Last week USDE announced the awards for ESSER II funding, and USDE awarded Mississippi $724,532,847.00, with a minimum of $652,079,562.00 awarded to LEAs. USDE also advised that ESSER II funding is 4 times as large as ESSER I, and LEAs can expect to receive 4 times as much of ESSER II funds than the previous ESSER allocation. The MDE is awaiting additional guidance from USDE regarding ESSER II allocation formula; however, we wanted to give LEAs time to prepare and plan for the use of ESSER II funds. Here is a brief overview:
- ESSER II funds are available for obligation through September 30, 2023
- LEAs are not required to provide equitable service with ESSER II (a separate program will be available for non-publics)
- ESSER II funds must be tracked separately from ESSER I
- Allowable activities with ESSER II funds are the same as ESSER I with the addition of the following:
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- addressing learning loss
- preparing schools for reopening
- and testing, repairing, and upgrading projects to improve air quality in school buildings.
We anticipate releasing the ESSER II application in MCAPS, with no significant changes to the application or format. We will continue to update LEAs when we receive additional information or guidance from USDE.
ESSER II resources are available below from USDE.
ESSER II Allocation Table: https://oese.ed.gov/files/2021/01/Final_ESSERII_Methodology_Table_1.5.21.pdf
ESSER II Fact Sheet: https://oese.ed.gov/files/2021/01/Final_ESSERII_Factsheet_1.5.21.pdf