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General Education Provisions Act (GEPA): Overview and Issues, Section 442. Single LEA Application

As with state applications to the Secretary addressed by Section 441, LEAs are required to submit to state agencies a general application containing assurances required for all programs under which federal aid is administered through a state agency. The application is required to cover all such programs in which the LEA participates. Similar to the state applications, the LEA application must include the following assurances:
each program will be administered in accordance with applicable statutes, regulations, program plans, and applications;
control of funds and property acquired using program funds will be maintained and administered by the appropriate public agency;
fiscal control and fund accounting procedures will be used to ensure proper disbursement of, and accounting for, federal funds;
the LEA will make reports to the state agency or board and to the Secretary as may be needed for the state agency or board and the Secretary to perform their duties under each program, and each LEA will maintain records (as required in Section 443) and provide access to those records as the state board or agency Secretary deems necessary to carry out their responsibilities;
the LEA will provide opportunities for the participation in, planning for, and operation of each program by teachers, parents, and other interested agencies, organizations, and individuals;
applications, evaluations, plans, or reports related to each program will be made available to parents and the public;
facilities constructed under any program will be consistent with overall state construction plans and standards and with the requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 in order to ensure that the facilities are accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities; 18
the LEA has adopted effective procedures for acquiring and disseminating information and research regarding the programs and for adopting, where appropriate, promising educational practices to teachers and administrators participating in each program; and
none of the funds expended under any applicable program will be used to acquire equipment if such acquisition results in a direct financial benefit to any organization representing the interests of the purchasing entity or its employees.
Such general application will be in effect for the entire duration of each program covered, unless there are substantial changes in relevant federal or state law or “other significant change [sic] in the circumstances affecting an assurance in that application.”

General Education Provisions Act (GEPA): Overview and Issues, Section 427. Equity for Students, Teachers, and Other Program Beneficiaries
The Secretary must require all applicants for assistance under an applicable program to describe the steps the applicant will take to ensure equitable access to and equitable participation in the activities to be conducted using such funds. Specifically, applicants must address the special needs of program beneficiaries (e.g., students and teachers) to overcome barriers to equitable participation, including “barriers based on gender, race, color, national origin, disability, and age.”

Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund Sec. 18003(d). Uses of Funds A local educational agency that receives funds under this title may use the funds for any of the following:
Any activity authorized by the ESEA of 1965, including the Native Hawaiian Education Act and the Alaska Native Educational Equity, Support, and Assistance Act (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) (‘‘IDEA’’), the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.) (‘‘the Perkins Act’’), or subtitle B of title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431 et seq.).
Coordination of preparedness and response efforts of local educational agencies 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 coronavirus.
Providing principals and other school leaders with the resources necessary to address the needs of their individual schools.
Activities to address the unique needs of low-income children or students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and foster care youth, including how outreach and service delivery will meet the needs of each population.
Developing and implementing procedures and systems to improve the preparedness and response efforts of local educational agencies.
Training and professional development for staff of the local educational agency on sanitation and minimizing the spread of infectious diseases.
Purchasing supplies to sanitize and clean the facilities of a local educational agency, including buildings operated by such agency.
Planning for and coordinating during long-term closures, including for how to provide meals to eligible students, how to provide technology for online learning to all students, how to provide guidance for carrying out requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.) and how to ensure other educational services can continue to be provided consistent with all Federal, State, and local requirements.
Purchasing educational technology (including hardware, software, and connectivity) for students who are served by the local educational agency that aids in regular and substantive educational interaction between students and their classroom instructors, including low-income students and students with disabilities, which may include assistive technology or adaptive equipment.
Providing mental health services and supports.
Planning and implementing activities related to summer learning and supplemental afterschool programs, including providing classroom instruction or online learning during the summer months and addressing the needs of low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care.
Other activities that are necessary to maintain the operation of and continuity of services in local educational agencies and continuing to employ existing staff of the local educational agency.

The ARP ESSER statute and interim final requirements include several new provisions for LEAs to support school reopening, safe school operations, and support for students:

Each LEA that receives ARP ESSER funds must develop, submit to the SEA on a reasonable timeline determined by the SEA, and make publicly available on the LEA’s website a plan for the LEA’s use of ARP ESSER funds. The plan, and any revisions to the plan submitted consistent with procedures established by the SEA, must include at a minimum a description of:

 The extent to which and how the funds will be used to implement prevention and mitigation strategies that are, to the greatest extent practicable, consistent with the most recent CDC guidance on reopening schools, in order to continuously and safely open and operate schools for in-person learning;
 How the LEA will use the funds it reserves under section 2001(e)(1) of the ARP Act 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;
 How the LEA will spend its remaining ARP ESSER funds consistent with section 2001(e)(2) of the ARP Act; and
 How the LEA will ensure that the interventions it implements, including but not limited to the interventions implemented under section 2001(e)(1) of the ARP Act to address the academic impact of lost instructional time, will respond to the academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of all students, and particularly those students disproportionately 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.

Under this requirement, an LEA must engage in meaningful consultation with stakeholders and give the public an opportunity to provide input in the development of its plan. Specifically, an LEA must engage in meaningful consultation with students; families; school and district administrators (including special education administrators); and teachers, principals, school leaders, other educators, school staff, and their unions. Additionally, an LEA must engage in meaningful consultation with each of the following, to the extent present in or served by the LEA: Tribes; civil rights organizations (including disability rights organizations); and stakeholders representing the interests of children with disabilities, English learners, children experiencing homelessness, children in foster care, migratory students, children who are incarcerated, and other underserved students.

Finally, under the requirement, each LEA’s ARP ESSER plan must be: in an understandable and uniform format; to the extent practicable, written in a language that parents can understand or, if not practicable, orally translated; and, upon request by a parent who is an individual with a disability, provided in an alternative format accessible to that parent.