Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Equivalent grants provide funding to local education agencies (LEAs) as they prepare for, respond to and address the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on students, families and educators. ESSER LEA grants provided by the US Department of Education (USED) could only be used to support Title I-A eligible LEAs, so OSSE created ESSER Equivalent grants for LEAs that are not eligible for these ESSER grants. Please refer to the ESSER eligibility lists to determine if your LEA is eligible for ESSER grants or ESSER Equivalent grants.

Applications for ESSER Equivalent grants are completed annually in the Enterprise Grants Management System (EGMS). Please review the information below for further details on how and when to apply for ESSER Equivalent grants.

General ESSER Equivalent Resources

• ESSER Equivalent FAQs
• ESSER Equivalent Grant Manager Contacts
• SOAR & ESSER Equivalent Allowable Uses

Application and Funding Resources

• ESSER Equivalent Allocations
• ESSER II Equivalent Application Guidance (only for K12 LEAs)
• ESSER II Equivalent Budget Codes (only for K12 LEAs)
• Letter of Rationale for Amendment Submission

Reporting Resources

• ESSER Equivalent Annual Reporting Webinar (March 2, 2022)

Contact Us

For questions about ESSER Equivalent, please email [email protected].

ESSER Grants are administered by OSSE’s Office of Federal Grants and Strategic Funding within the Division of Systems and Supports, K-12.

[Nov. 16, 2022]