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State education leaders describe appeal after federal ESSER freeze and outline reading program funding options
Summary
Officials said a federal freeze on some unspent ESSER/ARP funds has led Alabama to prepare appeals for local districts (Selma cited) and to reallocate returned funds into a roughly $5 million middle-school reading pot; state budget action would provide $10 million for third-grade reading next year.
Alabama education officials told the State Board of Education they are preparing appeals to the U.S. Department of Education after Washington froze some unspent ESSER/ARP dollars and that returned federal funds have been used to create a roughly $5 million pot for a targeted middle-school reading initiative.
Superintendent Dr. Alvin Mackey (referred to in the session) explained that federal pandemic-relief ESSER funds were distributed in three tranches and that states had previously relied on a late-liquidation rule — sometimes called the Tydings Amendment — to extend spending timelines. The department received a federal notification that frozen funds would require appeals and documentation. Mackey said Selma and several other districts still have active projects with committed funds and that the state is assembling thick appeal packets to Washington, prioritizing local-district appeals such as Selma’s.
Officials said some returned federal funds were consolidated into a roughly $5 million pool intended for an intermediate/middle-school reading program targeting students who remain behind grade-level. Mackey told board members the state legislature has also appropriated $10 million for third-grade reading in the governor’s budget; adding the returned federal funds to the legislative appropriation could produce a $15 million effort if the federal appeals succeed.
Board members asked how the department would prioritize schools and students. Mackey said the department will focus on schools with the highest numbers of struggling middle-school students as identified via ACAP results and other measures; he cited an estimate that fully addressing all identified struggling readers would cost about $22 million and that a broader statewide plan could approach $50 million. Officials said they will prioritize schools with significant populations of struggling students first and refine the list of systems and schools to be served.
The department described the appeals process as document-heavy and slow; appeals are reviewed in periodic Washington sessions and the state said it prefers a complete, accurate appeal over an early submission. No new federal decisions were announced at the meeting.
