Commissioner Mike Morath presented data to the May 24 meeting of the House Public Education Committee showing the breakdown of ESSER funds spent by Texas districts. The combined costs of staffing for additional teachers and teacher compensation increases accounted for 21% of ESSER spending. 31% of funds were spent on one-time costs, while 27% were spent on recurring costs. The information shared showed that 75% of ESSER 2 and 3 funds allocated to LEA’s were unspent to date.
For the state agency’s share of ESSER funds, $1.9 billion was allocated to the Texas COVID Learning Acceleration Grants, or TCLAS, and 719 districts have been awarded funds through these grants. For more information, see the Commissioner’s full presentation here: 5-24-HPE-Covid-Learning-Loss
Review the House Public Education Committee Hearing May 24, 2022 here. Review the Senate Education Committee Hearing May 24, 2022 here