Arizona

*updated 9/2/2021

Eligible Applicants:

Local Education Agencies (LEAs) in the State of Arizona that received less than $1,800 per pupil in ESG, ESSER I, ESSER II and/or ESSER III. 

All enrolled student counts are based upon data submitted for May 2021 school finance payments.

*Allowable expenses must have been incurred between June 1, 2021, and May 31, 2023. 

Allowable/Eligible Expenses:

Eligible expenses must be justified as:

• *Those that occurred between the dates of June 1, 2021, and May 31, 2023.

• Expenses directly related to the mitigation of the impacts of the COVID-19 public health pandemic.

• COVID-19 related classroom expenses such as:

  • Student remediation

  • Summer School

  • Counseling

  • Teacher premium pay

  • Student support

Unallowable Expenses:

• Expenditures not directly related to mitigating the impacts of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
• Costs already covered by another source of federal funding.
• Costs incurred outside of the project period.

No indirect costs are permitted for this program.

The Arizona Governor's Office supports and encourages schools informing educators, parents and students of CDC recommendations regarding COVID-19 Mitigation Policies.

*updated August 18, 2021

**updated September 2, 2021

***updated September 29, 2021

The Arizona Governor's Office supports and encourages schools informing educators, parents and students of CDC recommendations regarding COVID-19 Mitigation Policies.

Funding Available: 

Up to $163 million will be allocated to LEAs that received less than $1,800 per pupil under ESG and/or ESSER I - III, with LEAs receiving a maximum of $1,800 per pupil.

Cost-Share:

There is no required cost-share (match) associated with this program.

Grant Program Special Conditions: 

In the executed grant agreement, grantees must agree to the following special provisions of the Education Plus-Up Grant Program: 

1. ***The Grantee agrees that the $163 million, made available through the federal American Rescue Plan, will be distributed through the Education Plus-Up Grant program to district and charter schools that are not requiring the use of face coverings during instructional hours and on school property (with the exception of CDC transportation guidelines) and are remaining open for in-person instruction as of August 27th, 2021 and throughout the remainder of the school year.

2. *The Grantee acknowledges that they must provide their current COVID-19 mask policy in the application as an additional attachment.

3. **The Grantee agrees to submit a learning remediation plan as an additional uploaded attachment with their application, detailing how they are seeking to improve LEA Math and English & Language Arts assessment scores during the 2021-2022 school year.

4. The Grantee acknowledges that if the funds are being utilized for personnel financial incentives, they may only pay those personnel whose salaries are designated as instruction or instructional support per the Superintendent Annual Financial Report (SAFR).

5. The Grantee acknowledges that funds cannot be utilized for administrator salary increases or bonuses.

6. Grantees must make their AZMerit Data publicly available on their official website.

7. Grantee agrees funds shall not be used to supplant federal, state, county and/or local funds that would otherwise be made available for such purposes. 

   1. Supplanting means the deliberate reduction of state or local funds because of the existence of any grant funds.

8. Grantee agrees that grant funds will be used in accordance with applicable program rules, guidelines and special conditions.

9. Grantee agrees that activities funded under this award will be closely coordinated with related activities supported by the EPU Grant Program funds. Grant funds may only be used for the purposes in the grantee’s approved application. The Grantee shall not undertake any work or activities not described in the grant application, including staff, equipment, or other goods or services without prior consultation with the GFR team.  

10. Grantee agrees that it will submit financial and activity reports to the Governor’s Office in a format provided by the Office, documenting the activities supported by these grant funds and providing an assessment of the impact of these activities which may include documentation of project milestones. In the event, reports are not received on or before the indicated date(s), funding may be suspended until such time as the delinquent report(s) are received. Extensions for financial and activity reports may be requested by emailing epu@az.gov. Financial reports must include all supporting documentation related to the request for reimbursement. 

    1. Supporting documentation includes but is not limited to receipts, contracts, purchase orders, invoices, written explanation of expenditures, etc.  

11. Grantee agrees to cooperate with any assessments, evaluation efforts, or information or data collection requests, including, but not limited to, the provision of any information required for the assessment or evaluation of any activities within this project. 

12. Grantee acknowledges any expenditures which have occurred outside of the approved budget are done so at the risk of the grantee and are not guaranteed reimbursement by the EPU Grant Program.  

13. Grantee must maintain inventory records of all property purchased with grant funds. Disposition of this property shall be in accordance with 2 CFR § 200.313.

14. Grantee understands record retention is subject to 2 CFR §215.53.

If you need assistance, please contact a member of the Grants and Federal Resources (GFR) at: epu@az.gov

Pre-Award Information:

Application Submission Guide: please utilize this user guide as you are completing the application process.

FAQs: a list of frequently asked questions for the Education Plus-Up Grant Program.

Allocations and Eligible LEAs: List of all eligible LEAs and respective allocations. This list includes all LEAs and their previous allocations from the Enrollment Stabilization Grant (ESG) Program and the three (3) funding cycles of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund.

Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Final Rule: for a reference point for funding source of this grant program especially for Premium Pay application. 

Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund FAQs: for a reference point for funding source of this grant program especially for Premium Pay application.

The Arizona Governor's Office supports and encourages schools informing educators, parents and students of CDC recommendations regarding COVID-19 Mitigation Policies.