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ESSER Monitoring

What is ESSER?

The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds have been awarded to local educational agencies (LEAs) in accordance with the CARES, CRSSA, and ARP Acts to provide emergency relief funds and supports LEAs with addressing the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on education. The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) is required to monitor and report on the use of these emergency federal funds and the impact they have had in the state.

Timelines Associated with ESSER I, II, and III

 
ESSER I
(CARES Act)
ESSER II
(CRSSA Act)
ARP ESSER III
(ARP Act)
ARP ESSER III - State Reserve Funds
(ARP Act)

Award Period

03/13/20-09/30/21

03/13/20-09/30/22

03/13/20-09/30/23

03/13/20-09/30/23

Tydings Period - will end and funds must be spent by

09/30/22

09/30/23

09/30/24

09/30/24

USDE Award to CDE

05/07/20

01/06/21

03/24/21

11/4/21

CDE Must Make Subgrants to LEAs (90%) – LEAs must have final approval on ESSER I and II and substantial approval on ESSER III

05/07/21

Final Approval

01/06/22

Final Approval

05/23/21

Substantial Approval

NA

All awards must be final

05/07/21

01/06/22

03/24/22

11/2/22

CDE Application for LEAs Opened

05/31/20

02/12/21

04/27/21

Varies Across Grants

Formula Awards ~1/12/22

Preliminary Application (T&A, assurances, GEPA) due

NA

NA

05/23/21

NA
Safe In-Person Plans NA NA 05/23/21 5/20/22

LEA Use of Funds Plan (budget in ESSER I & II; budget/narrative questions in ESSER III)

12/31/20

09/30/21

12/16/21

5/20/22

CDE Application Closed/Closes

12/31/20

09/30/21

03/24/22

9/2/22

PAR Open – Rolling Basis

Date of Final Approval

Date of Final Approval

Date of Final Approval

Date of Final Approval

PAR Closes

06/30/21

06/30/23

06/30/24

6/30/24

Carryover Application Will Open (Unexpended Funds Carried Over to Next Year)

07/01/21

NA

NA

NA

Carryover Application Will Close

06/30/22

NA

NA

NA

Monthly Deadline for Requesting Funds (LEA’s Request for Funds, RFF)

First Day of Each Month

First Day of Each Month

First Day of Each Month

First Day of Each Month

Deadline for Final Spending

09/30/22

09/30/23

09/30/24

9/30/24

Deadline for Final Draw Down of Funds (RFF)

11/15/22

October/November 2023

October/November 2024

October/November 2024

Monitoring Overview

Monitoring the use of Federal funds has long been an essential function of the Colorado Department of Education (CDE).  CDE is committed to collaborating with local educational agencies (LEAs, including BOCES) to use the monitoring process as an opportunity to move beyond compliance and focus on what matters most – improving outcomes for students through implementation of effective practices. CDE aims to help schools and districts understand the requirements associated with accepting federal funds, develop the ability to self-assess against grant requirements, and best utilize these grant funds to improve services for students.  Monitoring is an opportunity to identify the technical assistance and support LEAs need to leverage federal funds in support of better outcomes for all students.

Therefore, in addition to meeting statutory requirements for ESSER compliance, Colorado’s monitoring vision and mission include:

  • Identifying and highlighting LEA areas of strength and effective implementation;
  • Collaborating with LEAs to implement effective programs and practices to improve outcomes for students; and
  • Identifying, disseminating, and learning from exemplary practices within Colorado.

With this in mind, CDE has designed the monitoring system to accomplish the following objectives:

  • Focus on What Matters by ensuring LEAs are making progress toward increased student achievement and improved quality of instruction for all students through implementation of Federal programs;
  • Reduce Burden on LEAs by combining and streamlining monitoring protocols for all ESEA programs and prioritizing LEAs selected to participate in the process based on a set of performance, fiscal, programmatic, and administrative selection criteria;
  • Improve Communication with LEAs by strengthening their constructive partnerships with CDE through continuous feedback and assessment of the CDE monitoring resources, process, and system;
  • Differentiate and Customize Support for LEAs by using the monitoring system to identify technical assistance to support LEA needs as well as areas in which LEAs are making progress and can serve as a model or resource for other LEAs; and
  • Ensure Basic ESEA Requirements Are Met by reviewing program and fiscal requirements, to safeguard public funds from waste, fraud, and abuse.

Program Requirements

Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement (SE)

  • SE 9.11 Annual Consultation

Identification and Delivery of Services (ID)

  • ID 9.1 Use of Fund
  • ID 9.9 Implementation - GEPA

Fiscal Requirements (FR)

  • 1.7 Proportionate Share
  • 9.4 Use of Funds (NPS)    
  • 9.7 Property and Equipment    
  • 9.8 Financial Management    
  • 9.10 Time and Effort Reporting    
  • 9.12 Written Policies    
  • 9.13 Procurement

  • 9.15 Information Management PII    
  • 9.16 Ethical Transparency    
  • 9.17 Internal Controls    
  • 9.18 Cost Principles    
  • 9.19 Revision of Budget and Program Plans
  • 9.20 Indirect Costs  

Additional program requirements will be posted soon, including, but not limited to, the following:

  • ARP ESSER III Indicators
    • Safe In-Person Plan
      • Mitigation strategies to ensure safety and health of students and staff
    • LEA Use of Funds Plan
      • Use of 20% Set-Aside
      • Use of Remainder of Funds
      • Ensuring Academic, Social, Emotional, and Mental Health Needs of Students are Met with Evidence-Based Interventions

Evidence Submission

Table showing what year(s) an LEA should submit monitoring indicator evidence for all three ESSERs.

Header: What year(s) should our LEA submit monitoring indicator evidence for all three ESSERs? Table: Shows the evidence period for each monitoring year for ESSER. Evidence Period includes all ESSER (I, II, & III) activities from the indicated years. For monitoring year 21-22 the evidence period data year is for 19-20 and 20-21. For monitoring year 22-23 the evidence period data year is for 21-22. For monitoring year 23-24 the evidence period data year is for 22-23. March 13, 2020 is indicated on the table as the start of the grant award period. Notes: Evidence Periods indicated required evidence submission for both fiscal and programmatic indicators. If needed, additional evidence may be requested for programmatic indicators that would include from March 13, 2020 through the monitoring year.

Syncplicity Instructions

The Office of ESEA Programs will use the secure file transfer system, Syncplicity, to collect evidence during the 2021-2022 monitoring cycle.  You will receive an email from Syncplicity letting you know that your folder has been shared with you. Below are the steps to follow when accessing your folder:

  1. Log in to my.syncplicity.com to find your district’s folder. 
  2. Inside of the district folder will be a subfolder for each indicator.  Upload your evidence in the folder that corresponds to the indicator. Please note that LEAs can begin to upload evidence anytime; however, CDE team members will not begin reviewing evidence until October 1, 2021.
  3. As needed, provide a narrative description of evidence or processes that will help reviewers evaluate submitted evidence. This can be done by including a Word document in your evidence folder.
  4. Once all evidence has been uploaded, please fill out this form to notify the CDE monitoring team that your evidence is ready to review.

Contact Us

Tammy Giessinger
Federal Programs Monitoring Supervisor
720-827-5291 (c)
giessinger_t@cde.state.co.us

Kristin Crumley
ESEA/ESSER Monitoring Coordinator
720-660-1369 (c)
crumley_k@cde.state.co.us

Kim Boylan
ESEA/ESSER Monitoring Specialist
720-354-7031 (c)
boylan_k@cde.state.co.us

Kriseda Craven
ESSER Monitoring Specialist
720-355-1118 (c)
craven_k@cde.state.co.us

Jonathan Schelke
ESSER Monitoring Specialist
720-388-0842 (c)
schelke_j@cde.state.co.us

Nadine Penn
ESSER Monitoring Specialist
720-795-2352 (c)
penn_n@cde.state.co.us

Yazmine Patino
Program Assistant
720-456-9686 (c)
patino_y@cde.state.co.us

Last updated 1/30/2024