Federal Funding

In 2020-21, Congress passed three signature funding bills to address the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the nation’s education system: the Coronavirus Aid Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act; the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriation (CRRSA) Act; and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act.

Federal financial support for education was directed to local education agencies (LEA) and state education agencies (SEA) through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund included in all three bills, with LEAs receiving approximately 90% of ESSER funding and SEAs receiving up to 10% for state-level activities.

Throughout the pandemic, Florida has implemented ESSER funding strategies across CARES, CRRSA, and ARP to support: 

• Coordination between early learning, K-12, and postsecondary education systems; 
• Closing achievement gaps in kindergarten readiness, early literacy, and mathematics; 
• Student acceleration through data-driven decision-making; and 
• Educators with critical professional development opportunities.

Additionally, both the CARES and CRRSA Acts included funding for Florida through the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund. Governor DeSantis leveraged this funding to complement ongoing initiatives and activities funded through ESSER with a focus on:

• Rapid credentialing for areas with critical workforce needs;
• Expansion of apprenticeship and dual enrollment programs;
• Summer recovery and learning loss mitigation activities; and
• Career and Technical Education and workforce pathway supports.

Public Comment Period Notice – Waiver of Period of Availability for Consolidated Administrative Funds

As authorized by the U.S. Department of Education, the Florida Department of Education (Department) has consolidated its administrative funds under American Rescue Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) program, the ARP Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (ARP EANS) program, and the ARP Homeless Children and Youth (ARP HCY) program with administrative funds under section 8201(a)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA).  

Pursuant to section 8401 of ESEA, the Department is requesting from the U.S. Department of Education a waiver of section 421(b) of the General Education Provisions Act, which will extend the period of availability of administrative funds consolidated under ESEA section 8201. Specifically, this waiver will allow the Department to use remaining consolidated administrative funds to address all the Department’s administrative costs, including those associated with reporting, monitoring, and close-out activities for ARP ESSER, ARP EANS and ARP HCY, through March 31, 2026.

The Department will request the extension of the period of availability for the following programs for fiscal year 2022-2023 funds and 2023-2024 funds:

ARP PROGRAMS: 

• ARP ESSER
• ARP EANS
• ARP-HCY

ESEA PROGRAMS (FY 2022-2023 and FY 2023-2024)

• Title I, Part A of the ESEA (Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies (LEAs)
• Title I, Part C of the ESEA (Education of Migratory Children)
• Title I, Part D of the ESEA (Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected and Delinquent, or At Risk)
• Title II, Part A of the ESEA (Supporting Effective Instruction)
• Title III, Part A of the ESEA (English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement)
• Title IV, Part A of the ESEA (Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants)
• Title IV, Part B of the ESEA (21st Century Community Learning Centers)
• Title V, Part B, Subpart 2 of the ESEA (Rural and Low-Income School Program)

Comments must be submitted to the Department by email to ESSER2@fldoe.org, no later than July 23, 2024.