44, 2021) and Section 12 of AB 167 (Ch.252, 2021) replaced $2.016 billion of the state funding for ELO-G with four sources of federal stimulus funds which require local educational agency (LEA) assurances and quarterly expenditure reporting. Education indicated that this process creates an incentive for LEAs to report their spending data because if they do not, it has no basis to reimburse them for their spending. Yes. Allocations, Apportionments, and Letters. This lack of incentive may explain why an increasing number of LEAs that were required to report their spending data did not do so during the first three quarters. It explained that in addition to prioritizing LEAs that received large allocations, it selected those that had reported spending a large proportion of their allocations. Any funds that they have not spent by these dates revert to the federal government. As Colorado students and families continue to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Colorado Department of Education seeks to support and empower students and families across the state through a coordinated, comprehensive, and consistent community approach. ESSER III: Reserve by September 30, 2024, and spend by January 30, 2025. Out-of-school time services provided through Expand Awards should show evidence of local school and community partnership and will participate in technical assistance and professional learning focused on continuous quality improvement and successful management of federal funds. As the state agency responsible for administering the States public school system, Education is responsible for showing the leadership needed to ensure that LEAs fully leverage ESSER and GEER funds to address the needs of their most vulnerable students, close the learning loss gaps that emerged because of the pandemic, and return students safely to schools. Education is making subsequent ESSERI and GEERI payments to LEAs based on their reported spending. For example, Long Beach Unified School District explained that it had prioritized spending funds allocated to it from the CRF and the States General Fund because their spending deadlines were at the end of May2021 and June2021, respectively. As Figure2 shows, it was the largest category of spending by far. For example, the funds may provide for additional students to be served, additional sites to be added, and/or a longer programming calendar implemented. The federal money used for the AB 86 grants comes from the state share of the ESSER II and III funds and the GEER II Fund. The Legislature appropriated specific funds to Education to support the allocation and monitoring of federal CARES Act funds. Phone: 303-866-6600 Other LEAs we interviewed also indicated that early planning by their management to prioritize and spend funds was the main reason for their higher spending. Additionally, Education has not taken a strong leadership role in ensuring that LEAs are effectively and promptly using the ESSER and GEER funds that it allocates to them. Unfortunately, Education has neither adequately assessed the spending data for this purpose nor taken steps to determine whether LEAs are on track to spend their allocations before the deadlines. The Expanded Learning Opportunity Grant is further restricted by requiring LEAs to spend no less than 85% on in-person services, and at least 10% of the total grant must be spent on paraprofessionals as defined in Education Code Section 45330.The 10% for paraprofessionals may be scored against the 85% requirement for in-person services. To LEAs based on LEAs count of students with exceptional needs aged 3to 22 years. Expanded Learning Opportunities Grant Plan for Fuente Nueva Charter School Page 1 of 10. . Assess whether Education uses the information it collects to draw conclusions about LEAs use of ESSER and GEER funds to maintain operations, respond to the pandemic and, to the extent possible, safely reopen schools. Applicants that do not meet the qualifications may reapply for future grant opportunities. We acknowledge on page 27 that Education has increased the number of LEAs it plans to monitor in fiscal year 202122. Education has increased the number of LEAs it plans to monitor to 50 in fiscal year202122. Think about how your organization might work with the school site and/or community partners to increase program dosage for students who experienced learning disruptions. We are disappointed that Education does not believe LEAs reporting of significant expenditures in the Other Activities category could be a useful criterion for informing its monitoring of LEAs for compliance with ESSER requirements. ESSER Rural Program Development Grant | CDE We found that Education accurately reported data in the monthly and annual reports it submitted to U.S. ED. Privacy. Research has shown that academic afterschool and summer programs with intentional academic instruction and enrichment activities and sufficient dosage can measurably improve student achievement. The districts Road to Success Parent Mentor Program (also called El Programa de Padres Promotores del Camino al xito Univeritario), provides comprehensive training for parent volunteers to support ELs and other parents in finding online resources, monitoring grades, and strengthening student social-emotional well-being. As we explain in the report, the guidance Education has issued to LEAs has focused on ESSER and GEER requirements. Assuming Governor's proposed funding for Expanded Learning Opportunities Program, the rate would be about $2,300 in 202223. Applicants will be asked to provide a description of all funds available to support the program design. A partnership between the community-based organization and the local school site is essential. The OSDE will fund applications by category (afterschool and summer) to meet requirements of the law. Education will continue to use a yearly risk-based approach to identify where it should direct its monitoring resources. In fact, both ESSERII and ESSERIII provide LEAs with significantly more funds than ESSERI. California received about $188million in GEERII funds for this purpose, and Education had allocated about $165million to nonpublic schools as of September2021. As a result, the data are of undetermined reliability for our audit purposes. Education did not provide any evidence during the audit to demonstrate that it has identified and provided best practices to LEAs on how to quickly and effectively spend ESSER and GEER funds. See also Licensing Hours. Would a Community-based Organization (CBO) be able to be a lead applicant with one site on an application and then a partner with a different LEA site that might apply as the lead themselves? To reach and support multilingual families, the district has health parent forums, parent support groups, and parent helplines in English, Armenian, and Spanish., . The pandemic has exposed and exacerbated the academic and personal challenges many students face. The intention of the Ignite Award is to provide any community an opportunity to engage in expanded learning with these federal funds. Mary Nicely We found that Educations guidance and training were sufficient. All buttons in the GMS need only ONE click. 1121 L Street, Suite 1060 | Sacramento, CA 95814 | Phone: (916) 446-7517 | FAX: (916) 446-2011, Public Education's Point of Reference for Making Educated Decisions, Javascript must be enabled for the correct page display. These grant funds will be provided on a reimbursement basis, meaning that organizations must have a sufficient pool of funds from which to spend and sustain services until the claim for reimbursement can be submitted, processed, approved and reimbursed. Expanded capacity for districts and community-based organizations to leverage summer programming to accelerate the completion of lost or unfinished learning; and. As we describe in the report, LEAs have a number of categories to report their expenditures in; however, as of June 30, 2021, LEAs had collectively reported 40 percent, or $438 million, of their $1.1billion in ESSER I spending in the Other Activities category. The programs were combined for initial allocation and apportionment purposes. Expanded Learning Opportunity (ELO) grant plan through multiple approaches. From October2020 through April2021, Education conducted six virtual training sessions for LEAs related to requirements of the CARESAct, including those specific to ESSER and GEER. Education explained that it did not have enough staff to monitor a larger number of LEAs in fiscal year202021 but that it has secured additional temporary staff for fiscal years202122 and 202223. There will be one set of tabs across the top; each tab may or may not have another set level of tabs that will open below it. Although regular reimbursements are provided by the OSDE, claims must be in a payable form to be approved for payment. If there are any delays, assess how these delays have affected LEAs ability to maintain operations and respond tothe pandemic. grants@theopp.org, 907 South Detroit, Suite 1100A Tulsa, OK 74120, Click here to watch the 2023-2024 School Year ELI Information Session, The Opportunity Project (grantplatform.com). Half of plans did not mention strategies for supporting Dual Language Learners (DLLs) in preschool, 37 percent did not mention supports targeted for newcomers, and 32 percent had no plans specific to Long-Term English Learners (LTELs). California State Auditor Assembly Bill (AB) 86 introduced two new funding streams to local educational agencies (LEAs) using Proposition 98 resourcesthe In-Person Instruction and Expanded Learning Opportunity Grants. The California Department of Education has provided resource codes for both grants, but LEAs developing their spending plan for the grants should also leverage the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds (see Plan to Spend, and Spend to Your Plan, in the March 2021 Fiscal Report). With the removal of LEAs that have spent $0 in all 4 funds (approximately 30 closed charter schools and LEAs that never signed assurances), only 2 LEAs are projected to spend less than 80%, if spending rates remain constant. ), STEP 3: Follow the steps outlined in the green box on the left of your screen, STEP 4: Begin your application and save it in-progress, Questions? We are pivoting to the next phase, which addresses the allowable uses and considerations for spending the grants. An applicant may be a lead applicant for one or more school sites. Because the application was designed at the site level, an applicant is not limited to the number of applications it can submit. A rural district (as defined in "Eligible Applicants and Priority Criteria") may apply for a grant. To ensure that it monitors LEAs that may be at higher risk of misinterpreting spending requirements or misusing ESSER funds, Education should do the following: We conducted this performance audit in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards and under the authority vested in the California State Auditor by Government Code sections 8543 et seq. More than 1,600 LEAs received ESSERI funds and more than 1,700 received GEERI funds. report, LEAs have a number of categories to report their expenditures in; however, as of June 30, 2021, LEAs had collectively reported 40 percent, or $438 million, of their $1.1billion in ESSER I spending in the Other Activities category. Licensing | About CDE | State Board | Offices | Staff Directory | News | Careers, Expanded Learning Opportunities Summer Programming Grant application is now open. For example, Los Angeles Unified School District had categorized more than half of its ESSER spending in the Other Activities category as of June2021. Guaranteeing time for designated ELD instruction within the daily lesson plans; Providing materials and evidence-based strategies to ensure that ELs receive integrated ELD supports in all core subjects; and. Again, Education believes that focusing our monitoring efforts on expenditures in the Other Activities category, would prevent us from fully meeting our federal oversight responsibilities. Upon receiving the assurances from eligible LEAs for ESSERI, Education advanced them payments equal to 25percent of their total allocations in September2020. Education stated that it plans to pay LEAs an advance of 25percent of their GEERII allocations. PDF 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) (PDF) Program Questions: Therefore, to meet the needs of ELs in the implementation of their ELO Grant Plans, school districts should ensure that their expanded learning programs are not traditional, but programs that are engaging, enriching, and joyful. PDF Allowable Costs Associated with the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Please be patient and allow time for it to register your selection. Federal law allows LEAs to report certain ESSER expenses in the general category of Other Activities if those expenses do not relate to the other specific spending categories defined in law. However, about 170 of the more than 1,600 LEAs that received ESSERI funds and about 340 of the more than 1,700 LEAs that received GEERIfunds reported spending less than 20percent of their allocations as of that same date, and some of these LEAs had yet to spend any funds. To determine whether LEAs are fully leveraging the ESSER and GEER funds, selected and interviewed five LEAs that reported spending less than 10percent of their ESSERI funds andfive LEAs that reported spending less than 10percent of their GEERI funds. Moreover, the projections also do not take into account nearly $22billion inESSERII and III fundsvastly more than the nearly $1.7billionin ESSERI allocationsthat Education only recently allocated to these LEAs and that LEAs have yet to spend. Expanded Learning Opportunities - Nebraska Department of Education Moreover, one in four districts had weak or no plans for teachers to incorporate social-emotional learning (SEL) within instruction, while nearly three in four districts did not include considerations for ELs in their professional learning plans meant to support SEL. To comply with the annual reporting requirements, Education obtains data from LEAs. To show partnership, can a letter of support be provided in an email? . Expanded Learning Opportunities Quality Afterschool and Summer Opportunities for Nebraska K-12 Youth What is an ELO? This includes time for designated ELD and professional development for educators to deliver integrated ELD instruction in all core subjects. Yes. For example, if your organization has an amazing one-week summer camp, how can you partner to extend that program to three or four weeks during summer to create a more meaningful learning experience? Education used the same selection of LEAs to monitor for compliance with both ESSER and GEER requirements. Each year, Education selects about 130LEAs for review. It attributed the delay to changes to its school reopening timeline that caused it to adjust its spending plans accordingly. Federal law, the U.S. Department of Education (U.S. ED), and Education do not provide detailed descriptions for these categories. Based on the 2021-22 risk assessment, Education is conducting an additional 50 monitoring reviews of LEAs and their use of Federal Stimulus funds. These LEAs collectively served more than 6million students during the202021 school year. Career Technology Centers are eligible applicants. Identified the amount that Education has spent out of its ESSER state administration funds. Can a Local Education Agency (LEA) have two separate grants in one district (e.g., one at high school and one at the elementary level)? Monitoring LEAs based on risks specific to ESSER and GEER funds will be of even greater importance in the future because the allocations they will receive of ESSERII and ESSERIII funds are significantly larger than the amounts they have received to date. As part of thisprocess, Education should do the following: To appropriately monitor LEAs use of ESSER and GEER funds, Education should do the following: Education agreed with some of our recommendations and indicated that it will take steps to implement them. Some LEAs also told us that the delays in reopening schools for inperson learning had affected their ability to spend their ESSER and GEER allocationsquickly. Interviewed staff to understand how Education complies with federal reporting requirements. However, federal law then allows the governor of each state to determine whether to use the GEERI funds to provide support to LEAs, institutions of higher education, or other educationrelated entities that the state deems essential for carrying out emergency educational services. Afterschool programs are well-positioned to regularly check-in with parents or guardians and help schools stay connected with families. Parents will be informed by their child's school if their child qualifies for expanded learning opportunities provided throughout the year including tutoring, counseling, and/or learning recovery programs (during and/or after the school day). Feedback was solicited through an additional virtual Parent Meeting as well. Therefore, these LEAs were not required to submit reports until after Education allocated funds to them.
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