Native Hawaiian Education Act
Greater Oversight Would Increase Accountability and Enable Targeting of Funds to Areas with Greatest Need
GAO-08-422, Mar 25, 2008
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The Native Hawaiian Education Act (NHEA) seeks to develop innovative educational programs to assist Native Hawaiians. The Department of Education (Education) administers NHEA and has provided grants for a wide range of activities. Education is authorized to establish a Native Hawaiian Education Council and seven island councils to help implement NHEA. To inform reauthorization, GAO was asked to analyze (1) what is known about NHEA's impact on Native Hawaiian education, (2) Education's efforts to oversee NHEA grants, and (3) the extent to which Education and the Native Hawaiian councils have fulfilled their roles and responsibilities. To do this, GAO reviewed federal laws and regulations and departmental documents, and interviewed Education officials, council members, grantees, and experts in Native Hawaiian education.
Little is known about the NHEA's impact on Native Hawaiian education. Education has not evaluated NHEA due to its relatively small funding level, about $30 million annually, and academic research that shows educational improvements for Native Hawaiians does not indicate whether NHEA was a contributor to reported gains, such as in preschool enrollment and high school and college graduation rates. Some grantees have reported positive outcomes in education and other areas for Native Hawaiians served by NHEA grants. However, the extent to which NHEA has contributed to these outcomes has not been determined. Education has made efforts in recent years to improve NHEA grant management and oversight, and plans to address other weaknesses in the future. Education has established three performance measures that grantees are expected to use to assess their activities, conducted community outreach, and improved reporting requirements for grantees. However, these performance measures are not applicable to some of the educational outcomes that could result from NHEA's many activities. Moreover, Education has yet to establish a method to track grantee activities, such as how funds have been distributed across activities or islands, and some grantees said that in the past they have received little direction or guidance from Education. Education officials said they plan to address these weaknesses. They plan to reexamine the performance measures and provide additional guidance and technical assistance to grantees this year. Officials also stated that they would like to develop a tracking system to better manage grants funded by NHEA, but could not say specifically when this would occur. The parties responsible for administering NHEA--Education, the Education Council, and the island councils--have not fulfilled many of their respective roles and responsibilities under the act. Education has not provided sufficient oversight to ensure that the Education Council carries out many of its responsibilities under the law, or provided guidance to the Education Council on how to assist island councils represent local interests. The Education Council has not fulfilled its primary duty to collect data on the status of Native Hawaiian education, assess current needs in the different communities, make recommendations for the future use of grant funds, or, until recently, provided Education with the required annual reports on its activities. In regard to the island councils, some have not ensured the adequate representation of local interests, or supported the Education Council in efforts to assess and prioritize local needs and make recommendations to Education. In the absence of complete information on NHEA activities and local needs, Education has not targeted grant funds or reported to Congress on NHEA activities, as required. The overall lack of information about NHEA leaves participants and policymakers in a knowledge vacuum, unable to make informed decisions that will help meet and advance NHEA's goals.
Status Legend:
Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.
- In Process
- Open
- Closed - implemented
- Closed - not implemented
Recommendations for Executive Action
Recommendation: To enable the department to provide grant funds aligned with local needs and priorities for improving educational outcomes for Native Hawaiians, the Secretary of Education should help ensure appropriate representation on the Education Council by reviewing the composition of the Education and island councils and, if necessary, advising them to appoint members who can ensure that needs are adequately identified across all communities.
Agency Affected: Department of Education
Status: Open
Comments: Education agrees with this recommendation and is currently reviewing a copy of the Education Council's bylaws and current members to ensure that it is complying with its own rules and laws. Education provided an update on 8/31/2010 stating that the interim Executive Director and the chairperson for the Education Council have identified new membership and configuration for the Island Councils; the Department anticipates that the recommendation for membership will be submitted from the Education Council by October 15, 2010. The Department determined that the composition of the Education Council should remain intact until the Elementary and Secondary Eduction Act (ESEA) is reauthorized, as reauthorization could impact the composition of the Education Council. While the composition of the island councils had been reviewed and recommendations for membership are expected by October 15th, the composition of the Education Council will not be analyzed until the ESEA is reauthorized. GAO will need to follow up with Education in FY 2010 to determine whether the composition of the Education Council has been reviewed to ensure adequate representation.
Recommendation: To enable the department to provide grant funds aligned with local needs and priorities for improving educational outcomes for Native Hawaiians, the Secretary of Education should provide guidance to the Education Council on actions it can take to best help the island councils represent local interests and determine local needs and priorities.
Agency Affected: Department of Education
Status: Closed - Implemented
Comments: Education agrees with this recommendation and has already begun to implement it. In 2007, ED met with the Education Council to discuss how it could conduct a needs assessment to better identify local needs and priorities. ED requested that the Council submit a plan, which it did. As of March 2008, ED requested additional information from the Council to fully analyze the plan and identify enhancements. Once ED receives this information, it can determine whether the Council's plans adequately include and address local interests and priorities. Education's August 2010 update stated that in a teleconference held on August 11, 2010, ED staff reiterated the NHEA statute that requires a needs assessment be conducted to better identify local needs. The needs assessment is underway. The Education Council plans to fulfill this requirement during the next fiscal year. Funds for the 2010-2011 project period have been obligated and a revised budget that includes allocated resources to the islands will be submitted in early October. By meeting with the Education Council to discuss how it could conduct a needs assessment to better identify local needs and priorities, Education has provided guidance to the Education Council on actions it can take to complete a needs assessment. Although the needs assessment has not been completed, the process is underway.
Recommendation: To enable the department to provide grant funds aligned with local needs and priorities for improving educational outcomes for Native Hawaiians, the Secretary of Education should work with the Education Council to identify and coordinate existing services for each of the islands; determine what needs remain unmet through a transparent, evidence-based process; and ensure that the Education Council provides the department the required annual reports on its activities.
Agency Affected: Department of Education
Status: Open
Comments: Education agrees with this recommendation and has already begun to implement it. In 2007, ED met with the Education Council to discuss how it could conduct a needs assessment to better identify local needs and priorities. ED requested that the Council submit a plan, which it did. As of March 2008, ED requested additional information from the Council to fully analyze the plan and identify enhancements. Once ED receives this information, it can determine whether the Council's plans adequately include and address local interests and priorities. Education's August 2010 update stated that a strategic planning meeting was held with members of the Native Hawaiian Education council, including island council Representatives; strategies related to performance measures, communications with grantees, and the requirements associated with a needs assessment were discussed/developed. As a result of this meeting, it was decided that in addition to reviewing annual performance reports, activity updates will be provided through quarterly teleconferences with the Education Council. As of October 2010, Education had not confirmed whether the Education Council has completed a needs assessment to better identify local needs and priorities, or that the Council was providing the required annual reports on its activities.
Recommendation: To improve oversight of NHEA grantees, assess program activities, and fulfill Education's reporting responsibilities, the Secretary of Education should provide additional direction and guidance to NHEA grantees to help them fulfill their responsibilities and meet their stated goals, including their reporting requirements.
Agency Affected: Department of Education
Status: Open
Comments: The Department agrees with this recommendation and is taking action. ED has worked closely with program applicants and grantees to identify areas to provide needed technical assistance and support. Most recently, in January 2008, staff held a project director's meeting in Oahu with over 100 grantees discussing topics such as reporting and performance monitoring. As a result of its efforts, ED identified additional areas of technical assistance. By March 2008, ED had increased the number of staff assigned to the Native Hawaiian program. It will continue to provide technical assistance, particularly in the areas of data collection, analysis and the synthesis of data for program improvement. Education's August 2010 update stated that in December 2008, a two and a half day Project Director's meeting was held in Washington DC. ED staff presented information on grant administration and offered technical assistance. Technical assistance is ongoing and planning has begun for a Project Director's meeting in Hawaii (Spring 2011). GAO will want to obtain more details on areas of technical guidance the Department provided to determine if guidance addressed fulfilling grantees responsibilities and meeting their stated goals.
Recommendation: To improve oversight of NHEA grantees, assess program activities, and fulfill Education's reporting responsibilities, the Secretary of Education should expedite development of a method to track how grant funds are allocated and spent across islands and activities, and include in its report to Congress a time frame for when development will be completed.
Agency Affected: Department of Education
Status: Open
Comments: ED does not agree with this recommendation. Developing a separate system to track grant funds in greater detail would be very burdensome on grantees and would require data that other programs don't require. If ED has concerns about the size of draw-down requests, they contact the grantee for additional information. ED has tools to monitor expenditures, such as the annual performance report, grant monitoring and the single annual audit, which provide oversight of expenditures. Education did not provide further updates for 2010. GAO will want to review the final report to Congress with an expected completion date of on or before October 30, 2010 to determine whether the recommendation has been implemented. The report is required to contain a description of the allocation and use of grant funds.
Recommendation: To improve oversight of NHEA grantees, assess program activities, and fulfill Education's reporting responsibilities, the Secretary of Education should establish additional or broader performance measures to cover the range of educational outcomes that could result from activities funded by NHEA and include in its report to Congress a time frame for when such action will be completed.
Agency Affected: Department of Education
Status: Open
Comments: Education agrees in part with the recommendation that the performance measures need to be re-examined to capture the actual performance of the program. When ED first developed performance measures, it faced challenges identifying indicators that would cover the very wide range of funded activities. The agency selected indicators that they believed best captured progress, resulting in only a subset of authorized activities being covered. ED acknowledges the need to determine whether it should adopt additional measures that cover a broader range of activities or modify the current measures. They believe it would be extremely difficult to develop measures that would cover each allowable activity, given the wide range of activities involved. ED reported in August 2010 that it revised the Government Performance Results Act (GPRA) measures to reflect progress on the programs and services funded by NHEA grants. Revised performance measures were included in the 2009 Notice Inviting Applications package (February 2009). On September 29, 2009, a guidance document outlining procedures for reporting data was electronically forwarded to 2009 grantees. A Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Education and the Hawaii State Department of Education is in motion with an anticipated approval on or before September 30, 2010. GAO will want to review the revised GPRA measures to determine whether the recommendation has been implemented.
Recommendation: To provide Congress with information useful for program accountability and policy direction, the Secretary of Education should fulfill the statutory responsibility to report to Congress on the activities of the Education Council and the allocation and use of grant funds, with policy recommendations for advancing the education of Native Hawaiians. If necessary, the report could explain why certain reporting requirements could not be met and what steps will be taken to provide the missing information in the future.
Agency Affected: Department of Education
Status: Open
Comments: The Department is taking steps to implement this recommendation. They have reviewed the Council's annual plan and reports and asked the Council for additional information. Education provided an update on 8/31/2010 stating that a report to Congress is in final draft with an expected completion date on or before October 30, 2010. GAO will consider this recommendation closed when the report is issued.