This Annual Plan presents the major initiatives and priorities the U.S. Department of Education (Department) Office of Inspector General (OIG) intends to undertake to assist the Department in fulfilling its responsibilities to America's taxpayers and students. The Department will face several challenges in FY 2021; perhaps most significant among those are the implementation, management, and oversight of the programs and funding authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The CARES Act provides the Department with more than $30 billion in funding to assist States, schools, school districts, and institutions of higher education in meeting the needs of students impacted by the pandemic. The Department must oversee, manage, and administer CARES Act funding to ensure transparency and accountability and that recipients and subrecipients are aware of their responsibilities, use the funds as intended, and comply with applicable laws. This Annual Plan aligns the OIG's work and resources to achieve their mission, meet the goals of their Strategic Plan, and focus attention across challenge areas to the Department. As such, OIG's planned and ongoing work involves Department programs and operations at all levels--Federal, State, and local--and incorporates suggestions from Department leaders, the Office of Management and Budget, and members of Congress. [For the FY 2020 Annual Plan, see ED621277.]