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Review of State Plans for Use of Governor's Emergency Education Relief Funds (ED-OIG/F20DC0028)

Summary

Final Flash Report ED-OIG/F20DC0028, dated December 20, 2021, from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General to Ian Rosenblum, Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. It reviews the initial 45-day reports and annual reports on the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund submitted by each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. It reports that 45 States (87 percent) planned to allocate GEER funds to local educational agencies, 39 States (75 percent) to institutions of higher education and 36 States (69 percent) to other education-related entities. It also reports that 38 States (73 percent) specifically identified information technology as a priority for use of funds.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Issuer
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General
Document type
Report
Date
2021-12-20

Cite this document

“Review of State Plans for Use of Governor's Emergency Education Relief Funds (ED-OIG/F20DC0028).” U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General, dated 2021-12-20. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/review-state-plans-geer-funds/, SHA-256 54be5a24d01790868af8d24045928a1439d4bb491a12f6fa33ad3ee8c7ac77f3.

Full text

               U.S. Department of Education
               Office of Inspector General




Review of State Plans for Use of
Governor’s Emergency Education
Relief Funds
December 20, 2021
ED-OIG/F20DC0028

FLASH REPORT
NOTICE
In accordance with Freedom of Information Act (Title 5, United States Code,
Section 552), reports that the Office of Inspector General issues are available to
members of the press and general public to the extent information they contain is not
subject to exemptions in the Act.
                          UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
                                         OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL

                                                                                                                      Audit Services




December 20, 2021


TO:           Ian Rosenblum
              Acting Assistant Secretary
              Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

FROM:         Bryon S. Gordon /s/
              Assistant Inspector General for Audit

SUBJECT:      Final Flash Report, “Review of State Plans for Use of Governor’s Emergency Education
              Relief Funds,” Control Number ED-OIG/F20DC0028


Attached is the subject final flash report that consolidates the results of our review of State plans for use
of Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Funds. We have provided an electronic copy to your audit
liaison officer. We received your comments responding to our draft report.

We appreciate your cooperation during this review. If you have any questions, please contact Michele
Weaver-Dugan at (202) 245-6941 or Michele.Weaver-Dugan@ed.gov.

Attachment




                                400 MARYLAND AVENUE, S.W., WASHINGTON, DC 20202-1510

                Promoting the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Department’s programs and operations.
                  Purpose
                  The purpose of this report is to share with the U.S. Department of Education
                  (Department) observations made by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) regarding
                  States’ Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund initial 45-day reports and
                  annual reports.


                  What We Did
                  The objectives of our review were to review States’ initial 45-day GEER Fund reports to
                  determine how States plan to allocate funds to entities within the three authorized
                  categories: local educational agencies (LEA), institutions of higher education (IHE), and
                  education-related entities, and the criteria upon which these decisions were based; and
                  review GEER Fund annual reports to identify changes to and progress made from the
                  initial plans in the 45-day reports.

                  To accomplish our objective, we reviewed plans submitted by each of the 50 States, as
                  well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, to determine how they planned to
                  allocate funds to entities within the three authorized categories and the criteria upon
                  which these decisions were based. We also reviewed the annual reports submitted by
                  each State 1 to determine if there were any notable changes from what was reported in
                  their initial plans and to compile reported expenditure data.


                  Introduction
                  Background
                  The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act 2 was signed into law on
                  March 27, 2020. It authorized more than $2 trillion to battle Coronavirus Disease 2019
                  (coronavirus) and its economic effects. The CARES Act provided approximately
                  $31 billion for an Education Stabilization Fund to prevent, prepare for, and respond to
                  coronavirus, domestically or internationally. The Education Stabilization Fund is
                  composed of three primary emergency relief funds: a GEER Fund, an Elementary and
                  Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, and a Higher Education Emergency Relief
                  Fund.




1
 Throughout the remainder of this report, “State” is inclusive of the 50 States, the District of Columbia,
and Puerto Rico.
2
    Public Law No. 116-136.


U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
ED-OIG/F20DC0028                                                                                             1
              Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund
              Congress set aside approximately $3 billion for the GEER Fund. The Department
              awarded these grants to States based on a formula stipulated in the legislation:
              60 percent awarded based on the State’s relative population of individuals aged
              5 through 24, and 40 percent awarded based on the State’s relative number of children
              counted under section 1124(c) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

              According to the Department’s GEER Fund Frequently Asked Questions, States may
              provide funds to entities within three authorized categories: LEAs, IHEs, and education-
              related entities. The Department defines an education-related entity as a governmental,
              nonprofit, or for-profit entity within the State that provides services supporting
              preschool, elementary, secondary, or higher education. Examples of education-related
              entities identified by the Department include

                  •   State agencies that oversee or directly provide early childhood education
                      services;

                  •   public agencies or private entities that coordinate or directly provide early
                      intervention services under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education
                      Act;

                  •   State agencies that oversee or provide vocational rehabilitative services;

                  •   State mental health agencies;

                  •   State Higher Education Boards;

                  •   education-related non-profit organizations;

                  •   non-public elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools;

                  •   for-profit elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools;

                  •   charter management organizations;

                  •   non-profit and for-profit child-care centers;

                  •   public libraries;

                  •   community centers; and

                  •   State or local agencies coordinating food services for students and their families.

              The funds may be used to provide emergency support through subgrants to LEAs and
              IHEs that have been “most significantly impacted by coronavirus” to support their ability


U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
ED-OIG/F20DC0028                                                                                          2
                to continue providing educational services to their students and to support the ongoing
                functionality of these entities. 3 In addition, States may use funds to provide support
                through subgrants or contracts to any other LEA, IHE, or education-related entity within
                the State that the Governor deems “essential for carrying out emergency educational
                services” to students for authorized activities described in the Elementary and
                Secondary Education Act or the Higher Education Act, the provision of child-care and
                early childhood education, social and emotional support, and the protection of
                education-related jobs. The Department also encouraged States, LEAs, and IHEs to
                invest GEER funds in technology infrastructure and professional development that will
                improve capacity to provide high-quality, accessible distance education or remote
                learning. Funds that are not awarded within 1 year of receipt must be returned to the
                Department for reallocation to the remaining States.

                The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSA),
                enacted on December 27, 2020, provided an additional $4 billion for the GEER Fund. The
                CRRSA provides that $1.3 billion of the funds be used to supplement the funds awarded
                to each State with an approved GEER application under the CARES Act. These funds are
                referred to as GEER II funds. The remainder of the funds are reserved for an Emergency
                Assistance to Non-Public Schools program. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 did
                not allocate additional funds to the GEER Fund.

                Reporting Requirements
                Each Governor that receives GEER funds must meet the reporting requirements of
                section 15011 of the CARES Act. Governors satisfy these requirements through the
                following:

                    •   monthly reporting in accordance with the Federal Funding and Transparency Act
                        (FFATA) requirements, which includes reporting subgrantee data on awards
                        equal to or greater than $30,000 via the FFATA Sub-Award Reporting System
                        (FSRS), and

                    •   initial reports, annual reports, and other reporting the Secretary may require.
                Under the CRRSA Act, each Governor that receives GEER II funds must meet the CARES
                Act reporting requirements that apply to GEER funds.




3
 The Department’s guidance states that if the recipients are LEAs, the State educational agency must
determine that the LEAs have been the “most significantly impacted by coronavirus” to be eligible for a
GEER Fund emergency grant. Similarly, if IHEs are the recipients, the Governor must determine them to
be the “most significantly impacted by coronavirus.”


U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
ED-OIG/F20DC0028                                                                                          3
                   Initial Reports
                   States applied for their allocation of GEER funds provided under the CARES Act by
                   submitting to the Department an executed Certification and Agreement, which included
                   programmatic, fiscal, and reporting assurances. This included an assurance that within
                   45 days of receiving GEER funds the State would submit to the Department an initial
                   report detailing the State’s process for awarding the funds to LEAs, IHEs, or other
                   education-related entities, including the criteria for determining those entities that are
                   “most significantly impacted by coronavirus” or “essential for carrying out emergency
                   educational services.” In a clarification document sent to States in June 2020, the
                   Department specifically requested that States provide

                       a. a timeline for awarding funds to LEAs, IHEs, or other education-related entities;

                       b. the criteria, process and deliberations the State used to determine which LEAs,
                          IHEs, or other education-related agencies are “most significantly impacted by
                          coronavirus” or “essential for carrying out emergency educational service”;

                       c. the funding mechanisms (e.g., grants, contracts) the State will use to provide
                          funds to LEAs, IHEs, or other education-related entities; and

                       d. any specific funding conditions or requirements the State will place on awards
                          to ensure the funds are spent for specific purposes or activities.

                   The Department conducted an initial review of each State’s report for completeness,
                   and States that provided insufficient information were given an opportunity to provide
                   additional information to the Department.

                   Annual Reports
                  The Department’s GEER Fund Recipient Reporting Data Collection Form (data collection
                  form), dated December 2020, 4 requires States to provide an annual report that includes
                  information related to the types of entities that were awarded funds, including a listing
                  of LEAs, IHEs, and other education-related entities and their expended funds. The data
                  collection form requested that States acknowledge and identify any changes to the
                  State’s LEA and IHE 5 GEER funding conditions or requirements since the State’s initial
                  45-day report to the Department. The first annual report, due February 1, 2021, had an
                  applicable reporting period of March 13, 2020, to September 30, 2020.




4
    See the following link for a copy of the data collection form: Recipient Reporting Data Collection Form.
5
    Other education-related entities were not included.


U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
ED-OIG/F20DC0028                                                                                            4
                  What We Found
                  Initial 45-Day Reports
                  We reviewed the initial 45-day reports submitted by each of the States to determine
                  how they planned to allocate funds to entities within the three authorized categories
                  and the criteria upon which these decisions were based. 6

                  Allocation of Funding
                  We found that within the three authorized entity categories, 45 States (87 percent)
                  planned to allocate GEER funds to LEAs, 39 States (75 percent) planned to allocate funds
                  to IHEs, and 36 States (69 percent) planned to allocate funds to other education-related
                  entities. See Figure 1. 7

                  Figure 1. Number of States Allocating Funds by Entity Category
                       50
                                       45
                       45
                                                               39
                       40                                                                36
                       35
                       30
                       25
                       20
                       15
                       10
                        5
                        0
                                      LEA                      IHE             Other Education-Related
                                                                                       Entities


                  Further, we found that 41 States (79 percent) planned to allocate GEER funds among
                  more than one entity category. Of the remaining 11 States, 5 States (10 percent)
                  planned to allocate funds to only LEAs, 3 States (6 percent) to only IHEs, and 2 States
                  (4 percent) to only other education-related entities. One State did not include




6
    The 45-day reports include information pertaining to GEER funding provided by only the CARES Act.
7
 The 45-day reports did not include enough detail to determine the actual amount of funding to be
allocated to each entity category.


U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
ED-OIG/F20DC0028                                                                                            5
              information that specified its intended allocation of funds by entity category. See
              Figure 2.

              Figure 2. Number and Percentage of States Allocating GEER Funds to Multiple and
              Individual Entity Categories

                                               2%
                                          4%
                                     6%                                     Multiple Entity Categories
                                                                            (41 States)
                                9%                                          Only LEAs (5 States)


                                                                            Only IHEs (3 States)


                                                                            Only Other-Education
                                                                            Related Entities (2 States)
                                                    79%
                                                                            Unknown (1 State)




              Regarding other education-related entities, we found that States planned to allocate
              funding to entities in both the private and public sector. These entities included daycare
              facilities, charter and private schools, tribal schools, career and technical centers, home
              school organizations, telecommunications and public broadcasting entities, career
              centers, scholarship funding organizations, State education agencies, and other State
              agencies related to information technology and behavioral health. The entities provided
              programs and services related to early childhood education and literacy, childcare,
              special needs, math and science programs, higher education, mental health programs,
              teacher recruitment, blended and adaptive learning, digital learning strategies, teacher
              retention, and workforce training. The identified entities and services conformed to the
              Department’s guidance related to other education-related entities.

              Commonly Noted Usages of Funding
              We found that 38 States (73 percent) specifically identified information technology as a
              priority for use of funds. While some States were more detailed than others in their
              descriptions for how they intended to use GEER funds for information technology, we
              noted the following observations related to information technology expenditures:

                  •   Twenty States planned on using GEER funds to increase online capacity learning
                      and remote learning.



U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
ED-OIG/F20DC0028                                                                                          6
                  •   Nineteen States planned to expand broadband access and provide mobile hot
                      spots in communities, including improving connectivity and providing devices to
                      teachers and students.

                  •   Two States planned to provide funding to internet service providers.

                  •   One State planned to equip school buses with Wi-Fi capabilities.

                  •   One State planned to improve classroom technology at public institutions of
                      higher learning to help accommodate remote learning.

              We also noted that 19 States (37 percent) specifically identified professional
              development related to online, digital, or distance education as a funding priority.

              Criteria for Determining Entities Most Significantly Impacted
              by Coronavirus or Essential for Carrying out Emergency
              Educational Service
              We found that 46 States (88 percent) identified criteria and processes used to
              determine which LEAs, IHEs, or other education-related entities were “most significantly
              impacted by coronavirus,” or “essential for carrying out emergency educational
              service.” These States identified entity categories or priority areas within authorized
              entity categories that were “most significantly impacted” or essential, and included
              data, research, or other explanations related to how they made these determinations.
              For example,

                  •   one State noted that its Governor convened the leaders of three primary State
                      agencies and divisions to request their assistance in shaping a plan for the use of
                      GEER funds. In developing this plan, the agencies and divisions reached out to
                      school districts, education service districts, public and private universities, early
                      learning providers, childcare facilities, non-profit service providers, tribal
                      government, private business industry representatives, and other
                      community--based organizations. As a result, the State noted that the pandemic
                      has created a greater disparate impact on low-income, and historically
                      underserved and economically disadvantaged children, students, and families,
                      which has placed these populations at increased risk of poverty, homelessness,
                      and food insecurity and has significantly impacted opportunities for students to
                      meet their educational goals. To implement strategies that address each risk
                      area, the State indicated there would be a focus to prioritize populations that
                      are at greater risk, and provided funding for specific programs within LEAs, IHEs,
                      early childhood program providers, relief nursery program providers, and tribal
                      government partners that focus on those populations.

                  •   another State created a GEER advisory group of State leaders of higher
                      education, the public school system, private schools, and charter schools to


U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
ED-OIG/F20DC0028                                                                                         7
                          assess impact, identify priority needs, and seek solutions. Based on the advisory
                          group’s identified priorities, the State developed strategies for use of GEER
                          funds and criteria for determining the “most significantly impacted,” including
                          criteria on the lack of access to and availability of devices and connectivity for
                          the most vulnerable students and families for remote instruction. The State
                          determined that the impact of the coronavirus will be a dynamic and ongoing
                          process, and cited results from a State Department of Education survey on the
                          significant impact of secondary students and schools with high levels of poverty.

                  Conversely, we found that six States (12 percent) did not identify criteria and processes
                  used to determine which entities were “most significantly impacted by coronavirus” or
                  “essential for carrying out emergency educational service.” We noted that some of
                  these States simply provided which entities would receive funds but did not state how
                  they determined which entities were “most significantly impacted” or essential. Others
                  identified priority areas but did not explain how those were determined.

                  Annual Reports
                  We found that 51 States submitted their GEER fund annual report. 8 The Department
                  stated that all reports were submitted by the February 1 due date; however,
                  Department reviews of the reports identified areas that needed further explanation or
                  indicated potential data quality issues. The Department shared its questions and
                  possible concerns regarding data quality with applicable grantees and allowed a report
                  revision period through March 31, 2021. After the revision period, the Department
                  identified three grantees that still had data issues and provided targeted technical
                  assistance. A subsequent report revision period was established through July 2021. The
                  Department indicated that all remaining data issues were resolved and all State reports
                  are posted on the Department’s Education Stabilization Fund portal (portal) website.
                  We noted that 38 States (75 percent) resubmitted reports during the report revision
                  periods.

                  Changes from Initial 45-Day Reports
                  We found that the posted reports did not include information related to changes made
                  since the initial 45-day reports were submitted to the Department. The data collection
                  form requires States to include information specific to any changes made to funding
                  conditions or requirements that had been placed to ensure that LEAs and IHEs spent the
                  funds on specified purposes or activities. The Department stated that only three States




8
    One report was not required to be submitted since funds were not received until March 2021.


U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
ED-OIG/F20DC0028                                                                                          8
                had reported any changes in this area and that this factored into its decision on whether
                to publish this particular data point.

                 Entity Categories
                The data collection form requested that States identify the types of entities within the
                State that were awarded GEER funds. We compared entity categories listed on the
                annual reports with those that were noted in the initial 45-day reports and noted the
                following:

                     •   Sixteen States identified the same entity categories in their annual reports as in
                         their initial 45-day reports.

                     •   Seven States identified at least one category in their annual reports that was not
                         included in their initial 45-day reports.

                     •   Fourteen States identified fewer entity categories in their annual reports than
                         were included in their initial 45-day reports; however, these differences may be
                         attributed to the States not yet awarding funds to entities in all initially reported
                         entity categories by September 30, 2020. For example, a State may have
                         identified LEAs and IHEs in its 45-day report, but checked only the LEA category
                         in its annual report because it had not yet awarded funds to IHEs.

                     •   Fourteen States did not identify any entity categories in their annual reports.
                         While 12 of the 14 reports indicated that no funds had been expended yet and
                         therefore no entity categories would be reported, 2 of the reports did indicate
                         that funds had been expended but did not provide any subgrantee data that
                         could be used to compare to the initial 45-day reports. 9

                When asked whether there were any concerns with States identifying awards to entity
                categories that were not included in their initial 45-day reports, the Department stated
                that the 45-day report was intended to be a snapshot in time, and therefore the
                Department did not ask States to resubmit these reports if their plans had changed.




9
 As noted above, one State did not include information in its 45-day report that specified its intended
allocation of funds by entity category. In its annual report, the State is one of the 14 that did not identify
any entity categories.


U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
ED-OIG/F20DC0028                                                                                             9
               GEER Fund Expenditures 10
               As of September 30, 2020, the annual reports indicated that States expended
               $535 million (18 percent) of the $3 billion in GEER funds awarded under the CARES
               Act. 11 We found that 31 States reported no expenditures; 5 States reported that all of
               their GEER funds had been expended. See Figure 3 for the percentage of expenditures
               to award amounts noted in the annual reports.

               Figure 3. Annual Report Percentage of Expenditures



                                    5 States

                             3 States
                                                                          0% Expenditures

                                                                          Expenditures Greater than
                                                                          0% and Less than 25%
                              12 States                                   Expenditures Greater than
                                                   31 States
                                                                          25% and Less than 100%
                                                                          100% Expenditures




               However, we found discrepancies in data provided in the annual reports. Of the
               31 States that reported no funds expended on the top part of the report, 15 listed
               expenditures for individual entities—LEAs, IHEs, or other education-related entities—on
               the bottom part of the report. Further, for the five States that reported expending
               100 percent of their GEER fund awards as of September 30, 2020, data from the
               Department’s portal, which reflects data reported by the Department to
               USASpending.gov, indicated that the funds had not all been spent by each State as of




10
  The annual reports include a line item noting the total amount of the grant expended, which actually
represents the amount of the GEER award drawn down by the State.
11
  The amounts reported in the annual reports pertain to GEER funding provided by only the CARES Act.
Annual reports do not include funds from the CRRSA as it was enacted after the reporting period ended.


U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
ED-OIG/F20DC0028                                                                                      10
                April 30, 2021. 12 See Figure 4 for a listing of States that reported expending all of their
                GEER funds compared to the data on the portal.

                Figure 4. Annual Report Expenditures vs. Portal Expenditures
                      100
                               100                 100              100              100             100
                       90                                                                                  94
                                                                           33
                       80
                                                                                              78
                       70
                       60                                                 67

                       50
                       40
                       30
                                                         28
                       20
                       10
                                     10
                        0
                               State #1            State #2         State #3          State #4       State #5

                                          % of Grant Expended - Annual Report - September 30, 2020
                                          % of Grant Expended - Portal as of April 30, 2021


                The Department noted that the discrepancies related to the five States noted above
                were the result of the States returning their unexpended GEER funds in response to the
                Department’s targeted monitoring, which occurred after the annual report end date of
                September 30, 2020. According to the monitoring report we reviewed for one of these
                States, the State drew down its total award amount before it was ready to spend it
                (award to subgrantees), in violation of cash management requirements. The
                Department subsequently required the State to return unexpended funds until it was
                ready to make awards.

                We noted that the reasons for the discrepancies noted on the reports associated with
                the other 15 States could be attributed to data coming from different systems and
                related timing differences associated with the data. Total expenditure data included on
                the top part of the annual reports comes from information in the Department’s G5
                (grants management) system. These amounts would reflect total drawdowns made by
                the States as of the reporting period end date. Data included on the bottom of the
                States’ annual reports comes from subaward data reported directly by the States to the
                FFATA Sub-Award Reporting System and related expenditure data from the subgrantees



12
  This was the most current data available on the Department’s portal at the time of our analysis
(July 2021).


U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
ED-OIG/F20DC0028                                                                                                11
              as of the reporting period end date. The Department agreed that the timing of the
              drawdown of funds from the Department does not align perfectly with the timing of
              expenditures at the subaward level, noting that States typically draw down funds to
              reimburse subgrantees after the subgrantees have expended awarded funds. It added
              that the absence of drawdowns does not necessarily equate to an absence of
              expenditures.

              Office of Elementary and Secondary Education Comments
              We provided a draft of this report to the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
              for comment. In its response, the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education offered
              a few technical comments reflecting suggested clarifications. The full text of the Office
              of Elementary and Secondary Education’s comments is provided at the end of the
              report.

              OIG Response
              We considered and addressed, as appropriate, the technical comments provided by the
              Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. We did not make any substantive
              changes to the report.




U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
ED-OIG/F20DC0028                                                                                    12
                  Appendix A. Scope and Methodology
                  To answer our objective, we reviewed the laws, criteria, and guidance related to GEER
                  Fund reporting requirements. We conducted discussions with Office of Elementary and
                  Secondary Education officials and staff to gain an understanding of reporting
                  requirements and the Department’s process for reviewing State reports. We also
                  reviewed prior OIG, Government Accountability Office, and other Federal agency
                  reports related to our objective.

                  45-Day Reports
                  We reviewed 45-day reports submitted by the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and
                  Puerto Rico, to determine how States planned to allocate funds to entities within the
                  three authorized categories and the criteria upon which these decisions were based.
                  Our review included a determination of whether the State reports included the process
                  used to determine the entities and areas “most significantly impacted by the
                  coronavirus” or considered most essential, as well as the criteria used to determine the
                  “most significantly impacted” or essential entities and areas. In addition, we compiled
                  information related to the types of other education-related entities and services to
                  which the States planned to allocate funds, and any common usages of funds noted
                  across States.

                  Annual Reports
                  To identify changes to and progress made from States’ initial plans in the 45-day
                  reports, we reviewed the annual reports from each State for the period ending
                  September 30, 2020, that were submitted and posted on the Department’s portal. 13 Our
                  review included a determination of whether the annual reports contained the
                  information requested by the Department. We also compiled information reported by
                  each State related to the total grant amount expended and compared that to subaward
                  data provided on the reports as well as to total expenditure data reflected on the
                  Department’s portal. In addition, we compared categories of entities that States
                  reported awarding funds to with those that were noted in the initial 45-day reports and
                  identified any discrepancies.

                  Use of Computer-Processed Data
                  Use of computer-processed data was limited to identifying GEER Fund obligation and
                  drawdown amounts from the Department’s Education Stabilization portal for
                  comparison with information reported by States in their 45-day and annual reports. We


13
     One report was not required to be submitted since funds were not received until March 2021.


U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
ED-OIG/F20DC0028                                                                                        13
              did not assess the reliability of the computer-processed data. We used this data for
              informational purposes only.

              Compliance with Standards
              We prepared this flash report in alignment with OIG’s quality control standards and the
              Council of Inspectors General for Integrity and Efficiency’s “Quality Standards for
              Federal Offices of Inspector General,” which require that we conduct our work with
              integrity, objectivity, and independence. We believe that the information obtained
              provides a reasonable basis for the conclusions contained in this report.

              We performed our work for this review from March 2021 through August 2021.




U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
ED-OIG/F20DC0028                                                                                     14
              Appendix B. Acronyms and Abbreviations
               CARES Act              Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act

               coronavirus            Coronavirus Disease 2019

               CRRSA                  Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental
                                      Appropriations Act, 2021

               data collection form   The Department’s Governor’s Emergency Education
                                      Relief Fund Recipient Reporting Data Collection Form

               Department             U.S. Department of Education

               GEER                   Governor’s Emergency Education Relief

               FFATA                  Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act

               IHE                    Institution of Higher Education

               LEA                    Local Educational Agency

               OIG                    Office of Inspector General




U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
ED-OIG/F20DC0028                                                                           15
              Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
                Comments




U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
ED-OIG/F20DC0028                                             16


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