ESSA LEA Maintenance of Effort

Maintenance of effort (MOE) requires local educational agencies (LEAs) to maintain their state and local expenditures at a specified level from one fiscal year to the next.  If your organization receives a federal grant awarded under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the MOE requirement specifies that you must spend at least 90% of state and local funds for free public education as you spent in the previous fiscal year. You must comply with MOE requirements in order to receive your full allocation for ESSA covered programs. A list of ESSA covered programs is available in the guidance handbook listed below.

TEA Guidance

The following sections provide TEA Guidance about the Every Student Succeeds Act and Maintenance of Effort.

ESSA LEA MOE Handbook

The ESSA LEA Maintenance of Effort (MOE) Guidance Handbook (PDF 557 KB) provides guidance on how to interpret and determine your organization's compliance with the ESSA LEA MOE requirement.

ESSA LEA MOE Calculation Tool

The ESSA LEA MOE Calculation Tool workbook will help your organization determine its compliance with the MOE requirement.

The calculation provides an estimate only and does not duplicate TEA's exact calculation process. The results of TEA's calculation will be the basis of the final MOE determination.

The ESSA LEA MOE Calculation Tool has been updated and is available at the following link:

• ESSA LEA MOE Calculation Tool (Excel)
• ESSA LEA MOE Calculation Tool (PDF)
• Data Sources Used to Calculate 2022-2023 ESSA LEA MOE

Training Module

TEA has developed a PowerPoint training module explaining the process and instructions for ESSA LEA MOE which may be accessed here:

• ESSA LEA MOE PowerPoint Training (PDF)
• ESSA LEA MOE PowerPoint Training (YouTube)

Federal Guidance

• The Every Student Succeeds Act provides the federal regulations concerning the ESSA LEA MOE.
• Non-Regulatory Guidance: Fiscal Changes and Equitable Services Requirements Under ESSA published on November 21, 2016. This guidance document includes information regarding ESSA LEA MOE.

Additional guidance will be posted on this page as it becomes available. If you would like to be notified when updates occur, please subscribe to the Grants (formerly GAFPC) for email updates.