Nevada Department of Education details late‑liquidation rules, urges subrecipients to obligate contracts by Sept. 30

Amber Reed, director of the Nevada Department of Education's (NDE) Office of District Support Services, told subrecipients during a March webinar that the state will use Sept. 30, 2024, as the cutoff date to determine remaining balances eligible for a late‑liquidation extension request to the U.S. Department of Education (USED). Reed said NDE will submit late‑liquidation requests on behalf of its subrecipients and will meet with districts and other grantees in July and August to review budgets and collect documentation.

Reed emphasized the distinction between an obligation period and a liquidation period and urged entities to secure binding written commitments before the obligation period ends. "I want to make it very clear that no federal agency, including the U.S. Department of Education, has the authority to extend the period of performance," Reed said, adding that USED may grant additional time to liquidate funds. She framed timely and valid obligation as essential: "Timely and valid obligation is the key to your success."

Under the rules Reed described, the regular liquidation period begins when an obligation period ends and typically lasts 120 calendar days. If USED approves a late‑liquidation extension, it can add up to 14 additional months, so grantees could have roughly 18 months total after the obligation period end date to liquidate funds. Reed said NDE's calculations assume the clock begins on the obligation end date (Sept. 30 for ARP ESSER 3), not the date of USED approval; that means NDE will seek approval as early as possible to maximize available liquidation time.

The webinar covered which commitments qualify as timely obligated under federal rules. Reed explained that employee salaries are considered obligated on the date services are performed, so payroll for an employee cannot be charged to these ESSER funds after the obligation period unless that work occurred before the period ended. By contrast, payments to individuals employed through a third‑party contract or staffing firm (for example, a temp agency) can remain eligible if the contract was executed before the obligation cutoff. Non‑personnel contracts, purchase orders and construction agreements are considered obligated on the date the contract or purchase order is fully executed, so these must be in place by Sept. 30 to be eligible for liquidation extensions.

Reed also described template and documentation requirements for the USED request. The federal workbook requires a separate template per fund with a grantee attestation signed by an authorized official (for ESSER attestations that can be the state superintendent or a deputy; for GEER/EANS the governor's office is the authorizing entity). For each subrecipient the state must report the allocation total (aggregated across an LEA's ARP ESSER and related state non‑admin subawards), the amount liquidated as of the obligation end date, the remaining balance, a brief description of the use(s) of funds, and a written justification for why a liquidation extension is needed. Reed warned that "needing more time" is not sufficient justification; acceptable reasons include supply‑chain delays, contractor staffing shortages, or other documented interruptions that prevented liquidation during the regular period.

On AB 495 and state and local fiscal recovery funds (SLFRF) administered through the governor's office, Reed said NDE has asked Treasury to confirm the obligation end date; she has seen evidence indicating a Dec. 31, 2024 obligation end but said she will not finalize subaward amendments until Treasury provides formal confirmation. If Treasury confirms Dec. 31, NDE will amend subawards it manages on the governor's behalf to match the obligation date to avoid disallowed costs.

Reed added that NDE has discretion to exclude subrecipients from a late‑liquidation request if the state assesses them as high risk or lacking capacity to properly liquidate funds. She also explained oversight expectations during liquidation: monitoring and documentation collection continue, draws during a late‑liquidation period are routed and communicated to the federal program officer, and USED may request backup documentation to show timely obligation and allowability.

The webinar concluded with Reed encouraging attendees to meet with NDE staff in July and August to plan budgets and to provide the documentation the state will need to support the federal request. She also said the session would be recorded and posted to the department's grants playlist and urged participants to send follow‑up questions to the department's grants inbox.