Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the District of Columbia's and the District of Columbia Public Schools' (DCPS) efforts to apply for and receive grant awards through the federal education grant programs available to them, focusing on: (1) what federal education grant programs are available to the District of Columbia; (2) status of its efforts to receive federal education grant programs; and (3) the District of Columbia offices responsible for the application process.

GAO noted that: (1) DCPS is eligible for 72 of the 103 fiscal year (FY) 1998 federal education grant programs available for preschool, elementary, and secondary education; (2) in FY 1998, the District of Columbia applied for 46 of the 72 federal programs; (3) according to DCPS officials, DCPS did not apply for the remaining 26 programs because it lacked the resources to pursue these grants; (4) for example, budgetary constraints precluded its applying for grants requiring matching funds, such as Even Start-Migrant Education, and DCPS said it had insufficient staff to apply for some grants or to implement the grant if received, such as Bilingual Education-Professional Development; and (5) the grant application process can vary by grant and involves several offices in DCPS and the District of Columbia government.