LCAP & ESSER III

What is the LCAP?

The AUSD Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) is a three-year guiding document that is updated annually. LCAP shows how state funds will improve student outcomes and performance for all students, especially emerging multilingual students (English learners), foster youth, and low-income students.

LCAP Overview (English)

LCAP Overview (Spanish)

What is ESSER III?

School districts, county offices of education, or charter schools, collectively known as LEAs, that receive Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds under the American Rescue Plan Act, referred to as ESSER III funds, are required to develop a plan for how they will use their ESSER III funds.

In the plan, the LEA must explain how it intends to use its ESSER III funds to address students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs, as well as any opportunity gaps that existed before, and were worsened by, the COVID-19 pandemic. An LEA may also use its ESSER III funds in other ways, as detailed in the Fiscal Requirements section of the Instructions. In developing the plan, the LEA has the flexibility to include community input and/or actions included in other planning documents, such as the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), provided that the input and actions are relevant to the LEA’s Plan to support students.

ESSER III Plan

What is the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)?

California’s 2013–14 Budget Act included landmark legislation that greatly simplifies the state’s school-finance system. The changes introduced by the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) represent a major shift in how California funds Local Education Agencies (LEAs).  

For nearly 40 years, California provided school districts with general-purpose funding (known as revenue limits) and funding to pay for more than 50 tightly defined "categorical" programs. Today, under LCFF, California funds school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education equally per student, along with important funding adjustments based on grade levels and demographic characteristics.

LCFF replaces administrative complexity with a focus on educational equity (ensuring all students have the resources they need to learn), budgetary transparency and student academic achievement—in essence, directing money to where it's needed most.