Dear Select County and District Superintendents:

Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program
Estimated State Match Funding for the
2025–26 School Year

The purpose of this letter is to notify participating local educational agencies (LEAs) the estimated total state match funding, in the amount of $90,000,000, will be made available from funds provided in the 2024-25 Budget Act Item 6100-220-0001, Assembly Bill 107 (Chapter 22, Statutes of 2024), as amended by Section 213 of Senate Bill 108 (Chapter 35, Statutes of 2024) in support of the Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program (CSESAP) for the 2025–26 school year. The California Department of Education (CDE) will apportion state matching funds in August 2026.

LEAs that elected to participate in the CSESAP were required to notify the CDE by April 1, 2025, of their election. As part of the notification, LEAs reported to the CDE the number of classified employees that elected to participate in the CSESAP and the total estimated amount to be withheld from participating classified employee paychecks for the 2025–26 school year.

Based on the estimated data reported, the CDE determined that a participating classified employee is estimated to receive state match funding equal to approximately fifty-six cents ($0.56) for each one dollar ($1) that the classified employee elects to have withheld from their monthly paycheck for the 2025–26 school year. A copy of this letter and accompanying schedule of the estimated amount of state match funding for each participating LEA is available on CDE’s CSESAP 2024 Funding Results web page at: https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/r14/csesap24result.asp.

Pursuant to California Education Code Section 45500(g), participating LEAs are required to notify participating classified employees by June 1, 2025, of the amount of estimated state match funds the participating classified staff is estimated to receive as a result of participating in the CSESAP. After receiving that notification, a classified employee may withdraw their election to participate in the CSESAP or reduce the amount to be withheld from their paycheck, by notifying their employing LEA no later than 30 days after the start of the school year.

A participating LEA shall request payment from the CDE on or before July 31, 2026, using a web-based form, for the amount of classified employee pay withheld. Participating LEAs that made the required April 1, 2025, notification and request payment from CDE by July 31, 2026, will be in the August 2026 apportionment for state match funding. If the total amount requested by participating LEAs, based on actual classified employee withholdings, exceeds the appropriated amount available for the CSESAP, the CDE will apply a proration, which may be greater or less than the preliminary estimate provided above.

For additional information on the CSESAP including key dates, refer to the letter dated November 22, 2024, and the frequently asked questions posted on the CSESAP web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/ca/csesap.asp. For questions regarding this program, please contact the Categorical Allocations and Audit Resolution Office by email at csesap@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Dearstyne, Director
School Fiscal Services Division