The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has created a useful spreadsheet showing how school districts have used their federal Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. It includes claims processed through Nov. 2021, and it will be updated going forward. (The spreadsheet can be accessed from this page.)

The federal government appropriated ESSER funding in three separate COVID relief bills. The total allocated for Washington is $2.896 billion. (Estimated allocations by school district are available here.)

According to OSPI’s new data, the state has claimed $579.7 million so far, or 20.0% of the total allocation. The largest portion of claims is for salaries (31.8%), followed by supplies and materials (27.2%). The spreadsheet includes the information for each school district as well.

Finally, as I noted in October, one-third of the third ESSER allocations were withheld from states until they submitted plans to the U.S. Department of Education describing how the funds would be used. Washington’s plan was finally approved by the Department of Education a few weeks ago.