Q. Do I need to include the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) III funds that are part of the Assembly Bill (AB) 86 Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELO) Grant in my ESSER III Expenditure Plan?
A. As we detailed recently in the article “New Resources Codes for AB 86 Grants,” ESSER III state reserve funds will be used to partially fund the AB 86 ELO Grant. While the federal funds in Resource Codes 3218 and 3219 were authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act, they are completely separate from the ESSER III funds that local educational agencies (LEAs) are receiving in proportion to their Title I allocations (Resource Codes 3213 and 3214). Because of this distinction, only the ESSER III funds in resource codes 3213 and 3214 must be included in the ESSER III Expenditure Plan that local governing boards must adopt by October 29, 2021 (see “ESSER III Plan Requirements” in the July 2021 Fiscal Report).
Similarly, if an LEA is not receiving ESSER III funds in Resource Codes 3213 and 3214, then it is not required to complete the ESSER III Expenditure Plan. However, all LEAs must complete the federal assurances for the 3218 and 3219 resources in order to get their anticipated allocation of the ELO Grant. The federal assurances are not yet available on the California Department of Education website, but we will provide more information as it becomes available.