ARP LEA-Level Maintenance of Equity Requirement (MOEquity)

LEA-level maintenance of equity (MOEquity) is a federal fiscal requirement that applies to all local educational agencies (LEAs) that receive funding under the grants authorized by section 2001 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP), including the following:

• 2020–2023 ARP ESSER III
• 2021–2023 ESSER Supplemental (ESSER-SUPP)
• 2021–2024 Texas COVID Learning Supports (TCLAS)

The intent of this requirement is to ensure that LEAs and campuses that serve a large share of students from low-income backgrounds do not experience a disproportionate reduction in funding in fiscal years (FYs) 2022 and 2023 (FY 2022 and FY 2023), that is, school years 2021–2022 and 2022–2023.

In addition, MOEquity is designed to ensure that LEAs serving the largest shares of students from low-income backgrounds do not receive a decrease in state funding below their FY 2019 level.

MOEquity Guidance Handbook

Refer to the MOEquity Guidance Handbook for a detailed description of the following:

• The MOEquity statutory requirement
• Compliance with the requirement
• Exception criteria and USDE exception from the requirement
• Methods of documenting compliance
• Instructions on calculating equity with the MOEquity Tool (available through TEAL)

Deadlines

FY 2023 Information:

As described below, LEAs must submit the following to TEA by Friday, December 9, 2022.

• Notification of error regarding inclusion/exclusion from the list of automatically excepted LEAs
• MOEquity Document Submission Plan

LEAs that choose to calculate equity with the MOEquity Tool must submit the completed tool via TEAL by Friday, January 27, 2023.

MOEquity Compliance: Automatically Excepted LEAs

MOEquity applies to recipients of grant funding authorized by ARP, section 2001. Under ARP, certain LEAs are excepted from the requirement.

Using LEA data submitted on the SC5000 schedule of the ESSA Consolidated Federal Grant Application, TEA has compiled a list of LEAs that are automatically excepted from MOEquity:

FY 2023 Data:

• FY23 Automatically Excepted LEAs (Alphabetical by ESC)
• FY23 Automatically Excepted LEAs (Alphabetically by LEA)

If your LEA has been included or excluded from the “automatically excepted” list due to a data reporting error, you must notify the Federal Fiscal Compliance and Reporting Division, at compliance@tea.texas.gov to correct the error.

LEAs that qualify for automatic exception from MOEquity are not required to take any further action to meet this requirement.

FY 2022 Data:

• FY22 Automatically Excepted LEAs (Alphabetical by ESC)
• FY22 Automatically Excepted LEAs (Alphabetical by LEA)

LEAs Not Automatically Excepted

All LEAs that are not automatically excepted from MOEquity are required to submit documentation to TEA to indicate their chosen method for meeting the requirement. Three methods are available:

• USDE exception
• Self-certification
• Calculation of equity

The LEA notifies TEA of its chosen method by completing and submitting the MOEquity Document Submission Plan.

LEAs that select the option to complete and submit the MOEquity Tool can access a blank copy of the MOEquity Tool in the "TEA Resources" section on this webpage along the "LEA Campus Data Sheet", which contains campus-level data that LEAs can copy and paste into the MOEquity Tool.  A blank copy of the MOEquity Tool can also be accessed via GFFC Reports and Data Collections.

Refer to the MOEquity Guidance Handbook for a description of the three methods and instructions on completing the required plan.

TEA Training

FY 2023 Training Handouts:

• September 27, 2002 - General Overview and Updates Presentation
• MOEquity Training: Overview and Updates PowerPoint - September 2022 (PDF Version)
• MOEquity Training: Tool Completion PowerPoint - October 2022 (PDF Version)

FY 2023 Training Dates:

• 09/22/22  MOEquity FY23 Overview and Updates

• 09/27/22  MOEquity FY23 Overview and Updates

• 10/04/22 MOEquity FY23 Tool and Instructions
  
   

TEA Resources

Answers to frequently asked MOEquity questions are listed in the ESSER FAQ. The FAQ will be updated regularly. Use the ESSER FAQ Submission form to submit new MOEquity questions to TEA staff. 

The following MOEquity resources have also been developed by TEA:

• MOEquity Guidance Handbook (including instructions for completing the MOEquity Tool)
• MOEquity Document Submission Plan
• MOEquity Tool
• LEA Campus Data Sheet for MOEquity Tool
• MOEquity Training: Overview and Updates - September 2022
• MOEquity Training: Tool Completion - October 2022

Federal Resources

USDE will post all MOEquity resources on its website as they become available.

• USDE Maintenance of Equity FAQ
• ARP ESSER Maintenance of Equity
• Final Requirements-American Rescue Plan Act Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund

Federal Reporting

FY 2023 LEA-level MOEquity Reporting

In accordance with the United States Department of Education (USDE) LEA-level Maintenance of Equity (MOEquity) reporting requirements, TEA has developed the following documents:

• FY23 LEA-level MOEquity Compliance Description: This document outlines TEA’s approach for ensuring that local educational agencies (LEAs) that receive funding authorized by section 2001 of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act comply with the LEA-level maintenance of equity (MOEquity) compliance requirement.
• FY23 LEA-level MOEquity data (PDF Format): This Excel file includes the following worksheets:
  • Automatically Excepted LEAs: This worksheet lists the 846 LEAs that are automatically excepted from LEA-level MOEquity and outlines which of the three criteria they meet.
  • LEA Self-Certification: This worksheet lists the 233 LEAs that completed the LEA self-certification of exception, also known as “Appendix B” in USDE’s MOEquity FAQ document.
  • USDE Exception Request: This worksheet lists the 1 LEA whose exception request has been submitted to USDE.
  • High-Poverty Schools: This worksheet lists the 135 LEAs that selected to demonstrate LEA-level MOEquity compliance by providing LEA and school-level enrollment and financial data. In addition, the LEAs’ high-poverty campuses as determined by the LEA are listed with CDN and NCES ID #s.

Important: The data in the “LEA-level MOEquity data” workbook is accurate as of December 15, 2022.

FY 2022 LEA-level MOEquity Reporting

In accordance with the United States Department of Education (USDE) LEA-level Maintenance of Equity (MOEquity) reporting requirements, TEA has developed the following documents:

• FY22 LEA-level MOEquity Compliance Description: This document outlines TEA’s approach for ensuring that local educational agencies (LEAs) that receive funding authorized by section 2001 of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act comply with the LEA-level maintenance of equity (MOEquity) compliance requirement.
• FY22 Year-End LEA-level MOEquity data (PDF Format): This Excel file includes the following worksheets:
  • Automatically Excepted LEAs: This worksheet lists the 819 LEAs that are automatically excepted from LEA-level MOEquity and outlines which of the three criteria they meet.
  • LEA Self-Certification: This worksheet lists the 263 LEAs that completed the LEA self-certification of exception, also known as “Appendix B” in USDE’s MOEquity FAQ document.
  • USDE Exception Request: This worksheet lists the 1 LEA whose exception request has been approved by USDE.
  • High-Poverty Schools: This worksheet lists the 127 LEAs that selected to demonstrate LEA-level MOEquity compliance by providing LEA and school-level enrollment and financial data. In addition, the LEAs’ high-poverty campuses as determined by the LEA are listed with CDN and NCES ID #s.

Important: The data in the “LEA-level MOEquity data” workbook is accurate as of December 20, 2022.