Coronavirus Relief Information

Coronavirus Relief Information

See the topics below and click to expand each of those sections for more specific information.

DESE’s COVID-19 Federal Relief Fund Priorities

On June 30, 2022, Governor Parson signed the Fiscal Year 2023 state operating budget, approving historic investments in education. The Governor’s action also gave DESE the final approval of the department’s ESSER III spending plan, which details how the department will spend the 10 percent of funds set aside for state education agencies to address broad, large-scale K-12 initiatives and ensures the continuation and competition of several important lines of effort DESE has already began.

Read more about DESE’s Federal Relief Fund Priorities, which includes work to address challenges in four key areas: learning acceleration, the educator workforce, mental health needs, and the digital divide.

COVID Relief Guidance/Resources
Closed Grant Programs

CARES K-12 Support (CRF)

The purpose of the Support for K-12 Education is to provide assistance to LEAs with COVID-19 related expenditures through December 30, 2020.

COVID-19 Response Supply Reimbursement Grant

Funds are available to reimburse districts for a 25% share of costs associated with personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical and cleaning supplies for school buildings and buses.

Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER)

Emergency Worker Childcare

Some schools provided childcare services for families of medical professionals and emergency workers supporting the COVID-19 response effort in spring 2020.  A one-time application process has been developed to collect eligible expenditures for such services.

Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER)

Missouri Student Connectivity Grant

Missouri Student Connectivity Grant

This project supports student connectivity across the state, specifically by increasing both access to WiFi and the number of devices in the hands of Missouri students.

Seamless Summer Option Meals and Safety Resources During COVID-19

Transportation for Meal Delivery

Reimbursements are available for direct costs associated with delivering meals when school buildings were closed during spring 2020.

Transportation Supplement

Funds to support student transportation costs related to COVID-19 is being provided to schools through a supplemental grant via ePeGs.

Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER II) (CLOSED)
American Rescue Plan (ARP) - Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER III)

As school districts and charter schools are working to complete their ARP ESSER (ESSER III) applications, DESE has published an infographic to clarify for applicants the steps in the application process. Applicants should refer to the ESSER III Application Guidance for LEAs for detailed information on the application.

Coding Guidance

ARP ESSER (ESSER III) Maintenance of Equity (MOEquity)

ARP ESSER (ESSER III) Missouri State Plan

DESE submitted to the United States Department of Education (USED) the application required to receive Missouri’s allocation for the ARP ESSER fund, often referred to by DESE as ESSER III. Missouri’s allocation totals $1.96 billion, 90 percent of which will be distributed directly to LEAs to spend on a wide range of allowable uses to respond to COVID-19. DESE will use the remaining 10 percent of the funds to address the impact of COVID-19 through state-level projects and initiatives. Portions of both local and state dollars must be reserved for specific targeted uses.

ESSER III Summer School (CLOSED)
ESSER III Summer School Expansion Grant (CLOSED)
American Rescue Plan (ARP) - Homeless Children and Youth (HCY I)
American Rescue Plan (ARP) - Homeless Children and Youth (HCY II)
American Rescue Plan (ARP) IDEA (CLOSED)
Emergency Assistance for Nonpublic Schools Program (EANS) (CLOSED)
Emergency Assistance for Nonpublic Schools Program (EANS II) / (EANS IIA)
Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER II)
Close the Gap Grant (CLOSED)
Evidence-Based Reading Instruction Program

Archived Resources

School-Based Mental Health Immediate Responsive Services Grant (IRSG)

The purpose of the IRSG is to increase student access to mental health resources.

School-Based Mental Health Recruitment and Retention Initiative
Missouri Mathematics Mastery Program (CLOSED)
Missouri Postsecondary Advising Initiative (CLOSED)
Missouri Teacher Preparation Program Awards (MTPPA) (CLOSED)
Monitoring
Data Collections (CANCELED)

Per U.S. Department of Education's direction, current and future ESSER data collections have been canceled (4-8-2025).

Resources

Webinars

Archived Resources

Dual Credit Expansion Program (CLOSED)
Elementary Mathematics Specialist Certificate Completion Program (CLOSED)
Teacher Recruitment and Retention Grants

Staffing shortages in the teaching profession have consistently been a challenge for a number of years. There is every reason to believe that COVID-19 only exacerbated the problem. To address these challenges, the Department has designated over $50 million in state reserve funds from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund to establish a Teacher Recruitment and Retention Grant program. This program will support teacher recruitment and retention efforts over the next three school years.

Reporting and Recording Federal Interest

Federal Relief Funds and Real Property Webinar Recording (11/13/2024)
Federal Relief Funds and Real Property Webinar Slides Presented (11/13/2024)
LEA Guidance Document Recording (10/11/2024)
LEA Guidance Document Reporting (1/31/2025)
SF-429 Forms (10/11/2024)
SF-429 Form Instructions (10/25/2024)
Reporting and Recording FAQs (12/5/2024)

Presentations
Waivers and Related Documents
COVID Relief Contact Information
ProjectSection ContactPhone
EANSJulie Cowell or Theresa Villmer573-526-3232
ESSER I and ESSER IIESEA Finance573-751-8643
ESSER III Plan and BudgetCOVID Relief Staff573-751-7635
ESSER III Payment and Final Expenditure ReportESEA Finance573-751-8643
ESSER MonitoringCOVID Relief Staff573-751-7635
Emergency ChildcareSchool Finance (David Tramel)573-751-0357
Families First Coronavirus Response FundsSchool Foods573-751-4402
Meal DeliverySchool Finance573-751-0357
Missouri Student ConnectivityAmber Riley573-526-9945
PPE/Medical/SanitationSchool Finance (David Tramel)573-751-0357
Sheltered Workshop AssistanceSpecial Education Finance573-751-3561
State Schools Transp. SupplementSpecial Education Finance573-751-3561
Teacher Recruitment & RetentionOffice of Educator Quality573-751-1668
Transportation SupplementSchool Finance573-751-0357