Congress set aside approximately $13.2 billion of the $30.75 billion allotted to the Education Stabilization Fund through the CARES Act for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER Fund). The Department will award these grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) for the purpose of providing local educational agencies (LEAs), including charter schools that are LEAs, with emergency relief funds to address the impact that COVID-19 has had, and continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools across the Nation.
ESSER Fund awards to SEAs are in the same proportion as each State received funds under Part A of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, in fiscal year 2019. New York State will receive $1,037,045,603 from the ESSER Fund to cover K-12 education costs associated with the spread of COVID-19.
This portion of the Education Stabilization Fund awarded to New York will support the continued education for K-12 students impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. With most students now receiving education remotely, this funding will be used for immediate needs such as purchasing computers and internet access devices for online learning, supporting the needs of underserved students, training and professional development, purchasing supplies for cleaning and sanitization, offering summer learning, and other activities to maintain the continuity of educational services and continue to employ staff.
ESSER funds were designed to give New York flexibility to create and implement solutions to ensure continued learning and address the impact of COVID-19 on school communities. Most of the funds—at least $933,341,043—will go directly to New York’s public school districts based largely on the Title I formula. The New York State Education Department can retain up to 10 percent for emergency needs only, of which 0.5 percent can be used for administrative costs. he Education Stabilization Fund also includes a $3 billion Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEERF), which will provide New York State $164 million to distribute across both K-12 and higher education needs, and nearly $14 billion to support institutions of higher education, which will provide more than $920 million for New York.
For more information, visit the Department of Education’s website at: www.bit.ly/2zL2vBS
This article was also featured in our newsletter Lesson Plan Vol. 22
Shari Diamond, CIA
Partner
Shari has been with Cerini & Associates, LLP since 2008 where she works primarily with the firm’s school district clients providing internal audit and claims audit services. She has over twenty years’ experience performing internal audits, risk assessments, and compliance reviews, as well as recommending processes to strengthen the internal controls environment while increasing efficiencies. Her prior experience at PWC and Northrop Grumman included performing Information Technology audits.