Recent GAO Reviews of Federal
Education Programs
Presentation to Association of Educational
Federal Finance Administrators
Annual Conference
October 4, 2012
Page 1
Recent GAO Reports on Federal Education
Programs
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School Bullying (GAO-12-349)
•
K-12 Regulatory Burden (GAO-12-672)
•
Charter Schools and Students with Disabilities (GAO12-543)
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School Bullying: Reported Levels of Bullying and Related
Affects Are Significant
• According to national surveys, an estimated 20 to 28 percent of
youth (primarily middle and high school-aged youth) reported
being bullied.
• Gaps in knowledge about extent of bullying of youths in key
demographic groups remain.
• Bullying is associated with a variety of negative outcomes for
victims
• Differences in definitions and survey methods make it difficult to
determine trends and affected groups.
• Education, HHS, and others are taking steps to partially address
the issue of inconsistent definitions.
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School Bullying: States and Educational Agencies Are
Taking Various Approaches to Reduce Bullying
• According to Education, 49 states had school bullying laws as of
April 2012.
• State laws impose various requirements on SEA to adopt bullying
policies or plans.
• State are making changes to their bullying laws.
• State and local officials cited concerns that hinder antibullying
efforts
• Out-of-school incidents such as cyberbullying
• Confusion between bullying behavior and other forms of
conflict
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School Bullying: Coordinated Federal Antibullying Efforts
Are Underway
• Education, HHS, and Justice have established coordinated efforts
on research and disseminating information. Key efforts include:
• Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Steering Committee
• www.stopbullying.gov website
• Stop Bullying Now! Campaign
• Education has disseminated information about federal civil rights
laws and state bullying laws.
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Regulatory Burden: Education Stakeholders and State
and School District Officials Cited Burdens and Benefits
• Key education stakeholders said many federal requirements
related to ESEA Title I, IDEA Part B, or national school meals
programs were burdensome.
• Of those federal requirements cited as most burdensome by state
and school district officials:
• 7 related to ESEA Title I
• 3 to IDEA Part B
• 4 to national school meals
• Officials also identified some benefits of requirements.
Page 6
Regulatory Burden: Federal Agencies Are Taking Steps to
Reduce Burden, but Challenges Remain
• Education and other agencies developed retrospective analysis
plans to identify and address burdensome regulations.
• Education has taken some alleviate burden and remove
duplicative reporting requirements
• ESEA waivers
• streamlining data collections
• Education officials generally disagree with stakeholders on extent
of duplicative reporting requirements and related burden.
• Education’s ability to address burdens may be limited, eg., IDEA
indicators.
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Charter Schools: Enrollment Levels of Students with
Disabilities Differed
• Charter schools enrolled a lower percentage of students with
disabilities than traditional public schools:
• 8.2 percent of students in charter schools compared to 11.2
percent in traditional public schools (2009-2010) school year.
• proportion of charter schools that enrolled high percentages
of students with disabilities also lower than traditional schools.
• Differences in enrollment levels of students with disabilities varied
across states.
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Charter Schools: Little Known about Factors Contributing
to Enrollment Differences
• Reasons for enrollment differences not clear. Factors contributing
to differences may include:
• parental preferences and student needs
• recruitment practices
• placement decisionmaking process
• school capacity and special education funding
• Charter schools we visited reported:
• tailoring services to meet individual student’s needs
• having insufficient resources to serve students with severe
disabilities as a challenge
Page 9
Charter Schools: Education is Reviewing Admission
Practices
• During FY 2010, Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR)
investigated complaints concerning students with disabilities in
charter schools.
• As of June 2012, OCR had compliance reviews underway related
to students with disabilities and charter schools:
• 2 pertain to recruitment and admissions issues
• 2 pertain to FAPE
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Ongoing Work
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Charters Schools Serving English Language Learners
Cheating on Statewide Assessments
Education Research
IDEA and Early Intervening Services
Education’s Data Collection Efforts
Child Abuse by School Personnel
RTT Teacher Evaluation Systems
Indian Education Funding
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GAO on the Web
Web site: http://www.gao.gov/
Contacts
George Scott, Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security, scottg@gao.gov
(202) 512-7215, U.S. Government Accountability Office
441 G Street NW, Room 5K21, Washington, D.C. 20548
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