Local educational agencies (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 detailing how they will use their 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 is required to address the following: 

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 minimum of 20% of funds it reserves for learning loss 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. How the LEA will spend its remaining ESSER III funds is consistent with the allowable uses. How the LEA will ensure that the interventions it implements, including but not limited to the interventions to address learning loss, will respond to the academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of all students, 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.