Reminder Regarding Federally Required Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Annual Reporting Elements

Oregon Department of Education sent this bulletin at 09/20/2022 05:06 PM PDT

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To: Superintendents, Business Managers, Principals, Charter School Leaders, Education Partner Leaders and Communicators, Communicable Disease Preparedness Liaisons
From: ODE ESSER Team, Led by Josh Halsey and Cynthia Stinson
Date: September 20, 2022
Subject: Reminder Regarding Federally Required Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Annual Reporting Elements 

Dear School District Superintendents and Education Partners, 

The start of school is a time that requires full focus and energy on the complexity of challenges districts are navigating. We know that you are juggling many details and appreciate your attention to the critical information in this memo.  

Each new year brings an opportunity to reconnect with the strengths and needs of our students, and to harness resources and capacity to uplift student learning and well-being. As our collective pandemic recovery efforts continue, ESSER funds provide resources that both support our recovery efforts and present opportunities to continuously center equity in our decision-making. 

As districts continue pandemic recovery efforts, we want to help set districts up for success in tracking, documenting and recording data related to ESSER investments. This will be especially important as districts work to measure impact. As the United States Department of Education (USED) continues to clarify ESSER reporting requirements, ODE is concurrently working to develop a process by which districts will formally submit data in 2024. 

The purpose of this memo is to call into focus the federal requirement for districts to collect ESSER I, II & III activity and expenditure data over the course of the 2022-23 school year. This data will be reflected in the Spring 2024 Annual Performance Report.

Starting this school-year (2022-23) districts are federally required to track, collect and prepare to report data within these three categories: 

Student Participation Data 

Including student demographic information, for the following evidence-based activities* that are paid for in whole or in part with any ESSER funds: 

  • Summer School or Enrichment 
  • Extended Instruction Time
  • After School Programs,
  • High-Dose Tutoring
  • Early Childhood Education 
  • Purchasing Education Technology 

*The federal definitions of what constitutes each evidence-based activity can be found here. 

School Staffing 

Districts must track and report any of the following positions that are funded in whole or in part with any ESSER funds:

  • Special educators and related service personnel
  • Paraprofessionals/Instructional Aides
  • Bilingual or English as a second language educators
  • School counselors, school psychologists and/or social workers
  • Nurses
  • Short term contractors
  • Classroom educators
  • Support personnel
  • Administrative staff

Expenditure Reporting  

Districts must identify at a more granular level how the ESSER I, II, and III funds are utilized. Here are examples of the additional expenditure categories. For a complete list, please refer to this document (page 46, section 3.b2):

  • Addressing Physical Health and Safety
  • Building and facilities upgrades and maintenance, including ventilation systems and new construction
  • Assistance with meals for students                    
  • Cleaning and/or sanitization supplies
  • Temporary classroom space to support social distancing                         
  • Temporary or additional transportation services to support social distancing to and from school                
  • Capacity-building to improve disaster preparedness and response efforts, including coordination with other governmental entities to help prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19                              
  • Other health protocols not listed above and aligned to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) such as: vaccines for staff and/or students, COVID-19 testing for staff and/or students, contact-tracing, masks

To assist districts in understanding and navigating the data requirements, ODE has scheduled five Office Hour sessions to answer questions. ODE’s ESSER Team will be facilitating the Office Hours. Please register for any of the Office Hours that work for your schedule. 

Thank you for your attention to this information and your continued effort to support the stewardship of such a historic investment. The record keeping will be critical to our collective and individual responsibility for ensuring that the students most impacted by the pandemic benefit directly. 

We anticipate that there are likely many additional questions that may arise for districts in making sense of these requirements. In addition to Office Hours, ODE’s ESSER Team is available to answer questions you may have and provide assistance. Please contact the ESSER Team at ode.esser@ode.oregon.gov.