School districts in Tennessee including Northeast Tennessee will soon have access to federal funds to help their schools after the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) approved plans on how the money should be spent.The funds are part of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund, more commonly known as ESSER funds. These funds total more than $3.8 billion and were allocated to assist schools in Tennessee to manage challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a release from the TDOE.