ESSER Grantee/Subgrantee Reporting

Federal Interest

• Federal interest means, for purposes of 2 CFR § 200.330 or when used in connection with the acquisition or improvement of real property, equipment, or supplies under a Federal award, the dollar amount that is the product of:

1. The percentage of Federal participation in the total cost of the real property, equipment, or supplies; and
2. The current fair market value of the property, improvements, or both, to the extent the costs of acquiring or improving the property were included as project costs.

• Real Property: land, including land improvements, structures and appurtenances thereto, but excludes moveable machinery and equipment (2 CFR § 200.1). Moveable equipment could include HVAC equipment, mobile classrooms, building furniture, and other similar items.

  • Note, the U.S. Department of Education has generally exempted projects subject to the requirements of 34 CFR 75.600-617 using less than $1M in COVID funds per property from recording federal interest per a letter dated March 21, 2024; however, a federal interest is still created in each property even though the expenditures were less than $1M. So, while filing a notice of federal interest (NFI) is not required for those properties, the properties are still subject to the annual real property reporting requirements at 2 CFR 200.330.

LEA Requirements

Real Property Reporting to the State (CDE)

• LEAs that used ESSER funds on renovation, major remodeling, construction, and/or real property projects must annually report the status of each project for at least the first 15 years after a project is funded and for which a Federal Interest is retained. If federal funds, regardless of amount, were used for any part, the reporting requirement still applies.
• Download SF-429 Instructions, SF-429 Real Property Status Cover Page, SF-429 Attachment A Real Property Status Report, Sf-429 Attachment C (if applicable) from Grants.gov.
  • If the forms do not open properly, you may need to save them from the "Downloads" folder.
  • If the forms are still not opening properly, please email Kim Boylan for the documents to be emailed to your LEA.
• A minimum of two (2) reports are required per year:

1. A Real Property Status Report (Cover Page) (SF-429) - Required for each parcel - Pending EDAC Approval
2. A Real Property Status Report Attachment A (General Reporting) (SF-429A) - Required for each parcel - Pending EDAC Approval
3. A Real Property Status Report Attachment C (Disposition or Encumbrance Request) (SF-429C) - Pending EDAC Approval​
   1. SF-429 C is only to be used when there is a real property disposition (2 CFR §§ 200.310–200.313)

• LEAs may be required to repay funds based on ED's percentage of participation in the cost of the original purchase.
• LEAs will submit all required forms (SF-429 Cover Page, SF-429A, and if applicable, SF-429C) for each parcel through the ESSER Real Property Status Report Smartsheet Form (please note that submissions exceeding 10 attachments will require additional Smartsheet form submissions).
• CDE must retain these reports on file in the even the U.S. Department of Education or any other federal entity asks for them.

Instructions:

The fillable PDFs must be downloaded to be completed. After completing the required sections, the file must be saved in a local folder (e.g., the user's desktop). The LEA name and number should be in the file name. The file must be uploaded as an attachment in the Smartsheet form. Each submission must include the Cover Page and Attachment A, if providing an update OR Attachment C, if requesting permission to dispose of the property for each parcel. Please refer to SF-429 Instructions for more information.

The Smartsheet form and appropriate attachments must be submitted to CDE by:

• September 1, 2025, and
• September 1 each year thereafter

Notice of Federal Interest Filing with the Local Government:

For each individual project totaling $1 million or more, the LEA must record the Notice of Federal Interest (NFI) in the official real property records for the jurisdiction in which the improved or purchased property is located.

Instructions:

Contact your local government (e.g., County) recording office to learn how to file a notice of federal interest for properties wherein federal funds were used to purchase or improve real property. NFIs are NOT submitted to CDE but must be retained on file and may be requested by CDE during monitoring.

Real Property Reporting and Recording Resources

• 4-10-25 Office Hours Presentation Recording 
• 4-10-25 Office Hours Presentation Slides 
• Dear Colleague Letter 3-21-24
• Code of Federal Regulations Definitions

Surveys

Student Reengagement Survey

All local educational agencies (LEAs) that received ESSER I, II, or III funds must report on whether the LEA sought to reengage students with poor attendance or participation (regardless of whether ESSER funds were used for this purpose). For this reporting requirement, the term “LEA” is used to represent districts only. Data must be reported for 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 fiscal years separately - only one survey per year should be submitted.

• Fiscal Year 2023-2024 – Due December 20, 2024
• Fiscal Year 2024-2025 – Was due July 28, 2025 - NO LONGER REQUIRED

School Level Allocations Survey

All local educational agencies (LEAs) allocating at least a portion of ESSER funds to schools in the reporting period must report on the criteria used to allocate funds to schools within the LEA. For this reporting requirement, the term “LEA” is used to represent districts only. Data must be reported for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 fiscal years separately - only one survey per year should be submitted.

• Fiscal Year 2023-2024 – Due December 20, 2024
  • List of LEAs required to complete survey for FY 2023-2024 – According to the LEA’s application submitted to CDE, these LEAs have budgeted funds at the school level (any public school, including charter schools) during the reporting period.
• Fiscal Year 2024-2025 – Was due July 28, 2025 - NO LONGER REQUIRED
  • List of LEAs required to complete survey for FY 2024-2025 – According to the LEA’s application submitted to CDE, these LEAs have budgeted funds at the school level (any public school, including charter schools) during the reporting period.

LEA Participation in ESSER Activities

All local educational agencies (LEAs) that received ESSER I, II, or III funds must report on how ESSER funds were used to support learning recovery or acceleration for student groups who were disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In Colorado, grantees of ESSER I, II, and III funds include districts, BOCES, Administrative Units, facility schools, and tribal nations. For this reporting requirement, the term “LEA” is used to represent all grantees.

Three data collection templates are available to LEAs (see below). LEAs should only complete one template, which includes both Fiscal Year 2023-2024 and Fiscal Year 2024-2025. If data are available for both years, LEAs are encouraged to submit a single template containing data for both years by December 20, 2024. If data for 2024-2025 are not yet available, LEAs may initially submit a template containing 2023-2024 only, but revise and resubmit the template to include 2024-2025 at a later date (due July 28, 2025). Completed data collection templates should be uploaded to the LEA’s ESSER Reporting folder in Syncplicity.

• Stakeholders, including the Educational Data Advisory Council (EDAC), shared with CDE that for some LEAs reporting student level data would be more convenient, while for others it would be easier to report aggregated data. To best meet the needs of all LEAs and create options that meet varying needs, LEAs can choose to submit either LEA-level or student-level data. For guidance and an explanation of the differences between these templates, please refer to the Instructional Manual below.
  • LEA-Level Survey (Annotated)
    • This option allows for management of data at the LEA-level, aggregated by student group.
    • LEA-Level Survey (Example)
  • Student-Level Separate Survey (Annotated)
    • This option allows for management of the data at the student level and the template has a separate tab for each type of program (e.g., afterschool, summer school). Students would be repeated across tabs if they participated in more than one program.
    • Student-Level Survey (Example)
  • Student-Level Combined Survey (Annotated)
    • This option allows for management of data at the student level. The combined survey allows for reporting each student’s participation in a variety of programs (e.g., afterschool, summer school) in the same spreadsheet.

Resources and Trainings

CDE has developed the following resources and trainings to support grantees in successfully meeting these reporting requirements.

• August 29, 2024 Office Hours Recording
  • August 29, 2024 Office Hours PowerPoint Presentation
• LEA Participation in ESSER Activities Resources
  • Training webinar
    • PowerPoint Presentation
  • Instructional Manual and FAQ
  • Additional USDE Guidance
    • ESSER FY23 (Year 4) - ESSER-Funded Activities
  • Example Reporting Scenarios
    • ESSER Activity Participation Reporting - Reporting Scenarios

Contact Us

For questions about surveys, please contact: