Dear County Superintendents of Schools:

Ninth Apportionment for Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund,
Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act,
Fiscal Year 2020–21

This apportionment, in the amount of $287,021,417, is made from federal funds provided to the state under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSA Act), 2021, Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER II) Section 313(b) (Public Law 116–260). ESSER II 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 II 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 2020–21. Each state must use no less than 90 percent of its allocation ($6,038,670,479) to make subgrants to LEAs, based on each LEA’s share of funds received under Title I, Part A in fiscal year 2020–21 or funds received under Title I, Part A in fiscal year 2021–22 for new or significantly expanding charter schools. Access additional information relating to the apportionment of ESSER II funds for fiscal year 2020–21 at, https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/r14/esserii20apptoverview.asp.

Only those LEAs that applied for ESSER II funds on the 2020–21 ESSER II Assurances by December 17, 2021, are eligible for 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 10 percent of their ESSER II allocation plus expenditures, adjusted for funds previously paid. This apportionment provides payments to LEAs that reported expenditures for ESSER II in April 2023, via the Federal Stimulus Funds Reporting Application, and met other program requirements. The Federal Stimulus reporting schedule can be found at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/cr/reporting.asp.

LEAs may use ESSER II 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 II 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 CRRSA Act ESSER II Frequently Asked Questions web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/cr/esseriifaqs.asp.

Warrants will be mailed to each county treasurer approximately three weeks from the date of this letter. For Standardized Account Code Structure coding, use Resource Code 3212: Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief II (ESSER II) 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 California Department of Education (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 ESSER II funding results web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/r14/esserfii20result.asp.

If you have any program related questions regarding ESSER II, such as allowable uses of funds or federal compliance requirements, please contact the CDE Federal Stimulus Team by email at EdReliefFunds@cde.ca.gov or visit the CDE web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/cr/crrsa.asp#esserii. For questions concerning this apportionment or the ESSER II allocation amounts, please contact the Categorical Allocations and Audit Resolution Office by email at CAAR@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Dearstyne, Director
School Fiscal Services Division

ED:ls