FY2020 and FY2021: CARES Act: Elementary and Secondary Education Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds

Fund Code: 113

Purpose:

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Elementary and Secondary Education Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund provides resources to school districts to address the impact the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) has had and continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools. Districts must provide equitable services to students and teachers in private schools as required under the CARES Act.

Priorities:

The priorities of the ESSER funds are to support activities authorized by:

1. ESSA, IDEA, Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 or subtitle B of title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
2. Coordination of preparedness and response efforts of LEAs with State and local public health departments, and other relevant agencies, to improve coordinated responses among such entities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.
3. Providing principals and others school leaders with the resources necessary to address the needs of their individual schools.
4. Activities to address the unique needs, including how outreach and service delivery will meet the needs of each population:
   • low-income children or students,
   • children with disabilities,
   • English learners,
   • racial and ethnic minorities,
   • students experiencing homelessness, and
   • foster care youth
5. Developing and implementing procedures and systems to improve the preparedness and response efforts of LEAs.
6. Training and professional development for staff of the LEA on sanitation and minimizing the spread of infectious diseases.
7. Purchasing supplies to sanitize and clean the facilities of a LEA, including buildings.
8. Planning for and coordinating during long-term closures, including:
   • how to provide meals to eligible students,
   • how to provide technology for online learning to all students,
   • how to provide guidance for carrying out requirements under the IDEA and
   • how to ensure other educational services can continue to be provided consistent with all Federal, State, and local requirements.
9. Purchasing educational technology (including hardware, software, and connectivity) for students who are served by the LEA that aids in regular and substantive educational interaction between students and their teachers, including low-income students and students with disabilities, which may include assistive technology or adaptive equipment.
10. Providing mental health services and supports.
11. Planning and implementing activities related to summer learning and supplemental afterschool programs such as:
    • providing classroom instruction or online learning during the summer months and
    • addressing the needs of low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care.
12. Other activities that are necessary to maintain the operation of and continuity of services in LEA and continuing to employ existing staff of the LEA.

Eligibility:

Awards are based on each district's share of funds received under Title I, Part A of ESEA in fiscal year 2020.

Funding Type:

Federal CFDA 84.425D

Funding:

FY20 ESSER Fund allocations will be posted on the Grants Management website as soon as they are ready.

Funding is contingent upon availability. All dollar amounts listed are estimated/approximate and are subject to change. If more funding becomes available for this Fund Code, it will be distributed under the same guidelines that appear in this RFP document.

Fund Use:

Districts are permitted to use ESSER funds to address the impact COVID-19 has had, and continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools. Districts that receive ESSER funds must provide equitable services to students and teachers in non-public schools located within district boundaries.

Districts budgeting for indirect costs on these should use the restricted indirect cost rate as published for their entity.

Project Duration:

Choose one based on district need:
FY20: 3/13/2020 – 6/30/2020 (Year 1)* or
FY21: 7/1/2020 – 6/30/2021 (Year 1)**

*The period of availability for FY20 grant awards will be extended into FY21 7/1/2020 – 6/30/2021 (Year 2) and FY22 7/1/2021 – 6/30/2022 (Year 3) and FY23 7/1/2022 – 9/30/2022 (Year 4).

**Extended periods of availability for FY21 grant awards are allowed as follows: FY22 7/1/2021 – 6/30/2022 (Year 2) and FY23 7/1/2022 – 9/30/2022 (Year 3).

Program Unit:

Resource Allocation Strategy and Planning

Contact:

Federal Grants at federalgrantprograms@mass.gov

Phone Number:

(781) 338-6230

Date Due:

Applicants should choose one based on district needs:

Option 1: Due date for FY20 fund use Monday, June 15, 2020: Applicants that intend to obligate any funds in FY20 (FY20 period of availability is 3/13/2020 – 6/30/2020) should submit by this deadline. Those who opt to apply for FY20 funds, will likely get one initial payment of 10% of the award amount in July/August. DESE will then roll the balance of the grant into FY21 (Year 2) of the award (7/1/2020–6/30/2021).

Option 2: Due date for FY21 fund use Friday, August 14, 2020: Applicants that do not intend to obligate any funds in FY20, but plan to begin using these funds in FY21 should submit by this deadline (FY21 period of availability is 7/1/2020 – 6/30/2021, but a start date cannot be issued on a grant prior to the date of grant submission). Applicants will receive an initial payment of 10% of the award amount once the grant is programmatically approved and established on the state's accounting system.

Applicants that currently do not have Covid-19 emergency related expenses to offset and do not expect to obligate any funds for this purpose prior to July 1, 2020, should submit under Option 2 for an FY21 start.

Required Forms:

ESSER Funds Application Workbook

(Please save the excel workbook as file name: FY20.21ESSER-leacode.xlsm
For example, Abington (0001) would name their excel workbook FY20.21ESSER-0001.xlsm)

Included as a tab in the workbook:

Option 1 FY20 applicants only: Part I Signature Page with FY20 selected as FY and original signature of the Superintendent/Executive Director. Note: Please sign and date your cover page and ensure the allocation matches the amount budgeted.

Option 2 FY21 applicants only: Part I Signature Page with FY21 selected as FY and original signature of the Superintendent/Executive Director. Note: Please sign and date your cover page and ensure the allocation matches the amount budgeted.

 

Schedule A (if applicable)

Additional
Information:

• ESSERF Quick Reference Guide
• Equitable Services Guidance
• Budget detail and description of line item information
• Affirmation of Consultation for Private Schools

Submission
Instructions:

Note:
Option 1, FY20 applicants may receive a start date dating back to 3/13/2020.

Option 2, FY21 applicants may only legally claim expenses to the grant starting from the date of final DESE approval. The start date for the grant is the date on which the district submits substantially approvable budget and information for the grant.

Please carefully review and follow the instructions below to submit all required grant materials through EdGrants. Please register to and create projects under the proper funding opportunity based on desired start of fund use.

Applicants submitting for Option 1 FY20 funds due June 15, 2020:

1. Register to the funding opportunity named: DESE — FY20 Fund Code 113 — Elementary and Secondary Education Emergency Relief (ESSER) (Fed) (ENT)
2. Create and name the project: FY20 FC 113 Applicant Name ESSER Applicant Number

For example, Abington (0001) would name the file as FY20 FC 113 Abington ESSER 0001

Applicants submitting for Option 2 FY21 funds due July 1, 2020:

1. Register to the funding opportunity named: DESE — FY21 Fund Code 113 — Elementary and Secondary Education Emergency Relief (ESSER) (Fed) (ENT)
2. Create and name the project: FY21 FC 113 Applicant Name ESSER Applicant Number

For example, Abington (0001) would name the file as FY21 FC 113 Abington ESSER 0001

In EdGrants, district staff enter the grant budget, and upload all required documents listed in the Required Forms section of this RFP and outlined on the Attachments List section of the EdGrants Application Submission.

For additional submission instructions, see the "Read Me First" tab of the ESSER Application workbook.

For Guidance Documents regarding EdGrants, visit EdGrants: User Guides and Information.

Please note: It is up to the district to determine who it wants to add as EdGrants Front Office users in order to submit the grant application as well as payment request information. Please review the EdGrants: User Security Controls to make informed decisions regarding assigning your district level users.

Last Updated: May 8, 2020