ESSER II Fund awards were awarded to states based on the proportion of funding each state received under Part A of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, in fiscal year 2020. Pennsylvania’s ESSER II allocation is $2.22 billion.
Pursuant to Sec. 313 of the CRRSA Act, the Pennsylvania Department of Education will grant ESSER II Fund awards to school districts and charters schools based on their proportionate share of the Title I-A (FY 2020) formula.
Local education agencies (LEAs) can apply to PDE through the eGrants system to receive their allocation of the funding.
Fund Allocations
Final 2020-21 LEA allocations from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund appear below. Final allocations are based on LEA share of FY 20-21 State-Determined Title I Calculated Allocation (based on entire award amount to LEAs with no state admin set aside).
Special Note: The 20-21 State-Determined Title I Calculated Allocation shown here will not necessarily agree with your 20-21 Base Title I allocation on eGrants. The figure shown here represents the state-determined share of the FY 2020 grant from USDE prior to adjustments for reallocated funds and neglected institution amounts, if applicable.
ESSER II LEA Allocations (Excel)
Content updated on June 8, 2021.
Facilities/Construction/Transportation
The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act includes construction, renovation, and other facility projects as potential allowable uses of federal ESSER II funds. To assist public school districts and charter schools comply with the federal Uniform Guidance requirements, which require prior approval of construction, renovation, and other relevant ARP ESSER expenditures (including some transportation-related expenditures) from the Department, this page provides answers to Frequently Asked Questions and the approval forms that must be submitted to the Department.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSA Act) was enacted December 27, 2020 and includes $53.4 billion for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER II Fund). ESSER II funds support COVID-19 response efforts and may be spent on a wide range of allowable activities.
ESSER II Fund awards were awarded to states based on the proportion of funding each state received under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, in fiscal year 2020. Pennsylvania’s ESSER II allocation (PDF) is approximately $2.22 billion.
Pursuant to Sec. 313 of the CRRSA Act, the Pennsylvania Department of Education will grant ESSER II Fund awards to school districts and charter schools based on their proportionate share of the Title I-A (FY 2020) formula.
The CRRSA Act requires ESSER II funds to be allocated to eligible school districts and charter schools based upon 2020-2021 Title I-A allocations.
PDE’s Division of Federal Programs calculates preliminary Title I-A allocations each spring, prior to the start of the next school year, to allow recipients to plan for applications and programming. Final allocations are then published in February of each year when charter school enrollment data for the previous school year is finalized.
This same finalization cycle will apply to ESSER II. Therefore, allocations published on January 15 are preliminary estimates. School districts and charter schools are advised to budget knowing these allocations are likely to change.
Eligible recipients include school districts and charter schools. School districts and charter schools that did not receive Title I, Part A funding, either because of ineligibility or a decision to decline funding, will not receive a grant.
School districts and charter schools apply for funding by submitting a streamlined application to PDE in the eGrants system, using existing credentials.
The ESSER II grant application is open in eGrants as of Friday, January 15, 2021.
Allowable uses include all possible expenditures under ESSER I, plus three additional uses:
- Addressing learning loss among students, including low-income students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and children and youth in foster care, of the local educational agency, including by—
- Administering and using high-quality assessments that are valid and reliable, to accurately assess students’ academic progress and assist educators in meeting students’ academic needs, including through differentiating instruction;
- Implementing evidence-based activities to meet the comprehensive needs of students;
- Providing information and assistance to parents and families on how they can effectively support students, including in a distance learning environment; and
- Tracking student attendance and improving student engagement in distance education.
- Making school facility repairs and improvements to enable operation of schools to reduce risk of virus transmission and exposure to environmental health hazards, and to support student health needs.
- Inspecting, testing, repairing, and other projects to improve the indoor air quality in school facilities, including mechanical and non-mechanical heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, filtering, purification and other air cleaning, fans, control systems, and window and door repair and replacement.
In planning for ESSER II, school districts and charter schools should treat the funds as non-recurring, emergency aid. As such, recipients should consider how ESSER II funds might interact with other federal funding and the role of enhanced funding flexibilities to ensure strategic and sustainable use. And while the pandemic has had tremendous consequences for all Pennsylvanians, PDE urges recipients to keep equity in the forefront of planning by prioritizing investments for vulnerable students and families, including those living in the deepest poverty, students with disabilities, English learners, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care.
Funds may be applied to costs dating back to the onset of the national emergency (March 13, 2020) and are available for obligation by school entities through September 30, 2023.
ESSER II funds will be paid monthly beginning the fourth Thursday of the month after the grant was fully executed for the applying school district or charter school.
Although ESSER II funds are distributed to school districts and charter schools based on Title I-A allocations, these are not Title I-A funds; rather, ESSER II is its own, separate program. Accordingly, ESSER II funds must be awarded and tracked separately from Title I-A funds. ESSER II funds also must be tracked separately from ESSER I funds.
ESSER II funds do not include a supplement, not supplant requirement and are not subject to ranking and serving provisions that define how a recipient distributes funds to schools.
Recipients will be required to report on program implementation on a quarterly basis, with a final report due at the close of the ESSER II grant period. Quarterly and final program reporting will take place via eGrants and the Future Ready Comp Plan Portal (FRCPP). Additionally, recipients will complete regular quarterly fiscal reporting to continue monthly payments through FAI.
Although reporting for ESSER I and ESSER II funds will look similar, ESSER I and ESSER II are different grant awards. As such, ESSER II funds must be tracked and reported separately from ESSER I funds.
Yes. PDE will monitor the use of ESSER II funds. In addition, ESSER II funds are subject to Single Audit Act requirements.
Unlike ESSER I, recipients of ESSER II funds are not required to reserve a portion of funding for local nonpublic school services. The CRRSA Act includes a separate program of Emergency Assistance for Non-Public Schools for which eligible non-public schools may apply to receive services or assistance.
School districts and charter schools may contact their regional coordinator in the PDE Division of Federal Programs with questions related to ESSER funding and for application assistance.