Skip to agency navigation
Skip to main content

Official Website

of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

    The .gov means it's official.

    Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government websites and email systems use "pennsylvania.gov" or "pa.gov" at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you're on an official state website. 
    ESSER Funding

    ​​​​​​​​​​​Monitoring of LEAs’ Coronavirus Associated Federal Programs

    In accordance with Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 200 Subpart D, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is responsible for performing subrecipient monitoring of grant-funded operations to ensure accountability and compliance with requirements and achievement of performance goals. As such, PDE has contracted with Deloitte to assist in monitoring subrecipients of ESSER grants.

    Deloitte will be conducting both On-Site Monitoring (OSM) and Virtual Monitoring (VM) of subrecipients of ESSER I, ESSER II, and/or ARP ESSER grants. The goal of these activities is not to conduct an audit, but rather to conduct a review of the ESSER grant programs, related processes/procedures, and to ensure compliance with Federal grant program rules and regulations. This review can help to prepare for and respond to future audits or reviews, and provides opportunity to ask technical questions and discuss any compliance or performance-related concerns you may have. If selected for an OSM visit, the Deloitte monitoring team will travel to you to conduct their monitoring review.

    Please review the following to prepare for your upcoming monitoring.

    The Interim Revision process is required only if your LEA has significant program and / or budget changes to your approved ESSER and ARP ESSER applications.

    Training Materials

    ARP ESSER Program Closeout (January 2025)

    A review of ARP ESSER Program Closeout leading practices including funding categories, set-aside requirements, Final Expenditure Report (FER), 2 CFR 200.344 guidance, ARP ESSER closeout timeline, closeout processes, and subledger reconciliations.

    ARP ESSER Program and Program Closeout (September 2024)

    A review of program closeout leading practices targeted towards proper closeout of the ARP ESSER grant.

    Closeout (2024 PAFPC Conference) (April 2024)

    The ESSER Monitoring Team presented Finishing Strong with ARP ESSER and Closeout providing an overview of considerations and strong practices with the upcoming obligation and liquidation deadline of the ARP ESSER Program as a precursor to Cycle 24-25 Monitoring activities.

    ESSER Late Liquidation (September 2024)

    An overview of the ARP ESSER late liquidation process and guidance on multi-year subscriptions and licenses, as well as multi-year contracts.

    Obligation Considerations (May 2024)

    An overview of ARP ESSER obligation and liquidation timelines by expenditure type, as well as obligation considerations.

    Program Closeout (November 2023)

    An overview of the federal program closeout process.

    Equipment and Property Management (May 2024 & February 2025)

    A review of equipment and property management requirements with assets purchased with federal funds.

    Financial Management (November 2023)

    An overview of financial management leading practices including budgeting, PA chart of accounts, financial reporting, and interest earned. 

    ​Interest Earned from Federal Grants​​  (January 2024)

    A walkthrough of leading practices drafting an interest tracking calculation for federal programs.

    General/Entity Level Standards (February 2023 & October 2024)

    An overview of requirements, leading practices and documentation standards with respect to general and entity level standards including capitalization and personally identifiable information.

    Internal Controls (March 2024)

    An overview of the different types of internal controls, specific  2 CFR 200.303 requirements, and the importance of internal controls in practice .

    ESSER Monitoring Year 22-23 in Review and Monitoring Cycle 23-24 Overview and Expectations​ (September 2023)

    The ESSER Monitoring Team provided a recap of Cycle 22-23 Monitoring and an overview of Monitoring Cycle 23-24 including deadlines and reminders, risk assessment updates, visit scheduling processes, and monitoring procedures with specific milestones.

    Monitoring (2023 PAFPC Conference) (May 2023)

    The ESSER Monitoring Team presented on common observations from Cycle 22-23 of ESSER monitoring.

    The ESSER Monitoring Team presented on monitoring progress and feedback from Cycle 22-23, along with leading practices with respect to policies, procedures, recordkeeping, and preparing for program closeout.

    The ESSER Monitoring Team presented on how to ace ESSER monitoring visits by providing an overview of the ESSER program, monitoring expectations, and how to be proactive with upcoming Cycle 23-24 visits.

    Monitoring (2024 PAFPC Conference) (April 2024)

    The ESSER Monitoring Team presented Beyond the Top 10 Observations providing an overview of leading practices outside of the common observations found by the ESSER Monitoring Team for Cycle 23-24.

    Monitoring Cycle 24-25 Overview and Expectations​ (July 2024)

    The ESSER Monitoring Team provided an overview of Monitoring Cycle 24-25 including deadlines and reminders, risk assessment updates, visit scheduling processes, and monitoring procedures with specific milestones.

    Technical Assistance Guidance (November 2023)

    An introduction to grants management and 2 CFR 200, along with an overview of the ESSER grant, and monitoring areas of review.

    Fundamentals of Procurement (October 2023)

    An introduction to the fundamentals of procurement standards and state thresholds when using federal grant funding, highlighting specific takeaways from 2 CFR 200.318–327.

    Procurement (2024 PAFPC Conference) ( April 2024)

    The ESSER Monitoring Team presented on The (Pro) Cure to Federal Procurement Compliance providing a review of procurement requirements when purchasing with federal funds.

    Salaries and Benefits (February 2024)

    An overview of documentation and compliance requirements for when claiming personnel expenditures (salary and benefits) to federal programs including documentation requirements and duplication of benefits.

    Time and Effort (November 2024)

    A review of requirements, leading practices, and documentation standards for Time and Effort policies and procedures, practices for contracted hours and stipends, duplication of benefits considerations, and cost objectives.