Dear Select County and District Superintendents:

Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program
Estimated State Match Funding for the
2023–24 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 2022-23 Budget Act Item 6100-220-0001, Senate Bill 154 (Chapter 43, Statutes of 2022) as amended by Assembly Bill (AB) 178, (Chapter 45, Statues of 2022) in support of the Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program (CSESAP) for the 2023-24 school year. The California Department of Education (CDE) will make the required apportionment for the state match funds in August 2024.

LEAs that elected to participate in the CSESAP were required to notify the CDE by April 3, 2023, 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 2023–24 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 eighty cents ($0.80) for each one dollar ($1) that the classified employee elects to have withheld from their monthly paycheck for the 2023–24 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 2022 Funding Results web page at: https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/r14/csesap22result.asp.

Section 139 of AB 181 (Chapter 52, Statutes of 2022) provided an additional $35,000,000 for the CSESAP program for the 2022–23 school year match payment scheduled for August 2023. Any funds not needed for the 2022–23 school year match from the $35,000,000, will be applied to the 2023-24 school year and CDE will revise the ($0.80) estimate in September 2023.

Pursuant to California Education Code Section 45500(g), participating LEAs are required to notify participating classified employees by June 1, 2023, 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.

Participating LEAs that made the required April 3, 2023, reporting to the CDE will be included in the August 2024 apportionment for state match funding. A participating LEA shall request payment from the CDE on or before July 31, 2024, using a web-based form, for the amount of classified employee pay withheld. 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 December 9, 2022, 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

ED:da