Dear County Superintendents of Schools:

Second Apportionment for Coronavirus Aid, Relief and
Economic Security Act, Elementary and Secondary School
Emergency Relief Fund
Fiscal Year 2020–21

This apportionment, in the amount of $173,667,254, is made from federal funds provided to the state under Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Section 18003 (Public Law 116–136). ESSER funds are apportioned to local educational agencies (LEAs) to address the impact of COVID-19 on elementary and secondary schools. State awards for the ESSER Fund are in the same proportion as each state received under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended, in fiscal year 2019–20. Each state must use no less than 90 percent of its allocation ($1,482,575,514) to make subgrants to LEAs, based on each LEA’s share of funds received under Title I, Part A in fiscal year 2019–20.

Only those LEAs that applied for ESSER funds on the 2020–21 ESSER Assurances by November 23, 2020 are included in this apportionment. To meet federal cash management requirements to reduce the time elapsing between the receipt and disbursement of federal funds, each LEA’s payment equals 25 percent of their ESSER allocation plus expenditures, adjusted for funds previously paid. Eligible LEAs that did not apply by November 23, 2020 may apply after November 23 to receive funds through subsequent apportionments based on quarterly expenditure reporting.

An LEA may use ESSER funds for any allowable expenditure incurred on or after March 13, 2020, the date the President declared the national emergency due to COVID-19. LEAs can use ESSER funds for any activities authorized by the ESEA as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, or the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Additional information can be found on the CARES Act ESSER Funding web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/cr/caresact.asp.

Allocation amounts will be adjusted for LEAs that failed to meet the federal maintenance of effort requirement applicable to 2020–21 funding and do not receive an approved federal waiver, pursuant to Section 8521 of the ESEA. Amounts paid in this apportionment are listed on the schedule of apportionment posted on the CDE Categorical Programs web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/.

The United States Department of Education (ED) grant award number for this funding is S425D200016. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance subprogram number is 84.425 (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund). The funding is appropriated in Schedule (1) of Item 6100-163-0890 of the Budget Act of 2020 (Chapter 6, Statutes of 2020). The California sub-allocation (pass-through) number is Program Cost Account (PCA) 15536.

This grant is subject to the provisions of the General Education Provisions Act (Public Law 103–382). This grant is also subject to 34 CFR, Part 200; the Education Department General Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR, parts 76, 77, 81, 82, 24, 97, 98 and 99; the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards in 2 CFR, Part 200; and 2 CFR, Part 3485.

Under the federal Tydings Amendment, Section 421(b) of the General Education Provisions Act, any funds that are not obligated at the end of the federal funding period, May 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021, shall remain available for obligation for an additional period of 12 months, through September 30, 2022.

Pursuant to 2 CFR, Section 200.305(b)(9), interest earned amounts up to $500 per year may be retained by the non-Federal entity for administrative expense. Any additional interest earned on Federal advance payments deposited in interest-bearing accounts must be remitted annually. LEAs should forward interest payments for remittance to the ED to:

California Department of Education
Cashier’s Office
P.O. Box 515006
Sacramento, CA 95851

To ensure proper posting of payments, please indicate the program’s PCA number (PCA 15536), and identify the payment as “Federal Interest Returned.”

Warrants will be mailed to each county treasurer approximately three weeks from the date of this Notice. For standardized account code structure coding, use Resource Code 3210: Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund, and Revenue Object Code 8290, All Other Federal Revenue.

County superintendents were notified of this apportionment by email sent to their CDEfisc email addresses. The CDE requested that the email be forwarded to all school districts and charter schools in the county, and included the links to this letter and the accompanying apportionment schedule posted on the CDE web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/.

If you have any program related questions regarding ESSER, such as eligible uses of funds or federal compliance requirements, please contact the Government Affairs CARES Help Office by email at CARESAct@cde.ca.gov or visit the CDE web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/cr/caresact.asp. For questions concerning this apportionment or the ESSER allocation amounts, please contact Leslie Sharp, Fiscal Consultant, [Note: the preceding contact is no longer valid.]. Categorical Allocations and Audit Resolution Office, by email at lsharp@cde.ca.gov [Note: the preceding email address is no longer valid. The new email address is CAAR@cde.ca.gov.].

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Dearstyne, Director
School Fiscal Services Division

ED:ls