ESSER INVESTMENT TO IMPACT - How States Used Federal Relief Funding to Support Summer and After-School Learning

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Kyle

ESSER INVESTMENT TO IMPACT summarizes how U.S. states used Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) state set-aside funds to expand summer and after-school learning opportunities. It reports spending levels above required set-asides, highlights evidence that such programs support expected outcomes, and provides state examples showing gains in attendance, academic achievement, enrollment, and reading growth. The report also outlines the ESSER overview from congressional appropriations and describes fund distribution and related resources.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Overview

ESSER distribution of funds

State impact

Program outcomes and research signals

Examples of state ESSER investments

ESSER investment to impact fact sheet

Learn more resources

[www.ccsso.org](www.ccsso.org) ESSER INVESTMENT TO IMPACT HOW STATES USED FEDERAL RELIEF FUNDING TO SUPPORT SUMMER AND AFTER-SCHOOL LEARNING AUGUST 2024 • States dedicated more than $3.27 BILLION in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) state set-aside funds toward summer and after-school activities. This ESSER investment was approximately $800 MILLION more than the $2.4 BILLION required to be set aside under the last of the three ESSER funds. • Research shows that summer and after- school programs effectively deliver on the primary outcomes expected by the content of programming. • Many states have reported that students in ESSER-funded summer and after-school programs have experienced positive outcomes related to school attendance and academic achievement. EXAMPLES OF STATE ESSER SUMMER AND AFTER-SCHOOL INVESTMENTS* $588M All Other Summer and After-School Programs $1.04B Academic-Focused Programs (24 states) Multipurpose Programs (43 states) Examples of Other Summer and After-School Investments (Millions)* $205M Grants for Private Services (4 states) $90M College and Career Readiness Programs (18 states) $66M Extended School Year Pilots (3 states) $59M Other Specialty Programs (8 states) $32M Kindergarten Transition Programs (7 states) $24M At-Home Learning (9 states) $22M Wellbeing Initiatives (6 states) *Includes investments from ESSER I, II and III STATE IMPACT Investments in summer and after-school learning are already paying off, contributing to nationwide improvement in academic outcomes. To name a few examples: NC In 2021, higher attendance in North Carolina summer learning programs was associated with modest increases in math end-of-grade test scores, lower rates of chronic absenteeism and higher grade point averages for middle school students. Specifically, students in the high attendance category were 12–13 percentage points less likely tobe chronically absent and had grade point averages 0.10 points higher in 2021–22 compared with students in the low attendance group. In 2023, the Hawaiʻi Department of Education's summer learning programs successfully enrolled 27,188 students at 216 schools. The most popular program, the Learning Hub, served three-quarters of those students. That program boasted an 87% attendance rate, and 94% of students received passing grades. HI AL Alabama provided state ESSER set-aside funds to school districts to support summer reading camps in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Participating students received at least 60 hours of scientifically based reading instruction and intervention supervised by highly qualified teachers. Students who attended camps after kindergarten saw an average growth of 6.4% in reading. Asa result of this success, the legislature will continue providing support for Summer Reading Camp and before-and after-school tutoring for the 2024–2025 school year. ESSER OVERVIEW Between March 2020 and March 2021, Congress appropriated nearly $190 billion in three phases to support pandemic relief and recovery in K-12 schools through the ESSER fund. States could set aside 10% of that amount for use by the state education agency (SEA). SEAs prioritized academic recovery initiatives through high-dollar investments in programs such as summer and after-school learning. | ESSER DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS (BILLIONS)

ESSER III District,$109.8B
ESSER II District,$48.9B

ESSER I District, $11.9B
| ESSER I State, $1 . 3B
ESSER II State, $5 .4B
Learning Loss, $6.1B
After-School, $1.2B
Summer, $1.2BOther, $3.6B | | --- | --- | LEARN MORE Report: How States are Using ESSER Funds to Strengthen High-Quality Out-of-School Time Learning — More on the COVID Relief Data Project: [https://ccsso.org/ESSERfunds](https://ccsso.org/ESSERfunds) ESSER INVESTMENT TO IMPACT FACT SHEET 2024 CCSSO.

FAQs

How much did states dedicate to ESSER summer and after-school activities, and how does it compare to required set-asides?

States dedicated more than $3.27 billion to summer and after-school activities using ESSER state set-aside funds, about $800 million more than the $2.4 billion required to be set aside under the last of the three ESSER funds.

What kinds of outcomes are associated with ESSER-funded summer and after-school programs?

Research cited in the report links these programs to expected outcomes from programming, including positive impacts related to school attendance and academic achievement.

What is the ESSER overview described in the document?

Between March 2020 and March 2021, Congress appropriated nearly $190 billion in three phases for pandemic relief and recovery in K–12 schools through ESSER, and states could set aside 10% for use by the state education agency (SEA) to prioritize academic recovery initiatives.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Kyle