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ARP Maintenance of Effort and Maintenance of Equity

Maintenance of Equity for ESSER III Funds

As a condition of receiving federal ESSER III funds, states and LEAs must meet maintenance of equity measures.

In FY22 and FY23, states may not:

  • reduce state funding, as calculated on a per-pupil basis, for any high-need LEA by an amount that exceeds the overall per-pupil reduction in state funds across all LEAs; or
  • reduce state funding, as calculated on a per-pupil basis, for any highest poverty LEA below the level of funding, as calculated on a per-pupil basis, provided to each such LEA in fiscal year 2019.

If a state fails to meet the maintenance of effort or maintenance of equity requirements, the USDE can recover the full amount of a State’s GEER Fund and ESSER Fund awards and/or take other actions deemed appropriate under the Federal Uniform Grant Guidance 2 C.F.R. § 200.207 and section 455 of the General Education Provisions Act.

In FY22 and FY23, LEAs may not:

  • reduce per-pupil spending or per-pupil staffing for high-poverty schools at a greater rate than the reductions (if any) that are applied to all schools in the LEA.

See US Department of Education approval of Wisconsin's FY 2023 small LEA tolerance test to meet Maintenance of Equity Requirements - January 26, 2024

LEA Exceptions to the ESSER III Maintenance of Equity Requirement

LEAs are excepted from the ESSER III Maintenance of Equity requirement for any of the following reasons:

  • Total enrollment of less than 1,000 students;
  • Operates a single school;
  • Serves all students within each grade span within a single school;
  • LEA has been granted an exception from local Maintenance of Equity requirements by the U.S. Department of Education; or
  • LEA has notified DPI that the LEA demonstrates an exceptional or uncontrollable circumstance under section 2004(c)(2)(D) of the ARP Act and has not implemented an aggregate reduction in combined State and Local per-pupil funding.

LEAs that are eligible to certify an exception may follow the instructions in this Certifying an Exception of ESSER III Maintenance of Equity in WISEgrants guide (Google Doc) to certify an exception for the 2023 fiscal year. See the US Department of Education's ESSER III Maintenance of Equity FAQ (Updated January 23, 2023) for more information.

  • FY 2023 list of Wisconsin LEAs’ ESSER III Maintenance of Equity exception status (Google Sheets) displays whether a Wisconsin LEA is excepted from local Maintenance of Equity requirements in FY 2023.
    • FY 2023 NOTE: All Wisconsin LEAs are excepted from ESSER III Maintenance of Equity requirements for the 2023 fiscal year. Because all Wisconsin LEAs are excepted, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is not requiring LEAs to provide a list of LEA-identified high-poverty schools and is not providing a list of high-poverty schools subject to ESSER III Maintenance of Equity requirements in the 2023 fiscal year.
  • FY 2022 list of Wisconsin LEAs' ESSER III Maintenance of Equity exception status (Google Sheets) displays whether a Wisconsin LEA is excepted from local Maintenance of Equity requirements in FY 2022.
    • FY 2022 NOTE: All Wisconsin LEAs are excepted from ESSER III Maintenance of Equity requirements for the 2022 fiscal year. Because all Wisconsin LEAs are excepted, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is not requiring LEAs to provide a list of LEA-identified high-poverty schools and is not providing a list of high-poverty schools subject to ESSER III Maintenance of Equity requirements in the 2022 fiscal year.


View this WI DPI ESSER III LEA Maintenance of Equity WISEgrants Exception Certification video on YouTube.

Maintenance of Effort

As with previous COVID-19 relief legislation (CARES, CRRSA), states are required to maintain funding for K-12 and higher education as a condition of receiving federal funds. This requirement, known as the Maintenance of Effort (MOE) requirement, prevents states from using ARP Act funds to make up for state revenue losses. The base measure for the MOE test is a three-year average of state spending, using FY17, FY18, and FY19. Under ARP, the state must maintain funding for K-12 schools in FY22 and FY23 as a proportion of the state’s total general fund budget, at or above the MOE base (FY17-FY19 three-year average).

Based on data submitted by the DPI, the U.S. Department of Education has determined that compliance with Maintenance of Effort (MOE) requirements under the CARES and CRRSA Acts requires the State of Wisconsin to maintain the following funding levels for K-12 and higher education:  

  • For FY21, Wisconsin must maintain its annual support for K-12 education at $5,816,496,378 and for higher education at $1,462,233.  
  • In FY22 and FY23, Wisconsin must maintain its annual support for K-12 education at 35.28 percent of overall State spending and higher education at 8.87 percent of overall State spending.  

Send questions about this information to essergrants@dpi.wi.gov