Dear Governor Kemp and Superintendent Woods — Waiver of the Maintenance of Effort (May 10, 2024)

Summary

A letter dated May 10, 2024 from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, signed by Laura Jimenez, to Brian P. Kemp, Governor, and Richard Woods, State School Superintendent, of Georgia. It responds to the Georgia Department of Education's March 14, 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 $211.2 million linked to a drop in the QBE formula. It notes that Georgia raised elementary and secondary support from $9,268,505,036 in the baseline years to $11,126,570,218 in fiscal year 2023 and increased State aid by more than $883 million in fiscal year 2024.

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“Dear Governor Kemp and Superintendent Woods — Waiver of the Maintenance of Effort (May 10, 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-d1c7e8751a-8da3e92004/, SHA-256 76e36f7366e0b18305590048b02635d52047f0deff1c04eaecfc889ec9c90d25.

Full text

                           UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
                                OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION




                                                    May 10, 2024

The Honorable Brian P. Kemp
Governor of Georgia
206 Washington Street
Suite 203, State Capitol
Atlanta, GA 30334

The Honorable Richard Woods
State School Superintendent
Georgia Department of Education
205 Jesse Hill, Jr. Drive, SE
Atlanta, GA 30334

Dear Governor Kemp and Superintendent Woods:

I am writing in response to the Georgia Department of Education’s March 14, 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, Georgia 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 Georgia’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
Georgia’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

                                400 MARYLAND AVE., SW, WASHINGTON, DC 20202
                                              http://www.ed.gov/

   The Department of Education’s mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by
                               fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.
Page 2 – The Honorable Brian Kemp and Richard Woods

approach to MOE waiver requests as noted in the Frequently Asked Questions document1; and
consideration of the impact on students.

Based on the information submitted, Georgia failed to meet the FY 2023 MOE requirement for
elementary and secondary education by 1.19 percentage points (a $211.2 million shortfall).
Georgia noted that the decrease in proportional education spending was due to pandemic-related
enrollment declines in the years in which the State’s FY 2023 Quality Basic Education (QBE)
funding formula calculations were based.

In determining whether to grant a State an MOE waiver, we may consider factors such as
increased State support for education. Georgia submitted data showing it increased overall
support for elementary and secondary education from an average of $9,268,505,036 in the
baseline years to $11,126,570,218 in FY 2023. Georgia also increased FY 2023 per-pupil
spending compared to the baseline for elementary and secondary education by 21 percent, or
$1,088 per student. Finally, Georgia demonstrated a commitment to State support for elementary
and secondary education beyond FY 2023 by increasing State aid for elementary and secondary
education in FY 2024 by more than $883 million. This included increases for teacher health
benefits and salaries; funding to decrease the ratio of students to school counselors; and full
funding for the QBE grant, reflecting increases in student enrollment following the drop in the
QBE formula in FY 2023 that negatively impacted Georgia’s MOE compliance. These
supplemental appropriations are larger than Georgia’s 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 Georgia State mailbox at Georgia.OESE@ed.gov.

                                                      Sincerely,
aura Jimenez
                                                      Laura Jimenez
                                                      Jimenez
                                                      Laura Jimenez
                                                      Director, Office of State and Grantee Relations




1
 https://oese.ed.gov/files/2022/09/8.15.22-Update_MOE-Chart-with-waiver-FAQs-Rounding-and-Appendices-
Updated1.pdf

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