new “Dear Teacher” letter is a great way for parents to introduce their family to the new teacher in the fall. This will accompany a new Parenting Minutes video from WNET that shines a light on the importance of building parent-teacher relationships.
ECS analysis of ESSER uses: ECS released a new State Information Request that outlines the priorities and trends that state education agencies have identified so far in plans for spending money through ESSER. On the Ed Note blog, their policy experts share specific state examples; and this Policy Snapshot captures legislative approaches to addressing expected shortages as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.