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Superintendents and Business Managers,
As we have shared in meetings and presentations over the last few weeks, Governor Brown and the Legislature have been working on a bill to support summer enrichment and learning programs. House Bill 5042 A provides for a $250 million state General Fund investment, along with $21.2 million of federal resources, to support one-time initiatives for academic and enrichment for school aged students and preschoolers during the summer of 2021. This investment includes a total of $205.6 million in state and federal resources and $55.2 million investments from school districts (which may include ESSER funds) for high school students needing academic credit, summer academic and enrichment programs for K-8 students, and wrap-around child care service for participating K-5 students.
HB 5024 A has been passed out of the House and will likely be voted on by the Senate this week. While the bill is not yet law, ODE has already started to develop program guidance and infrastructure. The Department’s goal is to efficiently and effectively make these resources available to school districts and public charter schools that choose to participate. This is not a competitive grant, every public school district and public charter school is eligible to receive funds for the following programs:
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Summer Academic Support Grants: Funds school districts (or charter schools that wish to participate independently) to provide summer school programs for high school students to acquire academic credits needed to stay on-track for graduation. These programs may be provided by the school/district with local staff or in partnership with other credit-bearing programs. Support for students experiencing disability and English learner services must be provided. Approximately $71.9 million of state funding will be provided to support 75% of the estimated cost associated with these programs. The remaining 25% will be provided by school districts using other state, local, or federal funds, including, but not limited to funding from the Elementary and Secondary School Education Relief (ESSER) grants.
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Summer Enrichment/Academic Program Grants: Provides funding for school districts (or charter schools that wish to participate independently) to offer services for K-8 students for: (1) enrichment activities (including but not limited to: robotics, dance, martial arts, art, music, outdoor programs, etc.); (2) academic learning and readiness supports (including but not limited to: summer school, bridge programs, transition programs, etc.); and/or (3) social-emotional and mental health services. These programs may be provided by the school/district with local staff or in partnership with other organizations. Support for students experiencing disability and English learner services must be provided. Approximately $93.4 million of state funding will be provided to support 75% of the estimated cost associated with these programs. The remaining 25% will be provided by school districts using other state, local or federal funds, including, but not limited to funding from the several Elementary and Secondary School Education Relief (ESSER) grants.
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School Child Care Grants: Provides a supplemental grant opportunity for Title I eligible school districts (or charter schools that wish to participate independently) to provide wrap around child care services for K-5 students that participate in summer academic and enrichment programs supported through the Summer Enrichment/Academic Program Grant. Approximately $40.0 million in state and federal funds will provide 100% of the costs related to these programs.
ODE anticipates it will take until May 10, 2021 to set up these grant programs to create draft program guidance, solicit feedback on guidance, finalize guidance, and administer an application process. HB 5024 A requires ODE to report back to the Legislature prior to May 15 and request access to the approved funding. To expedite this time intensive process, we have created a core team at the Department that is currently developing guidance that establishes program objectives, eligible expenditures, program parameters, program expectations, and reporting/accountability requirements. Our goal is to make these funds and, ultimately, the services they provide to students as accessible as possible to all districts, regardless of size. Our timeline is as follows:
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April 6, 2021: ODE will release a statewide communication on program summaries, timelines, and district allocation.
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April 9, 2021: ODE will complete draft program guidance.
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April 16, 2021: ODE will facilitate partner feedback and engagement sessions to solicit thoughts, concerns, and questions from districts and charter schools.
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April 23, 2021: ODE will review feedback collected, update program guidance where needed, and finalize guidance.
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April 26, 2021 to May 10, 2021: ODE will initiate an application process that enables school districts to determine if they voluntarily wish to participate in all or some of the grant programs. School districts and/or charter schools must complete application to participate in programs.
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May 12, 2021: ODE must report back to Legislature on program guidance process and planned district participation (preliminary). If accepted, the Legislature will release funding to ODE to make grant awards.
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May 16, 2021 to May 31, 2021: ODE will begin executing Grant Agreements with school districts and/or charter schools.
ODE is striving to create guidance that ensures flexibility for districts to create new or expand existing programs to support your students during the summer. We recognize the extreme pressure districts currently face and it is our objective to make this process as efficient as possible and not create any undue administrative burden.
To help you in your preliminary decision making and planning before the program guidance is released, here are the district allocations for each of the three programs. These allocations provide both the state and local share. HB 5024 A also provides $40 million directly to the Oregon Community Foundation to support local organizations across the state in providing summer enrichment activities for children and families.
If you have any specific questions related to our planned process or the allocations, please feel free to contact our Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Information Technology, Rick Crager, or our coordinator for these programs, Michael Elliott. We may not be able to answer all your questions immediately, but they will help us create better guidance and curate an FAQ.
The Department has launched a summer learning webpage that provides information and resources related to these new summer investments. The page will continue to be updated as more information becomes available.
Thank you!
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