Puerto Rico Department of Education’s Use of ARP ESSER Funds to Measure Student Academic Progress

Inspection / Evaluation · Department of Education OIG · 2026-03-17 · about Department of Education

Summary

Congress passed three coronavirus relief acts within a 1-year period that provided more than $275 billion for an Education Stabilization Fund to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus, including $189.5 billion for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER). The American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) provided $122 billion for ESSER to help State educational agencies (SEA) and local educational agencies (LEA) safely reopen and sustain the safe operation of schools and address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on students.

Recommendations (4)

#	Status	Text
1.1	Open	We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education require Puerto Rico DOE to return the $3.9 million charged to the ARP ESSER grant for the student academic proficiency interim assessments or take other remedial actions…
1.2	Open	We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education require Puerto Rico DOE to develop and incorporate into its existing contract monitoring and oversight policies and procedures, control activities, or protocols designed…
1.3	Open	We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education require Puerto Rico DOE to implement its contract amendment procedures, as designed, to ensure that all future changes to the scope of contracted work are documented and…
1.4	Open	We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education require Puerto Rico DOE to provide sufficient training to its employees, including teachers, who are responsible for implementing initiatives and activities under…

Status

Text

1.1

Open

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education require Puerto Rico DOE to return the $3.9 million charged to the ARP ESSER grant for the student academic proficiency interim assessments or take other remedial actions…

1.2

Open

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education require Puerto Rico DOE to develop and incorporate into its existing contract monitoring and oversight policies and procedures, control activities, or protocols designed…

1.3

Open

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education require Puerto Rico DOE to implement its contract amendment procedures, as designed, to ensure that all future changes to the scope of contracted work are documented and…

1.4

Open

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education require Puerto Rico DOE to provide sufficient training to its employees, including teachers, who are responsible for implementing initiatives and activities under…

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Summary

Recommendations (4)

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