State and Local Educational Agencies’ Use of Digital Wallet-Related Technologies and Services - Flash Report - June 11, 2025

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Fahsai

Flash report summarizing the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General review of how State educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) use digital wallet-related technologies and services to administer federal education grant funds. Covers Oct. 1, 2022 through Dec. 31, 2024. Based on SEA survey responses, 12 of 45 SEAs used digital wallets for certain pandemic relief grants, mainly through one vendor, largely for reimbursement/payment, controls, and fund tracking, while LEA usage appeared limited and uncertain.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Results in Brief

Why the OIG Performed This Work

What Did the OIG Find?

What Are the Next Steps?

| | U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General | | --- | --- | | State and Local Educational Agencies’Use of Digital WalletRelated Technologies and Services
June 11, 2025
ED-OIG/F25CA0219
FLASH REPORT | | NOTICE In accordance with Freedom of Information Act (Title 5, United States Code, Section 552), reports that the Office of Inspector General issues are available to members of the press and general public to the extent information they contain is not subject to exemptions in the Act. June 11, 2025 TO: Hayley Sanon Acting Assistant Secretary Office of Elementary and Secondary Education FROM: Keith Cummins /s/ Acting Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Audit SUBJECT: Final Flash Report,“State and Local Educational Agencies’ Use of Digital Wallet-Related Technologies and Services,” Control Number ED-OIG/F25CA0219 Attached is the subject final report that consolidates the results of our review of “State and Local Educational Agencies’ Use of Digital Wallet-Related Technologies and Services,” Control Number EDOIG/F25CA0219 . We have provided an electronic copy to your audit liaison officer. We received your comments in response to our draft report. We appreciate your cooperation during this review. If you have any questions, please contact me at (202) 657-8542 or [Keith.Cummins@ed.gov](Keith.Cummins@ed.gov); or Ben Sanders, Director, Elementary and Secondary Education Oversight Team, at (916) 213-7630 or [Ben.Sanders@ed.gov](Ben.Sanders@ed.gov). Attachment U. S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General Results in Brief State and Local Educational Agencies’ Use of Digital Wallet-Related Technologies and Services Why the OIG Performed This Work Digital interactions with government services have increased over time, particularly since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. We learned through prior OIG work that some State educational agencies (SEA) were using digital wallet-related technologies and services (digital wallet) to help administer their Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER) and Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) grants. However, there is limited public information regarding digital wallets and how or to what extent SEAs and local educational agencies (LEA) may be using them for their Federal education grants. We performed this review to determine the extent to which SEAsand LEAs use digital wallets to facilitate the administration of U.S. Department of Education (Department) grant funds. Our review covered the period from October 1, 2022, through December 31, 2024. For purposes of this review, we define“digital wallet” as a software-based process provided by a third-party vendor that facilitates the disbursement to or expenditure of Federal education grant funds by beneficiaries, such as teachers, students, families, and nonpublic schools. What Did the OIG Find? Forty-five SEAs responded to our survey regarding the use of digital wallets to facilitate the administration of Department grant funds. Twelve of those SEAs reported using digital wallets to help administer some of their Department grants during our review period, and three of these planned to continue using digital wallets in 2025. SEAs primarily relied on one digital wallet vendor to help administer their Department grant funds. That vendor, used by 11 of the 12 SEAs, was responsible for helping to administer more than 95 percent of the Department grant funds for which SEAs reported using digital wallets. SEAs used digital wallets almost exclusively for their pandemic relief Department grants, including the GEER, EANS, and Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) grants. SEAs most commonly used digital wallets for automated direct deposit reimbursement or payment, built in controls for fund use, and tracking of funds; and several SEAs reported that they relied, at least partially, on their digital wallet vendors to h

FAQs

What is the purpose of this OIG flash report?

To determine the extent to which SEAs and LEAs use digital wallet-related technologies and services to facilitate administration of U.S. Department of Education grant funds.

What timeframe does the review cover?

The review covers October 1, 2022 through December 31, 2024.

What did the OIG find about SEA use of digital wallets?

Twelve of 45 responding SEAs reported using digital wallets for some Department grants during the review period, primarily pandemic relief grants, often relying on a single vendor for the vast majority of funds.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Fahsai