Pandemic Relief

Image

Pandemic Relief Aid Oversight

Three measures were signed into law providing the U.S. Department of Education (Department) with more than $280 billion to assist States, K–12 schools, school districts, and institutions of higher education in meeting their needs and the needs of their students impacted by the coronavirus pandemic—the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or CARES Act (March 2020), the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021-Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (December 2020), and the American Rescue Plan (March 2021). Congress also provided funding to the OIG to carry out oversight activities, such as auditing Department and grantee management and spending of pandemic relief aid, examining the effectiveness of pandemic programs, and investigating misuse, theft, and other criminal activity involving these funds. Below you will find information specific to our pandemic relief aid oversight work and efforts.

Pandemic Response Accountability Committee

The CARES Act established the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), that is composed of inspectors general from across the Federal government. The PRAC is tasked with conducting, coordinating, and supporting inspectors general in their oversight of trillions of dollars in emergency Federal spending to address the economic impacts of the pandemic. The CARES Act named nine specific agency inspectors general to the PRAC, including the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Education. Visit the PRAC’s website for more information. The OIG also continues to work with our law enforcement partners at the Federal, State, and local levels to identify and stop pandemic relief aid fraud. You can find out more about these task forces and the scams and schemes they are stopping via the U.S. Department of Justice coronavirus fraud website.

OIG Audit-Related Work

Below you will find our ongoing and completed pandemic relief aid oversight work.

General

• Fraud Reporting Requirements for Federal Program Participants and Auditors  (Issued 7/15/2021)
• Federal Student Aid's Use of Pandemic Assistance Student Aid Administration Funds (Issued 8/1/2023)
• Covid-19 Pandemic Impact – Select Case Studies in Coordination with Pandemic Response Accountability Committee
  • Phase 1 (Issued July 2023)
  • Phase 2 (Issued March 2024)
• Federal Student Aid’s Processes for Waiving Return of Title IV Requirements, Cancelling Borrowers’ Obligation to Repay Direct Loans, and Excluding Pell Grants from Federal Pell Lifetime Usage (Issued 5/10/2023)
• OIG Pandemic Relief Aid Oversight Plan (Updated 10/28/2021, issued 5/22/2020)
• Top Challenges for the Department to Consideration in Implementing and Overseeing the CARES Act (Issued 9/10/2020)
• Assessment of the Department's Reconstitution Plans Following COVID-19 (Issued 12/14/2020)
• FSA’s Suspension of Involuntary Collection in Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic (Issued 6/15/2021)
• Inconsistent Grantee and Subgrantee Reporting of Education Stabilization Fund Subprograms in the Federal Audit Clearinghouse (Issued 8/26/2021)
• The Department’s Use of Pandemic Assistance Program Administration Funds  (Issued 9/27/2022)
• Implementation of CARES Act Flexibilities to TEACH Grant Service Obligations (Issued 1/20/2022)
• FSA’s Use of Pandemic Assistance Student Aid Administration Funds (Issued 8/1/23)
• FSA’s Performance Measures and Indicators for Returning Borrowers to Repayment (Issued 8/14/2024)
• State Education’s Agencies’ Administration and Oversight of Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools Grant Funds
  • Florida— (Issued 9/23/2024)
  • Tennessee—(Issued 11/19/24)
  • Wisconsin—Underway

Elementary and Secondary Education Emergency Relief Funds (ESSER)

• Reviews of Selected LEAs Use of ESSER Funds
  • Alaska
    
    • Anchorage School District (Issued 9/19/2024)
    • Matanuska-Susitna School District (Issued 9/24/2024)
    • Lower Kuskokwim School District (Issued 9/26/24)
    • Yukon-Koyukuk School District (Issued 10/30/24)
  • Iowa
    • Burlington Community School District (Issued 8/9/2024)
    • Des Moines Independent Community School District (Issued 9/23/2024)
    • Linn-Mar Community School District (Issued 9/27/2024)
    • Southeast Polk Community School District (Issued 9/24/2024)
  • Nevada
    • Clark County School District (Issued 3/31/2025)
    • Douglas County School District (Issued 3/31/2025)
    • Lincoln County School District (Issued 3/31/2025)
    • Nye County School District (Issued 3/31/2025)
• Allocation of CARES Act ESSER Funds at Selected Local Educational Agencies (Issued 9/26/2022)
• Local Educational Agencies’ Use of ESSER Funds for Technology (Issued 9/7/2023)
• Selected State Education Agencies’ Oversight of American Rescue Plan ESSER Plans and Funding
  • Illinois—(Issued 3/27/24)
  • Kentucky—(Issued 10/12/2023)
  • Washington State—(Issued 9/20/2023)
• Selected LEAs Reporting of Verifiable Student Participation Counts for Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funded Programs
  • Fort Worth Independent School District (TX) - Underway
  • Northside Independent School District (TX)  - Underway

Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Funds (GEER)

• Review of State Plans for Use of GEER Funds (Issued 12/20/2021)
• Selected States’ Administration of GEER Fund Grants
  • Michigan (Issued 9/14/2022)
  • Missouri (Issued 2/10/2022)
  • Oklahoma (Issued 7/18/2022)

Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF)

• Selected Schools’ HEERF Reporting Requirements (Issued 2/26/201)
• Risk of Closed Institutions of Higher Education Receiving HEERF Grants (Issued 5/14/2021)
• Selected Institutions of Higher Education Use of HEERF
  • Lincoln College of Technology (Issued 9/24/2021)
  • Remington College (Issued 9/28/2021)
  • University of Cincinnati (Issued 1/23/2023)
• The Office of Postsecondary Education’s Oversight of HEERF (Issued 6/1/2022)
• Duplicate HEERF Grant Awards (Issued 6/9/2022)
• Department’s HEERF Audit Resolution Activities (Issued 11/15/2023)
• HEERF Audit Guides, Dear CPA Letters, Other Resources