The clock is ticking for schools to spend ESSER funding, the influx of federal emergency relief funds allocated to schools in 2021 to address the impact of COVID-19. Many districts have important questions about when and how to use the school funds.

When do ESSER funds expire?

Schools must commit these funds no later than September 2024 and in most cases, spend the allocation by January 2025.

School technology, communications solutions, and services are included in the scope of acceptable use for ESSER funding! Don’t miss the opportunity to utilize the remaining funds to improve school-to-home engagement.

What can esser funds be used for?

Let's break down three allowable uses of ESSER funds that can be directly applied to school communications:

1. Any activity authorized by the ESEA of 1965, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) (‘‘IDEA’’);
    
2. Other activities that are necessary to maintain the operation of and continuity of services in local educational agencies and continuing to employ an existing staff of the local educational agency;
    
3. 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.

Allowable Use 1: 

Any activity authorized by the ESEA of 1965, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) (‘‘IDEA’’).

Web accessibility and compliance are no longer emerging issues. If you struggle to reach or maintain compliance, ESSER funding could be your opportunity to get started. Under ESSER, redesigning your website with the objective of resolving ADA compliance issues is permissible.

ADA standards are constantly evolving and can be challenging to keep up with. Partner with your web provider to ensure your site not only meets the standards but also has built-in tools to help you maintain compliance in the future.

Having a provider knowledgeable in this area will be a game-changer for you. A reputable school website provider like Finalsite will be able to walk you down the path to compliance step-by-step, from the initial discussion to education and training to implementation and maintenance.

If your website hasn’t been redesigned in the last four to five years, it will be easier to resolve any ADA compliance problems by starting from scratch through a full redesign rather than trying to fix the problems on an older site. Websites built before ADA compliance legislation did not follow the same design structure and guidelines that they do today. Trying to fix a site built in a previous era may not be worthwhile. 

Allowable Use 2:

Other activities that are necessary to maintain the operation of and continuity of services in local educational agencies and continue to employ an existing staff of the local educational agency.

Let’s break this one down a bit, as it can seem confusing on the surface. This allowable use essentially gives permission to purchase solutions and/or services to help you do your job effectively. This could apply to school communications, engagement – or any other district function.

School communications and community engagement have never been more important. According to a study by Project Tomorrow, “The perceived value of the local school district today is critically dependent upon exemplar school-to-home communication and the effective engagement of parents in their children’s learning lives.”

That statistic alone could convince any superintendent or chief school business officer to allocate the remaining ESSER funding to improve school engagement. But where should you spend it?

This allowable use is broader than others and can include a variety of solutions or services. Since school engagement today demands a multi-channel approach, we recommend a bundle or suite of solutions that provides everything you need for effective school-to-home communications. 

• Website design and software
• Mobile app
• Mass communications software

Website design and software

Your website is the hub of your communications efforts and should be the source of truth for all information. Even if your website is up-to-date, if the user experience and design are not cutting it, that information will never be consumed. If your website needs a refresh, ESSER funding can be used for a revamp and redesign to better meet the needs of your community.

When people visit your website, what is their first impression? What kind of opinion do you want them to have? 
This is more than just design, it’s about the full user experience. A good user experience for visitors to your website means all of the following:

• On-brand design and visual experience
• Ease of navigation
• Great mobile experience
• Embedded forms and calendars

On the flip side, you also want a great user experience for your own team on the admin side: 

• Intuitive, flexible page editing
• Advanced permissions
• COPE
• Seamless integrations
• Advanced data security

Web design trends are constantly evolving. If it’s been a minute since your last website refresh, it’s appropriate to ask for ESSER funding for an upgrade.

Mobile App

With more than 88% of internet usage spent within mobile apps, providing an app experience for families is non-negotiable. Simply having an app doesn’t check that box completely. If your mobile app resembles something straight out of 2004, it’s time to make a shift.

Families want personalized content, a quick way to find information, notifications, 2-way communications, and more as part of the app experience today.

While your website content may be geared toward current and prospective families, your mobile app offers a different experience meant just for current families. The content they want on an app includes the day-to-day happenings in your school district, event calendars, and anything relevant to existing families only.

The app experience also allows parents to filter content, only viewing what’s relevant for the schools and grade levels they care about. Personalization is so important when communicating with families today, and a great mobile app experience offers just that. It’s also a great tool for quick reminders. Push notifications allow non-obtrusive reminders to parents so they won’t forget about spirit wear Friday or that yearbook order due date.

Mass Communications Software

Schools and districts send dozens of emails, text messages, and digital newsletters home every day of the school year. If your current mass communications software is causing you more pain than gain, consider ESSER funds to make an upgrade.

Mass communication tools of the past were basic, allowing very few group options and limited functionality to just email and voice calls. Now, the best mass communications tools offer everything you need under one umbrella:

• Email
• Digital newsletter templates
• Text
• Voice
• Automatic translation
• Flexible groups
• Scheduled send times

There is only one tool out there that offers all this plus generative AI to help you send and write messages.
Finalsite’s Messages XR solution has a built-in AI writing assistant, making it easier than ever to write cross-channel messages in minutes.

Choose a vendor like Finalsite that has best-in-class solutions for websites, mobile apps, and mass communications to make data integration, management, and user experience consistent and simple.

Allowable use 3:

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.

Districts and charter schools can allocate ESSER funds to areas that will impact parent engagement with low-income families and English learners, including a strong mobile strategy and robust translation tools.

Today, most parents, especially those who lack home internet, rely on their cell phones for nearly all their communications. A mobile strategy relies on a robust suite of engagement solutions, which includes a mobile-responsive website, a mobile app for mobile-first connections and notifications, and a mass communications solution with voice and SMS functionality.

Furthermore, translation of all digital communications is an absolute expectation, no matter how diverse your school community may be. While Google Translate is a convenient and inexpensive tool, it’s usually not the most accurate for translations. Automated translation from this source can result in some pretty off-the-wall translations leaving families more confused than informed.

In working with schools in over 100 countries, Finalsite partners with Weglot to help schools easily and more seamlessly translate their websites into more than 100 languages. Like Tulsa Public School’s website, Weglot's translation API is automated and its accuracy is more reliable than other tools on the market.

Perhaps the best part about the tool is that admin users can manually review and override incorrect translations through a simple editing interface. Any corrections will appear everywhere that phrase or name pops up on your site.  

Key Takeaway

There isn’t much time left to allocate remaining ESSER funds for school districts and charter schools. Seize the opportunity to level up your engagement efforts with a stronger website, more effective mobile app experience, reliable mass communications, and simplified enrollment software. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Morgan Delack is Finalsite's chief communications officer. Her background combines public school communications and television journalism, having worked in both industries for several years. She was named among NSPRA's 35 under 35 and has earned two Emmy Awards for her work in broadcasting. Morgan lives in the Chicago area with her husband and two kids.