Dear County Superintendents of Schools:

Fifth 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 $529,309,009, is made from federal funds provided to the state under American Rescue Plan (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 coronavirus (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 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 III funds for Fiscal Year 2020-21 at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/r14/esseriii20apptoverview.asp.

Only those LEAs that applied for ESSER III funds on the 2020–21 ESSER III 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 III allocation plus expenditures, adjusted for funds previously paid. This apportionment provides payments to LEAs that reported expenditures for ESSER III in April 2022, 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 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 ESSER III results web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/r14/esseriii20result.asp.

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