AASA Publishes Final ARP District Spending Survey Report

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

School Districts Report Major Gains from ARP Funding, Warn of Future Setbacks as Support Ends

Over the past three years, school districts have made significant investments in expanded instructional time, staffing, and mental health services through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act, according to a report released today by AASA, The School Superintendents Association.

Since July 2021, AASA has surveyed superintendents nationwide on their plans for ARP funding. In the fifth and final survey, district leaders reflected on how they allocated these funds over the past three years.

Nearly half of the respondents expressed a desire for more time to utilize ARP funding, while more than 40% believe all students will be equally affected when ARP-supported programs and staff are discontinued.

"AASA’s fifth and final survey underlies how vital ARP funding was in addressing both the immediate, and longstanding systemic underinvestment by the federal government in public education,” said David R. Schuler, executive director, AASA. “Students should not have to wait for another pandemic to get the infusion of federal funding they need to ensure they attend schools with clean and healthy facilities, high-quality curriculum and programming and the critical academic and behavioral support staff they need to be successful."

Key Findings Include:

• Expanded instructional time through summer learning, afterschool, and enrichment offerings was the top expenditure for districts using ARP funds (80%).

• Staffing, programming, professional development, and curriculum that addressed the mental health and behavioral needs of students was the second most common expenditure (76%).

• Technology/devices and providing students with internet connectivity represented the third most popular ARP expenditure over the lifecycle of ARP (73%).

• 48% of districts responding would have liked another year to invest their ARP funding.

• 42% of districts responding believe all students will be impacted equally when ARP instructional programming and personnel are terminated. 

• Superintendents believe students with mental health needs, who benefited greatly from school-based mental health professionals funded by ARP, would suffer the most from the end of ARP.

Link to full findings from “School District Spending of American Rescue Plan Funding: Part V” can be found here.

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