ESSA CSI LEA Capital Outlay Expenditures

Information pertaining to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) Local Educational Agency (LEA) subgrant capital outlay expenditures (CapEx).

Federal requirements located in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance pursuant to Title 2, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 200.439(b)(2) (Cost Principles for Equipment and other capital expenditures) require a subgrantee to obtain approval from the Federal awarding agency or from its awarding agency prior to incurring the cost of a CapEx. As a result, the LEA must obtain prior written approval from the California Department of Education (CDE) to make a CapEx purchase with ESSA, Section 1003 funds for CSI that have a unit cost of $5,000 or more. CDE approval is not required if the unit cost per item is $4,999.99 or less before taxes and other fees.

Capital Outlay Expenditures

CapEx for CSI

For the purpose and intent of the ESSA CSI LEA subgrant, the LEA shall use the Title I CSI Capital Outlay Expenditures Request Form to request approval from the CDE for the following proposed expenditures:

Object Code 6400-Equipment: Computer Systems Only
Object Code 6500-Equipment Replacement: Computer Systems Only

A Title I CSI CapEx Form is not required to request approval for Object Code 6700-Subscription Assets, which was developed in Standardized Accounting Structure, in accordance with the new Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement No. 96 , Subscription-Based Information Technology Arrangements, as capital outlays for financial reporting purpose.

Object Code 6700 is for intangible right-to-use assets, and for federal grant expenditure reporting purposes, it is not considered a capital asset. Per CFR Section 200 , subscription payments may be allowable where the LEAs are required to recognize an intangible right-to-use subscription asset.

Additional information about GASB 96 can be found in the November 8, 2022, Standardized Accounting Code Structure Forum Meeting Minutes.

In addition, the LEA must comply with the Public Contract Code Section 20111(a) that requires school district governing boards to competitively bid and award any contracts involving an expenditure of more than $50,000, adjusted for inflation, to the lowest responsible bidder. Please visit the CDE Correspondence web page for more information about Bid Thresholds for Contracts Awarded by School Districts.

More information about Capital Outlay guidelines, (Procedure 330) is located in the California School Accounting Manual (CSAM) (PDF).

CapEx for CSI have a very narrow focus, as all other Equipment expenditures are beyond the scope and purpose of the subgrant.

Object Code	Description
6400	Equipment. Record expenditures for computer systems that have both an estimated useful life over one year and an acquisition cost equal to or greater than the capitalization threshold established by the LEA. Acquisitions cost includes tax, freight or other types of delivery charges, and installation costs including labor. (For more detail, refer to Procedure 770.)
6500	Equipment Replacement. Record expenditures for equipment replaced on a piece-for-piece basis. These expenditures must be identified for purposes of the calculation of the current expense of education (Education Code Section 41372).

Form and Instructions

Completing the Form

Access the form at Title I CSI Capital Outlay Expenditures Request Form (PDF).

Note: The CDE Title I CSI CapEx form is separate from the form that is used for the Title I program. Please visit the CDE Title I Capital Expenditures web page for more information about that program.

The LEA will provide the following information.

Form Field	Description
Date of Request	Provide the date the form will be submitted.
LEA Name	Provide the name of the LEA.
County/District School (CDS) Code	Provide the LEA’s 14-digit CDS code.
School Name	Provide the name of the school for which these costs will be incurred.
CSI School Status (Low Performance or Low Graduation)	Provide the CSI status of the school for which these costs will be incurred.
Fiscal Year (FY) ESSA CSI LEA Subgrant	Provide the FY of the ESSA CSI LEA subgrant that will be utilized.
Name of Primary Contact	Provide the name of the contact person who will be responsible for any required follow-up.
Title	Provide the title of the primary contact person.
Email Address	Provide the email address of the primary contact person.
Phone Number	Provide the phone number of the primary contact person.

Required Prompts

The following prompts require the LEA to provide detailed information as to how the proposed Capital Outlay expenditure will support the implementation of the CSI Plan and CSI program as a whole.

These following prompts require the LEA to provide detailed information as to how the proposed Capital Outlay expenditure will support the implementation of the CSI Plan and CSI program as a whole.
Provide a description of the item to be purchased with ESSA, Section 1003 funds for CSI.
Briefly describe how the item supports a need identified in the school-level needs assessment (ESSA, Section 1111[d][1][B][iii]).
Explain how the item will support the implementation of evidence-based interventions as required in the CSI plan (ESSA, Section 1111[d][1][B][ii]).
Explain how the item relates to the following CSI plan development and implementation activities:
- Building capacity
- Collaborating with educational partners
- Conducting needs assessments and root cause analysis
- Selecting and implementing evidence-based interventions/strategies/activities
- Using data and outcomes to monitor and evaluate improvement efforts
- Reviewing/identifying and addressing, through implementation of the CSI plan, resource inequities, which may include a review of LEA- and school-level budgeting
Briefly describe how the proposed item is reasonable, necessary, and an allowable cost to the ESSA CSI LEA program (2 CFR 200.404–200.405).
Explain how the purchase of this item with ESSA, Section 1003 funds for CSI is aligned with the assurance the LEA agreed to in its CSI LEA Application for Funding that each school the LEA proposes to serve will receive all of the State and local funds it would have received in the absence of ESSA, Section 1003 funds for CSI (ESSA, Section 1003[e][2]).

Submitting the Form

The LEA must email the following documents to CSICapEx@cde.ca.gov:

Fully completed Title I CSI Capital Outlay Expenditures Request Form (PDF)
Detailed quote of the item

CDE Review and Approval

If the request is approved, the CDE will email the LEA and attach the approved form for confirmation and should be retained by the LEA for record-keeping purposes.
If the request is not approved, the CDE will email the LEA and return the form with relevant remarks/comments. Depending on the reason/s/ provided, the LEA may be able to resubmit for reconsideration.

Reporting Capital Outlay Expenditures in the Grant Management and Reporting Tool (GMART)

Like other expenditures that LEAs claim, LEAs will report CapExs in the web-based reporting system. Only CapExs that have a unit cost of $5,000 or more will require the date the CSI CapEx Form approved. Additional information about reporting these expenditures can be found on the GMART CSI LEA Reporting Instructions web page.

FAQs

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Must a CSI CapEx form be submitted for items with a unit cost less than $5000?

No. The CSI CapEx form is only required for proposed Capital Outlay expenditures that are for Computer and Computer Systems only that have a unit cost of $5000 or more.
Can a CSI CapEx form be retroactively submitted for expenditures that have already occurred?

Retroactive approval of a CSI CapEx form is not allowed as CFR Part 200.439(b)(2) requires prior written approval.
What documents must be submitted to request approval of a proposed Capital Outlay expenditure that has a unit cost of $5000 or more?
LEAs must submit the following documents to the CDE for review:
- Title I CSI Capital Outlay Expenditures Request Form (PDF)
- Detailed quote/s/ for the proposed expenditure/s/
If one of the required documents is not submitted, the CDE will ask the LEA to submit all required documents so the request can be reviewed.

All required documents must be emailed to CSICapEx@cde.ca.gov.

Resources

Contact Information

For additional questions about Capital Outlay expenditures for CSI, email CSICapEx@cde.ca.gov.

Contact the School Improvement and Support Office by email at SISO@cde.ca.gov.

Questions: School Improvement and Support Office | SISO@cde.ca.gov | 916-319-0833

Last Reviewed: Monday, June 23, 2025

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