Tennessee DOE outlines ESSA discretionary grant monitoring, ePlan submission steps and deadlines

Terry Manning, ESSA compliance manager at the Tennessee Department of Education, led a Feb. 5 webinar explaining how Local Education Agencies (LEAs) should complete the ESSA discretionary grant monitoring instrument in the state’s ePlan system and which grants require participation.

Manning said the monitoring targets LEAs that receive ARP Homeless 1, ARP Homeless 2, ARP Homeless System Navigator funds or the Title III, Part A Immigrant subgrant, and described the electronic instrument, required response types and the submission workflow. "The department prohibits the use of AI tools like Otter in state hosted meetings due to concerns about data security and regulation," Manning said when reviewing department policy for state-hosted meetings.

Why this matters: The monitoring process is the department’s mechanism to check federal ESSA discretionary grant compliance, document performance toward grant goals and identify technical-assistance needs. Responses in ePlan will determine whether an LEA receives findings that require corrective…