1. Deadline to Spend ESSER III
All ESSER III funds must be expended by 9/30/24. Oregon is proud to have completely spent down its ESSER I and II funds and hopes to be able to do the same with ESSER III to show how districts responsibly spent these emergency pandemic dollars.
ESSER III (ARP Act) Important Dates:
- Award Period: 3/1/20 - 9/31/24
- Deadline for Final Spending (with Tydings Extension): 9/30/24
- Deadline for Claiming Funds in EGMS and Filing Reimbursement: 11/14/24
No Late Liquidation Process, Expenditures Must End September 30, 2024
The U.S. Department of Education (USED) has outlined a process for State Education Agencies, such as ODE, to pursue "late liquidation" of ESSER III funds on behalf of districts. While this avenue theoretically allows for the continuation of payments for properly obligated contracted services beyond September 30, 2024, it does not encompass expenditures for district employees, transportation, travel, or any other non-contractual services.
Considering the significant risks involved, capacity constraints faced by both districts and ODE, and the limited scope of the extension, ODE has made the decision not to accept any requests for late liquidation.
Timely Reimbursement
Districts are urged to submit reimbursements often in order for our team (and the public, see ODE's Transparency Dashboard) to better understand how the spend down is progressing. If your district requests reimbursement only a couple times a year, please consider submitting a reimbursement request at the end of the school year so the team can be sure to provide you timely reimbursement after the end of the grant. Reimbursements could be delayed if ODE staff have to process hundreds of millions of dollars in requests after 9/30/24.
Unfinished Learning Reminder
What are the expectations for districts regarding unfinished learning when using their ESSER funds?
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The U.S. Department of Education requires that at least 20% of a school district's ESSER III allocation be used for unfinished learning purposes. Don't hesitate to get in touch with the ODE Pandemic Relief Team with questions at ODE.ESSER@ode.oregon.gov.
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Unfinished learning is a term unique to Oregon and is being used in place of the federal term "Lost Instructional Time." The term references evidence-based interventions (high-dosage tutoring, summer school, extended day, etc.) that a school district implements to improve student outcomes.
What does it mean for a program to be evidence-based?
More information can be found on the ODE ESSER FAQs section of the website.
As a reminder, ESSER annual data collection contains new elements this year, including participation data for selected ESSER-funded activities. This year’s data collection will be due May 1st. We will be holding initial office hours to review the new data collection tools and requirements. As a reminder, charter schools report through their district, except state-sponsored charter schools. We suggest charter schools contact their district for more information. Please click the links below to register at one of the sessions:
We recognize that districts have worked hard to think both creatively and strategically about how to invest their Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) III funds.
We'd like to share an impressive way that Sweet Home School District shared their ESSER spending with their staff, students and community in this report.
Please share information about your ESSER III investments, successes, and learning with us by posting to social media #ESSERImpactOregon or by emailing ode.esser@ode.oregon.gov. Use this toolkit for ideas!
We are excited to highlight two of the 12 projects Oregon has designated as an ESSER III Set-Aside Investment below. See also: Narratives about Oregon’s full plan for the state’s allocation of ESSER III Set-Aside funds.
A partnership between Oregon State University’s College of Education and Oregon Department of Education supports Oregon educators in addressing unfinished learning through strengthening education networks and instructional leadership across the state. The Equitable Accelerated Learning Project currently supports hundreds of teachers and teacher leaders as they spearhead efforts to reverse inequities in the state’s educational systems which were exacerbated by the pandemic. Participants have been meeting on weekends and evenings to identify problems of practice and co-design practical solutions to support teaching and learning for all students. Over 400 teachers and 115 instructional leaders across 76 Oregon school districts have spent over 30,000 hours of professional learning in working groups and communities of practice.
This collaborative learning project will culminate in the statewide summer learning summit this August 6-7, 2024, at Oregon State University. Coordinated by ODE, higher education staff, content experts and Instructional Leader Cadre members, the summit will showcase and explore resources developed by teachers, for teachers. The summit will also feature nationally recognized speakers and provide an opportunity for deep connection and learning. Registration will open April 1, 2024. Watch for more information from ODE and OSU.
Project resources will also be posted on the ODE website and Oregon Open Learning. Expenses related to Oregon educators’ participation will be covered and participation will be compensated.
Watch this four-minute video to learn more about this important work.
Upcoming Release of the Digitial Instructional Materials Toolkit:
We are pleased to announce the upcoming release of the Digital Instructional Materials Toolkit project, a comprehensive resource tailored for educators and school districts, navigating the nuanced challenge of adopting high-quality digital instructional materials. This toolkit includes guidance and advice on critical topics such as accessibility, student data privacy, adaptability, cultural responsiveness, centering linguistic strengths, interoperability, and modularity and aims to empower school leaders in a focused curriculum adoption and implementation process. Stay tuned as we prepare to unveil this essential resource in the coming weeks.
For more information or to receive an email notification when this toolkit has been published, please contact: Matt Hiefield, Digital Instructional Materials Curator, Digital Learning Team (Matt.Hiefield@ode.oregon.gov).
Share Your ESSER III Success Stories with ODE!
What are some innovative things districts are doing with their ESSER funds? Every quarter, we highlight promising and creative activities that have the potential to impact student outcomes.
Klamath County School District is seeing significant results from the pandemic relief grants. The district leveraged its existing strategic plan to choose ESSER-funded projects that would positively impact students and respond to community priorities. Read on for an update from the district on several of their capital projects.
Klamath County School District: ESSER funding highlights
When federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding was made available to school districts, Klamath County School District believed it had a responsibility to use the one-time money for programs and projects that would have an ongoing impact on student learning.
To do this, KCSD developed a plan to mitigate pandemic learning loss using both ESSER money and renewable state Student Investment Act (SIA) funds. The district used SIA funds to hire staff for project-based learning, small group instruction, and social emotional supports, among other needs, and the non-renewable ESSER funds to pay for new construction, facility upgrades, and program improvements that would benefit student learning and safety for years to come. Under this plan, once ESSER funding expires, the district can continue mitigating learning loss with the additional teachers and specialists hired using SIA funds.
The district leveraged its strategic plan – created with input from stakeholders in 2020 as the pandemic hit – to choose ESSER-funded projects that would positively impact students and respond to community priorities. The district covers about 6,000 square miles (about the size of Connecticut), serving over 7,100 students in five distinct communities.
Here is one highlight: An outdoor turf field that will be unaffected by drought and was funded through a partnership with the Klamath Tribes. The Chiloquin track and field renovation filled a void in a rural, indigenous community isolated from other outdoor venues provided in Klamath Falls, located 30 miles south. The current facility needed upgrades, and the grass field was unusable due to ongoing drought. Because of these conditions, during the pandemic students had no outdoor facility to safely gather for learning activities.
The district used $1.2 million in ESSER II/III funds and partnered with the Klamath Tribes, which supported the efforts by donating $500,000 to upgrade the facility’s lighting, concessions, restrooms and bleachers. The project was completed in 2022.
“We appreciate the Tribal Council’s ongoing support of our schools and communities,” said KCSD school board member John Rademacher, who represents the Chiloquin area. “Their partnership helped make this facility a place of which the Chiloquin community can be proud.”
American Rescue Plan Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) Funds Ending 9/30/24
The ARP-HCY funds are from a different part of the American Rescue Plan and not administered by the ESSER team, but we are collaborating with our ARP-HCY colleagues in ODE to try to get the word out that the ARP-HCY (I&II) funds also need to be expended by 9/30/24. The ARP-HCY/McKinney-Vento team will be reaching out to districts that are not spending down the ARP-HCY (I&II) funds and they are also providing webinars on spend down and reporting and individual technical assistance as needed.
Please contact their team for assistance:
Chris James, ARP HCY: chris.james@ode.oregon.gov 503-510-5366
ARP HCY In-box: ODE.ARP.HCY@ode.oregon.gov
ARP-HCY (I & II) information, webinar links and FAQs can be accessed on this ODE web page.
Use of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds in Oregon
Since 2020 Oregon has received $1.62 billion in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds to support the needs of all students, with a focus on historically excluded communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The state has allocated 90% of its allotment to school districts to spend based on their community’s unique needs. ODE has distributed the other 9.5% (.5% can be used for administrative costs) to support 12 equity-driven initiatives designed to address unfinished learning, support the health, safety, and mental wellness of our students and staff, and strengthen high-quality, culturally-sustaining instruction and leadership. These initiatives are designed for all students and are specifically centered on equitably serving Oregon’s Black, Latino, Latina, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, and Tribal students, students with disabilities, students who identify as LGBTQ2SIA+; emerging bilingual; and those navigating foster care, houselessness, and poverty, and those with limited access to resources due to rural location.
We send out newsletters on a quarterly basis, so keep an eye out to stay up to date on ESSER III information. Visit the ESSER archive to find previous newsletters and announcements.
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