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Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) and Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Annual Reporting Requirements

Local educational agencies (LEAs) and other educational agencies receiving Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) or Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) funds are required to report on their use of funds each year via WISEgrants.

Information for Auditors - December 2023 Update

The 2023 Compliance Supplement (pp. 1358-1359) provides auditors with Key Line Items for Special Reporting testing for the ESF grant programs included in Assistance Listing 84.425. Previously, auditors could review the Key Line Items 1.b. Line 3.b10 Number of specific positions supported with ESSER Funds, 1.c. Line 3.c Allocation of ESSER funds to schools and criteria used to allocate funds to schools (NOTE: LEAs do not report the allocation of ESSER funds to schools as part of the US Department of Education's ESSER Annual Performance Report - LEAs only report if  ESSER funds were allocated to schools and the criteria to allocate funds to schools. See OMB No. 1810-0749.), and 1.d. Line 5.a Full Time Equivalent positions in WISEgrants (the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's Federal Grants Portal). The ESSER and GEER Reporting pages in WISEgrants are currently unavailable to view because they are being updated for the FY 2023 collection that will take place in early calendar year 2024.

Auditors, please refer to this 2023 ESF Compliance Supplement Special Reporting Testing workbook compiled by WI DPI ESSER Grants staff from responses provided by LEAs and other educational entities in response to the ESSER and GEER annual performance reporting in WISEgrants.

  • Key Line Items ESSER 1.a. Line 3.b1 LEA expenditures by ESSER Subgrant fund, expenditure category, and object code, GEER 2.b. Line 9.a Reporting on LEA expenditures by GEER Subgrant fund and expenditure category, and GEER 2.d. Line 12.a Reporting on Other education-related entity expenditures by GEER Subgrant fund and expenditure category are compiled from ESSER and GEER budgets revisions and claims for reimbursement (Program Fiscal Reports PI-1086) submitted by LEAs and based on business rules implemented by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction in order to satisfy US Department of Education annual performance report requirements.
  • Per the 2023 Compliance Supplement: "It is not necessary for auditors to test that these reports were submitted in a timely manner because ED has the ability to verify timeliness." WI DPI received all Wisconsin LEA and other educational entity ESSER and GEER annual performance reports in timely manner and was able to satisfy the US Department of Education's reporting deadline requirement for FY 2022 ESSER and GEER performance reporting data. Because LEAs and other entities successfully submitted their data prior to the federal reporting deadline, and the bulk of the ESF reporting data is compiled from budgets and claims for reimbursement (Program Fiscal Reports PI-1086), it is unlikely that the ESSER and GEER Special Reporting section of the 2023 Compliance Supplement will result in sustained findings for LEAs and other educational entities.  
  • Questions about this information should be sent to essergrants@dpi.wi.gov

Resources for LEAs

The following resources will help LEAs and other grant recipients collect the data necessary for ESSER and GEER reporting. Instructions are provided in each workbook section to help LEAs and other grant recipients determine if the section is necessary to be completed.

  • ESSER Reporting Workbook - Updated February 2024
    Please note: The first time the "Activities by Subpopulation" data will be collected in WISEgrants is for the July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023 (FY 2023) reporting period which will be collected in early calendar year 2024.
    Please note: The US Department of Education added a section "ESSER III Activities to Address Impact of Unfinished Learning" that is now available in the workbook. 
    Please note: The US Department of Education added a section "ESSER III Mandatory Subgrant Amount Expended Toward Evidence-Based Improvement Strategies (EBIS) in Current Reporting Period" that is now available in the workbook.
  • GEER Reporting Workbook
  • ESSER and GEER Reporting Requirements FAQ and Data Definitions (Google doc)
  • ESSER and GEER Reporting Requirement Updates 2024 (FY2023) (Google doc)

Annual Performance Reporting Period

Grant Deadline for LEAs Reporting Period

ESSER I and GEER fourth annual report

ESSER II and ESSER III third annual report


Deadline: April 12, 2024


July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023 (FY 2023)

School-level Learning Modality Reporting

As a requirement of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief III (ESSER III) grant program, the United States Department of Education (USDE) is requiring LEAs to provide information to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) on the number of public schools providing each mode of instruction (i.e., fully remote or online only instruction, both remote/online instruction and in-person instruction [hybrid model], and full time in-person instruction). See the School-level Learning Modality - ARPA ESSER III technical assistance document (Google Doc) for more information.

Grant Deadline for LEAs Reporting Period

ESSER III

October 14, 2022, and periodically through September 30, 2024

Most recent time period available as available to the LEA

Annual Performance Reports

State Education Stabilization Fund (ESF) Annual Performance Reports for ESSER and GEER are available from the US Department of Education in the ESF Transparency Portal. The ESF Transparency Portal contains Wisconsin's State Profile and links to all Wisconsin's ESF Annual Performance Reports. Due to US Department of Education reporting and review timelines, state performance reports are not available until approximately 18 months following the conclusion of the reporting period. 

Grant Federal Report Year Link to Annual Performance Report
ESSER 2020 https://covid-relief-data.ed.gov/report/esser/WI/2020/apr
GEER 2020*
*No data reported for GEER 2020 due to timing of funding availability
https://covid-relief-data.ed.gov/report/geer/WI/2020/apr
ESSER 2021 https://covid-relief-data.ed.gov/report/esser/WI/2021/annual
GEER 2021 https://covid-relief-data.ed.gov/report/geer/WI/2021/apr

Send ESSER and GEER reporting questions to essergrants@dpi.wi.gov


Source: CARES Act, Division B, Title V, Section 15011; CRRSA Act (Section 313); and ARP Act (Section 2001)