The enacted 2021–23 operating budget appropriated $553.1 million from the federal elementary and secondary school emergency relief (ESSER) fund to address pandemic learning loss.

This money is mostly from the third ESSER round, which must be spent by Sept. 2024. Washington’s school districts received $1.668 billion from the third round and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) received $185.4 million.

In general, the ESSER money is highly flexible. However, about $93 million of OSPI’s share and $333.5 million of districts’ share must be used to address learning loss, per the federal legislation. These amounts are included in the 2021–23 appropriations for learning loss.

The House’s 2023 supplemental (as approved by the Appropriations Committee) would reduce ESSER III appropriations in 2021–23 by $93.1 million. This is described in budget documents as a “learning recovery shift to 23–25” and is explicitly from OSPI’s share.

Although the Senate budget would not reduce 2021–23 ESSER appropriations, both the House and Senate budgets would reappropriate ESSER funding in 2023–25. The House would appropriate $131.3 million from ESSER for learning loss in 2023–25, but the Senate would appropriate $67.1 million more ($198.5 million) from ESSER for this purpose.

Meanwhile, the House budget would appropriate $67.0 million from ESSER III for special education programs in 2023–25. (The Senate budget would not use any ESSER funds for special education.)

Surely the state will comply with all federal requirements as to the use of ESSER funds. That said, it does appear that the House is proposing shifting the more flexible portions of ESSER funds from learning loss to special education.