Report 2021-614 Recommendation 4 Responses

Report 2021-614: California Department of Education: It Needs to Provide Better Oversight to Ensure That Local Educational Agencies Promptly and Effectively Use Federal COVID‑19 Funds (Release Date: October 2021)

Recommendation #4 To: Education, Department of

To ensure that LEAs effectively use their ESSER and GEER funds before the spending deadlines to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on students, Education should develop a robust process for tracking LEAs' spending of these funds. As part of this process, Education should follow up with identified LEAs to determine whether they have plans for spending all of their funds before the deadlines and whether these plans are reasonable.

As previously noted, Education continues to be committed to ensuring that LEAs spend ESSER and GEER funds by the identified deadlines. To demonstrate this commitment, Education reached out by email to every LEA with an ESSER I or GEER I balance, beginning in Fall 2021, and at the end of each subsequent quarter, offered support in strategizing how to correctly and effectively spend the funds, and provided an abundance of key resources to assist in guiding LEAs. Additionally, Education encouraged LEAs to attend all available trainings, which guided them on proper planning and utilization of ESSER and GEER funds.

Furthermore, Education contacted LEAs with unspent ESSER I and GEER I balances to discuss expenditure plans and future spending deadlines. Education also sent instructions to all LEAs on upcoming reporting and obligation deadlines.

To date, LEAs have reported obligating/expending 99.82% of GEER I and 99.99% of ESSER I funds.

Lastly, Education's subrecipient monitoring and management of ESSER and GEER funds are in compliance with Title 2 Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, as evidenced by our recent United States Department of Education Performance Review. Therefore, Education has implemented the recommendation and will not be providing any additional updates.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending

Education did not provide documentation to support that it has fully implemented this recommendation.

As previously noted, Education is committed to ensuring that LEAs spend this funding before or by the identified deadlines. To demonstrate this commitment, Education has reached out to every LEA with an ESSER I or GEER I balance, offered support in strategizing how to correctly and effectively spend the funds, and provided an abundance of key resources to assist in guiding LEAs. Additionally, Education encouraged LEAs to attend the WestED trainings, which guided them on proper planning and utilization of ESSER and GEER funds. LEAs have also communicated to Education that these funds have been obligated and that they will meet the upcoming September 30th deadline.

Currently, Education has determined that it is not feasible to review every LEA spending plan, since the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has signaled that there will be exceptions provided to LEAs on a per project basis, allowing them an extended liquidation period of up to an additional 18 months (https://aasa.org/uploadedFiles/AASA_Blog_The_Total_Child(1)/AASA%20Response%20Letter%205_13_22.pdf); however, ED has yet to release a formal process or any guidance for this process. Additionally, for LEAs experiencing common supply-chain issues, it is difficult to determine whether a plan for spending funds is reasonable.

Once ED provides guidance on the process for requesting an extended liquidation period, Education will follow-up with LEAs that have any remaining funding to reassess where they are in spending funds and to provide any necessary guidance and technical assistance.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending

Education continues to assess and communicate with LEAs on spending data after each Quarterly Reporting period. Once the Spring 2022 Reporting Cycle ends, Education will reach out to LEAs with a remaining ESSER I and/or GEER I balance to provide guidance on strategizing future spending of funds to the fullest extent possible. Additionally, Education continues to provide technical assistance and updates to LEAs on the latest guidance from the U.S. Department of Education regarding allowable uses of funds; Education also continues to share best practices that highlight how other LEAs are using funding for the benefit of their students in their FAQ section on their website at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/cr/esserfaqs.asp.

Furthermore, Education has partnered with WestEd to offer an interactive series of virtual training sessions focused on strategically using one-time federal relief funds in combination with ongoing resources to accelerate equitable learning opportunities and support. The training sessions focus on strategies for leveraging and investing one-time funding in human resources, including navigating staffing shortages, and planning for staffing with declining enrollment. Best practices are also provided during the training, along with the following:

- resources and strategies for communicating to education partners and community stakeholders;

- opportunities to connect with colleagues from across the state to gain practical knowledge; and

- strategies for future planning.

The first sessions were offered on February 16, 18, and 23, 2022. The second and third sessions in the series will be offered starting in April 2022.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending

Although we are encouraged that Education has taken some steps to provide guidance to LEAs, Education's response does not address our recommendation to work with LEAs to determine whether they have plans for spending all of their funds before the deadlines and whether these plans are reasonable. As we stated in our report, our interviews with some LEAs indicated that early planning by their management to prioritize and spend funds was the main reason for their higher spending. As such, we believe it is important for Education to identify LEAs that may be at risk of not spending all their funds before the deadlines and work with those LEAs to determine that they have adequate plans to spend all funds before the deadlines.

Education has been proactive in working with LEAs to provide support in spending their funding. Specifically, Education has undertaken the following: 1) On October 28, 2021 and November 4, 2021, Education and Brustein and Manasevit PLLC conducted a 2-day ESSER Funding Workshop, which was available to all LEAs, and the resources are available to all LEAs that were unable to attend. During the workshop, LEAs were provided information regarding funding and examples of allowable expenditures; questions were answered and Education's contact information was offered during the workshop to allow for more targeted, direct support of spending; 2) On November 3, 2021, Education presented at the Safe Schools for All Statewide Collaborative hosted by the California Department of Public Health to provide examples of allowable uses of these funds, particularly for capital expenditures; and 3) On January 4, 2022, Education led an ESSER/GEER Strategy Session Workshop to provide LEAs with information on allowable uses of funds, facilitated a Q and A session, and provided examples of best practices on how funds have been used successfully by other LEAs.

Additionally, Education conducted outreach to LEAs with unspent funds, regardless of their projected end balances, reminding them of the timelines and offering support with questions on allowability. On November 16, 2021, Education sent e-mails with this information to the LEAs with a balance of ESSER I and/or GEER I funds. Education also provides information to LEAs on any new guidance from the U.S. Department of Education as it becomes available.

Best practices for spending remaining funds has also been posted on Education's Federal Stimulus FAQ web page.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Pending

Although we are encouraged that Education has taken some steps to provide guidance to LEAs, Education's response does not address our recommendation to work with LEAs to determine whether they have plans for spending all of their funds before the deadlines and whether these plans are reasonable. As we stated in our report, our interviews with some LEAs indicated that early planning by their management to prioritize and spend funds was the main reason for their higher spending. As such, we believe it is important for Education to work with LEAs to determine that they have adequate plans to spend all funds before the deadlines.

All Recommendations in 2021-614

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.