Elementary & Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER)

Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) grant funding is authorized in three pieces of legislation. As a result, the ESSER programs are administered by TEA as separate grant programs.

The ESSER I, CRRSA ESSER II, and ARP ESSER III grant programs run concurrently. During the overlap in periods of availability, grantees may expend funds from any of the grant programs.

REMINDERS

DEADLINES

01/31/2024: USDE must respond to state’s ESSER II Liquidation Extension
02/16/2024 at 11:59pm CST: Data collection tool closes for LEA submission of YEAR FOUR ESSER Reporting
04/2023: TEA verifies data collection for quality, and officially uploads into USDE system
07/02/2024: Last day to amend ESSER III Application for Funding
08/31/2024: GOAL: Complete all ESSER III Spending and Final Draw Down before this date in order to avoid additional ESSER USDE Reports in 2026
09/30/2024: End of carryover period for ESSER III funds, last day to legally obligate funds
11/30/2024: Anticipated ESSER III Liquidation Extension Data Collection due to TEA
01/02/2025: ESSER III Final Expenditure Report/Revised Final Expenditure Report due
01/31/2025: USDE must respond to state’s ESSER III Liquidation Extension
02/28/2025: End of ESSER II Liquidation Extension Period for approved LEAs
02/28/2026: Anticipated End of ESSER III Liquidation Extension Period for approved LEAs

NOTE

ESSER III ends 9/30/24

Ensure the 20% set-aside requirements have been met before the final draw down is complete
All draw downs completed before 08/31/2024 will not be required to complete the USDE report in 2026
The final day to amend the grant application is 07/02/2024

ESSER Expenditures

Draw downs should happen regularly (monthly or quarterly)
Significant changes may need to be amended in the grant application
Expenditures must be connected to allowable activities in the grant and meet the intent of the ESSER grant.
Maintain at least 20% of your funds set aside for lerning loss and SEL needs when making expenditure changes in ESSER III

ESSER State Fiscal Reports

Open and required for every Expenditure Report (ER) for ESSER II, III and SUPP
This is an additional fiscal report through SmartSheets that is activated once the ER is submitted. Justification documentation of expenditures with ESSER funds is still required and should be maintained at a local level
To avoid TEA canceling payment requests, please see the “Timeline for Submitting ESSER State Fiscal Reporting Form with Each Payment Request” bulletin (linked HERE) for ESSER II, III, and Supplemental expenditure reporting
LEAs only have 9 calendar days to submit State Fiscal Reporting Form after the request for payment
After submission of the form, LEAs may be contacted for corrections. If the LEA doesn't respond to the correction request, the superintendent will be notified of the issue
TEA will cancel payments if the LEA doesn't respond within 14 calendar days of escalating the information to the superintendent, and that may result in an increased risk level and more in-depth fiscal grant monitoring
3.11 (payroll, stipends, supplanted salaries), 3.12 (operational continuity, Co-Op fees, etc.), and 6.1 (indirect costs) have been added (as of November 2022)

RESOURCES

ESSER USDE Annual Report Resources

ESSER Expenditures, Allowable Uses, Closeout, and Documentation Resources

ESSER State Fiscal Report Resources:

ESSER Reporting State Fiscal and USDE Annual Federal Reporting Presentation Slides

Additional TEA Resources