Dear County Superintendents of Schools:

First Apportionment for Elementary and Secondary School
Emergency Relief Funds, of the American Rescue Plan Act,
Fiscal Year 2020–21

This apportionment, in the amount of $940,883,973, is made from federal funds provided to the state under American Rescue Plan Act (ARP Act), Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) Section 2001 (Public Law 117-2). ESSER III 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 III 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 ($13,571,726,487) to make subgrants to LEAs, based on each LEA’s share of funds received under Title I, Part A in Fiscal Year 2020–21.

Only those LEAs that applied for ESSER III funds on the 2020–21 ESSER III Assurances by June 25, 2021 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 10 percent of their ESSER III allocation. LEAs that did not apply by June 25, 2021 may apply after June 25 to receive funds through subsequent apportionments based on quarterly expenditure reporting.

An LEA may use ESSER III 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 III 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, or the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. Additional information can be found on the ARP Act ESSER III page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/cr/arpact.asp.

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 CDE web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/.

If you have any program related questions regarding ESSER III, 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/arpact.asp. For questions concerning this apportionment or the ESSER III 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

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