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Public Notice for Waiver Request of ARP ESSER, EANS, Homeless Administrative, Title I,
Part A Administrative Funds

This is a notice to the public that the state Department of Education (Department) is applying to the U.S. Department of Education for a waiver of administrative set-asides for the funds listed below until December 30, 2026. 

A public comment period will be open from July 10, 2024, until July 23, 2024.  Comments can be sent to ra-edforpubliccomment@pa.gov.

The Department is requesting a waiver of Section 421(b) of General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) with respect to the administrative set-asides for the following grant programs to support operational activities that would be impacted by the expiration of funding on September 30, 2024. 

    • ARP EANS 
    • ARP ESSER 
    • ARP-HCY 
    • Title I, Part A of the ESEA (Improving Basic Programs Operated by LEAs) 

Several activities at the Department level will be positively impacted by approving the extension. Department staff that are currently paid with ARP ESSER Administrative Funds will not have to be fully funded with state funding to close out the reporting responsibilities for the period after 9/30/2024. The Department does not currently have the financial resources to fund the nine additional staff currently supporting ARP ESSER.  If the Department must fund those positions from state funds, the Department will have less funding to support activities that include: TSI/A-TSI learning supports through Pennsylvania's regional intermediate units; addressing learning loss; and teacher pipeline initiatives.  

If approved, a waiver, by contrast, would allow the Department to continue its work in serving at-risk and underserved populations.   ​​