Dear Governor Hochul and Commissioner Rosa — Waiver of the Maintenance of Effort (May 17, 2024)
Summary
A letter dated May 17, 2024 from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, signed by Laura Jimenez, to Kathy Hochul, Governor, and Betty A. Rosa, Commissioner, of New York. It responds to the State Division of the Budget's March 15, 2024 request for a waiver of the fiscal year 2023 maintenance of effort requirements under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. It describes a shortfall of 0.86 percentage point, or $441.5 million, which New York attributes to increased spending on health care, rental assistance and supplemental unemployment insurance. It notes that New York raised elementary and secondary support from $24,552,791,326 to $29,313,943,039 and added $3 billion in supplemental spending in fiscal year 2024.
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“Dear Governor Hochul and Commissioner Rosa — Waiver of the Maintenance of Effort (May 17, 2024).”
Original at www.ed.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/department-of-education-fy-2023-waiver-approved-www-ed-gov-53b39d8a01-0119be46c5/
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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
May 17, 2024
The Honorable Kathy Hochul
Governor of New York
State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
The Honorable Betty A. Rosa
Commissioner of Education
New York State Department of Education
89 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12234
Dear Governor Hochul and Commissioner Rosa:
I am writing in response to the New York State Division of the Budget’s March 15, 2024,
request to the U.S. Department of Education (Department) for a waiver of the fiscal year (FY)
2023 maintenance of effort (MOE) requirements under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
(ARP Act).
As a condition of receiving Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds under
the ARP Act, New York assured it would maintain effort, as defined in the ARP Act, for both
elementary and secondary education and higher education in each of FYs 2022 and 2023. More
specifically, for each FY, section 2004(a)(1) of the ARP Act requires a State that receives ARP
ESSER funds to maintain State support for: 1) elementary and secondary education at least at the
proportional level of the State’s support for elementary and secondary education relative to the
State’s overall spending, averaged over FYs 2017, 2018, and 2019; and 2) higher education at
least at the proportional level of the State’s support for higher education relative to the State’s
overall spending, averaged over FYs 2017, 2018, and 2019. Section 2004(a)(2) of the ARP Act
allows the Department to grant a waiver of the MOE requirements “for the purpose of relieving
fiscal burdens incurred by States in preventing, preparing for, and responding to the
coronavirus.”
Under the authority of section 2004(a)(2) of the ARP Act, I am approving New York’s request to
waive the MOE requirements in section 2004(a)(1) of the ARP Act with respect to State support
for elementary and secondary education to relieve fiscal burdens incurred by the State for
FY 2023. This determination is based on the totality of the circumstances, including review of
New York’s waiver request and the fiscal burden the State incurred in responding to the COVID-
19 pandemic; the Department’s application of the statutory requirements; the Department’s
approach to MOE waiver requests as noted in the Frequently Asked Questions document;1 and
consideration of the impact on students.
1
8.15.22-Update_MOE-Chart-with-waiver-FAQs-Rounding-and-Appendices-Updated1.pdf
Page 2 – The Honorable Kathy Hochul and Betty A. Rosa
Based on the information submitted, New York failed to meet the FY 2023 MOE requirement for
elementary and secondary education by 0.86 percentage point (a $441.5 million shortfall). New
York noted that the decrease in proportional education spending was due to increases in overall
State spending on health care and other programs related to the COVID-19 pandemic including
rental assistance and supplemental unemployment insurance.
In determining whether to grant a State an MOE waiver, we may consider factors such as
increased State support for education. New York submitted data showing it increased overall
support for elementary and secondary education from an average of $24,552,791,326 in the
baseline years to $29,313,943,039 in FY 2023. New York also increased FY 2023 per-pupil
spending for elementary and secondary education by 31 percent, or $2,955 per student, compared
to the baseline. Finally, New York demonstrated a commitment to State support for elementary
and secondary education beyond FY 2023 including $3 billion in supplemental spending in
FY 2024, as noted in the State’s waiver request.2 This supplemental appropriation is larger than
the shortfall for FY 2023 as calculated under the ARP Act MOE requirement.
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to education. If you have any questions, please contact
the State mailbox at: NewYork.OESE@ed.gov.
Sincerely,
aura Jimenez
Laura Jimenez
Jimenez Laura Jimenez
Director, Office of State and Grantee Relations
2
https://oese.ed.gov/files/2024/04/New-York-USDE-Appendix-C-K-12-and-Higher-Ed-Waiver-Request-FY-2023-
3.15.24.pdf
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