Recommendation: The Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division should work with Education's Office for Civil Rights to provide state educational agencies and school districts with online information, technical assistance, or training materials related to federal accessibility requirements specific to public school facilities. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Justice
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division should work with Education's Office for Civil Rights to provide state educational agencies and school districts with online information, technical assistance, or training materials related to federal accessibility requirements in public school facilities in the context of safety and security. This may include leveraging recent, online federal initiatives on school safety and physical security. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Justice
Status: Open

Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Assistant Secretary for the Office for Civil Rights should revise its CRDC business rule to require that every school district reporting zeros, regardless of district size or numbers of students with disabilities, affirm the zeros are correct during the CRDC data submission process. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Education: Office for Civil Rights
Status: Open

Comments: Education agreed with this recommendation stated that it would determine the best means to implement it. We will monitor the progress of their efforts.

Recommendation: The Assistant Secretary for the Office for Civil Rights should develop and implement a CRDC business rule that targets schools and school districts that report very low numbers of incidents and set data-driven thresholds to detect such incidents. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Education: Office for Civil Rights
Status: Open

Comments: Education agreed with this recommendation stated that it would determine the best means to implement it. We will monitor the progress of their efforts.

Recommendation: The Assistant Secretary for the Office for Civil Rights should develop and implement a CRDC business rule that targets schools and schools districts that report very high number of incidents and set data-driven thresholds to detect such incidents. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Education: Office for Civil Rights
Status: Open

Comments: Education agreed with this recommendation stated that it would determine the best means to implement it. We will monitor the progress of their efforts.

Recommendation: The Assistant Secretary for the Office for Civil Rights should apply the CRDC business rule targeting illogical data at the school level to all schools, regardless of the number of incidents reported. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of Education: Office for Civil Rights
Status: Open

Comments: Education agreed with this recommendation stated that it would determine the best means to implement it. We will monitor the progress of their efforts.

Recommendation: The Assistant Secretary for the Office for Civil Rights should identify the factors that cause underreporting and misreporting of restraint and seclusion and take steps to help school districts overcome these issues. (Recommendation 5)

Agency: Department of Education: Office for Civil Rights
Status: Open

Comments: Education agreed with this recommendation stated that it would determine the best means to implement it. We will monitor the progress of their efforts.

Recommendation: The Assistant Secretary for the Office for Civil Rights should further refine and clarify federal restraint and seclusion definitions and take steps to ensure that this information is conveyed to school districts. This could include providing common classroom scenarios that highlight the differences between a restraint and an escort, and a time out and a seclusion. (Recommendation 6)

Agency: Department of Education: Office for Civil Rights
Status: Open

Comments: Education agreed with this recommendation stated that it would determine the best means to implement it. We will monitor the progress of their efforts.

Recommendation: The Director of the Bureau of Indian Education should develop a systematic process for identifying JOM contractors and maintaining an accurate and complete list of contractors and other relevant information about contractors, such as the amount of JOM funds they receive and their current points of contact. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of the Interior: Bureau of Indian Education
Status: Open

Comments: Interior concurred with this recommendation. They expect their newly expanded JOM program workforce to develop, publish and implement a comprehensive JOM policy and procedure that includes a systemic process for identifying JOM contractors and maintaining a complete and accurate list of contractors. We will monitor the progress of these efforts.

Recommendation: The Director of the Bureau of Indian Education, in coordination with the Bureau of Indian Affairs as needed, should establish a process to track and monitor the timeliness of JOM disbursements to non-tribal contractors, including identifying a target date for disbursing funds to these contractors. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of the Interior: Bureau of Indian Education
Status: Open

Comments: Interior concurred with this recommendation. The BIE, BIA and other partners will work collaboratively to publish and implement a policy and procedure that accurately tracks and monitors timely disbursement of JOM funds to these contractors. We will monitor the progress of these efforts.

Recommendation: The Director of the Bureau of Indian Education should develop a timeline to assess the usefulness of the information they are collecting from JOM contractors and update JOM information collection forms, including converting them to an electronic format to reduce the burden on contractors to complete them. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of the Interior: Bureau of Indian Education
Status: Open

Comments: Interior concurred with this recommendation. They expect that their newly expanded JOM program workforce will expedite the BIE's review and information collection efforts. We will monitor the progress of these efforts.

Recommendation: The Director of the Bureau of Indian Education should develop and provide training to contractors on administering the JOM program. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of the Interior: Bureau of Indian Education
Status: Open

Comments: Interior concurred with this recommendation. SIE and JOM staff will be tasked with developing a technical assistance framework for contractors and a training plan as part of the wider JOM program policy and task procedures. We will monitor the progress of these efforts.

Recommendation: The Director of the Bureau of Indian Education should clearly define the roles and responsibilities and identify the staff necessary for conducting critical JOM functions, including administering contracts, reviewing the appropriateness of contract types, and overseeing those contractors that are subject to BIE oversight. (Recommendation 5)

Agency: Department of the Interior: Bureau of Indian Education
Status: Open

Comments: Interior concurred with this recommendation. The BIE, BIA and other partners plan to work collaboratively to develop an inter-bureau policy that clearly identifies each agency's roles and responsibilities. They are also developing a data-informed workforce analysis for the JOM program. They will continue to develop and implement a data-informed workforce strategy to identify human capital needs and clearly identifies and assigns critical JOM-related functions among BIE divisions, offices and staff. We will monitor the progress of these efforts.

Recommendation: The Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission should determine and execute a methodology for collecting and analyzing data—such as conducting a new pilot program regarding off-premises wireless access or analyzing other data—to assess the potential benefits, costs, and challenges of making off-premises wireless access eligible for E-rate program support, and publish the results of this analysis. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Federal Communications Commission
Status: Open

Comments: FCC officials informed us in July 2020 that FCC plans to implement this recommendation by completing an evaluative report on the E-rate pilot program. While FCC planned to implement this recommendation by July 2020, there have been delays related to COVID-19.

Recommendation: The Assistant Secretary for the Office for Civil Rights should immediately remind and clarify for all school districts that they are to only report zero incidents of restraint and seclusion when there are none and that they are to leave cells blank to indicate when data are not collected or incomplete. The Assistant Secretary should also ensure that instructions for when to record zeros and when to leave cells blank are prominently displayed and readily available to districts as they complete the CRDC. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Education: Office for Civil Rights
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Education agreed with this recommendation, but in its initial comments said that it was too late to send such a reminder for the 2017-18 data collection because 94 percent of districts had already submitted their data. Education agreed to feature the instructions more prominently on the website and consider other changes, such as targeted communications and changes in the placement of the instructions for the 2019-20 collection. However, in August 2019 Education emailed districts that had reported zero incidents for the 2017-18 school year and told them to review their data and submit corrections if necessary. It also sent separate emails to all districts that clarified and reminded districts when to report zero and when to leave cells blank. For the next CRDC survey, covering the 2019-20 school year, Education said that it was proposing changes to the survey, including featuring instructions and technical assistance more prominently on the online form. We will continue to monitor Education's efforts to implement this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Assistant Secretary for the Office for Civil Rights should monitor compliance with its action plan requirement, and ensure plans are submitted and address all missing data. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: Department of Education: Office for Civil Rights
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Education agreed with this recommendation. Education stated that it had taken steps to more closely scrutinize action plans for the 2017-18 data collection, including directly communicating with districts about their action plans and scheduling calls with any district that requests similar or repetitious action plans over the course of two or more collections. In December 2019, Education stated that for future collections, it would contact each district with an approved action plan before the start of each new collection and reconfirm that the district will take the needed steps to collect and report the data. Moreover, Education is studying ways to augment the online submission system to send automated reminders regarding data elements covered by action plans. We will continue to monitor Education's efforts to implement this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Assistant Secretary for the Office for Civil Rights should prominently disclose for past collections the potential problems with using restraint and seclusion data given the known misreporting issues, such as those detailed in this report involving 9 of the nation's large public school districts. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Department of Education: Office for Civil Rights
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Education initially disagreed with this recommendation, but subsequently said that for the 2015-16 data collection, it would amend the data notes to ensure the public is aware of potential changes by prominently displaying the data notes and clearly delineating the data flaws on its website. We will continue to monitor Education's efforts to implement this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education should improve the usability of Education's websites to ensure that the states and school districts can more easily find and access federal guidance to address lead in school drinking water, by taking actions such as clarifying which links contain guidance; highlighting new or important guidance; improving their websites' search function; and categorizing guidance. (Recommendation 5)

Agency: Department of Education
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Education agreed with this recommendation. The agency said it would identify and include an information portal dedicated to enhancing the usability of federal resources related to testing for and addressing lead in school drinking water. Also, Education said it is interested in increasing coordination across all levels of government and it shares the view expressed in our report that improved federal coordination, including with EPA, will better enhance collaboration to encourage testing for lead in school drinking water. In 2019, Education said it planned to complete work on this recommendation by January 1, 2020. We will consider closing this recommendation when these efforts are complete.

Recommendation: The Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education should collaborate with EPA to encourage testing for lead in school drinking water. This effort could include disseminating EPA guidance related to lead testing and remediation in schools or sending letters to states to encourage testing in all school districts that have not yet done so. (Recommendation 7)

Agency: Department of Education
Status: Open
Priority recommendation

Comments: The Department of Education agreed with this recommendation. Education stated it has held multiple meetings with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and stated that it plans to hold a virtual meeting with EPA to share information and resources about safe drinking water and raise awareness of the importance of testing for lead. Education also stated it is developing a timeline to conduct additional collaboration activities with EPA. Education officials said they are considering joining an EPA-led Memorandum of Understanding to, among other things, encourage schools to test drinking water for lead. We will consider closing this recommendation when these efforts are complete.

Recommendation: Congress should consider requiring that states notify parents/guardians of changes in students' federal special education rights when a student with a disability is moved from public to private school by their parent.

Agency: Congress
Status: Open

Comments: As of August 2019, Congress has not considered this matter.

Recommendation: The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services should review information provided by states related to changes in federal special education rights when a parent places a student with a disability in a private school and work with states to correct inaccurate information.

Agency: Department of Education: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
Status: Open
Priority recommendation

Comments: Education generally agreed with this recommendation. However, the agency believes it is necessary to review the full documents containing information provided by states, so that it can determine the context in which the information was presented. We will coordinate with Education as appropriate to facilitate such a review. As of March 2020, the agency worked with relevant states to improve the information provided, and reviewed states' revised information to parents about federal rights of children with disabilities who are placed by parents in private schools. Education stated that this effort did not identify any inaccurate or inconsistent information. However, some states appear not to have modified language that Education previously identified as inaccurate. Education did not explain why it has determined that this information is now accurate. To fully address this recommendation, Education should either provide this explanation or have these states correct any inaccurate information.

Recommendation: To improve oversight of school finances and provide better information to schools and the public about its monitoring efforts, the Chief Operating Officer of the Office of Federal Student Aid should update the composite score formula to better measure schools' financial conditions and capture financial risks.

Agency: Department of Education: Office of Federal Student Aid
Status: Open

Comments: In September 2019, Education published updated regulations related to the financial responsibility composite score that include steps to address some of the limitations identified in our report. For instance, these regulations incorporate changes to better align the composite score calculations with recently updated accounting standards related to leases. In additional, these regulatory changes are designed to curb the ability of schools to manipulate their composite scores by clarifying what is considered "long-term debt" and requiring schools to disclose in their financial statements the terms of the debt and certify that the funds were used for capitalized assets rather than to fund operations. However, these regulatory updates do not fully address the current limitations of the composite score formula. For example, they do not reflect several other changes in accounting standards identified in our report or incorporate new financial metrics that would provide a broader indication of schools' financial health, such as liquidity, historical trend analysis, or future projections. Education has stated that it intends to explore further updates to the composite score methodology in future regulatory actions, and we will continue to monitor these efforts.

Recommendation: To improve oversight of school finances and provide better information to schools and the public about its monitoring efforts, the Chief Operating Officer of the Office of Federal Student Aid should improve guidance to schools about how the financial composite score is calculated, for example, by updating current guidance to include explanations about common areas of confusion and misinterpretation for schools.

Agency: Department of Education: Office of Federal Student Aid
Status: Open

Comments: Education agreed with this recommendation and that additional general guidance to schools would be helpful. The department also stated that it will update the guidance in its Federal Student Aid Handbook and may provide answers and related guidance to some frequently asked questions on its website. As of October 2019, Education had not completed these actions.

Recommendation: To help improve students' access to information so that they can make well-informed transfer decisions, the Secretary of Education should require schools to (1) disclose the list of schools with which they have articulation agreements online if the school has a website, and (2) clearly inform students, on the school's website if it has one, when no articulation agreements on credit transfer are in place. If the department determines that it does not have the authority to require this, it should nonetheless encourage schools to take these actions (through guidance or other means).

Agency: Department of Education
Status: Open

Comments: As of March 2020, Education continues to disagree with this recommendation, noting that it already requires schools to disclose a list of other schools with which they have established articulation agreements. However, we believe that posting this information online would make it more accessible to prospective students compared to publications located physically on a school's campus, particularly for those who live far away from the school. Education also noted that students should contact specific schools to obtain accurate and updated transfer information. However, we found that not all schools listed transfer-specific contacts on their websites. In addition, Education cautioned that placing special emphasis on articulation agreements could mislead students because the agreements - or lack thereof - do not fully reflect the transferability of credits However, we found that a majority of schools already disclose a list of partner schools on their websites. We believe that posting a list of partner schools online would complement credit transfer policies, which schools are already required to post online. Given that the purpose of required consumer disclosures on articulation agreements is to inform students, we continue to believe that posting this information online would make it more accessible to prospective students and their families while enhancing students' understanding of their transfer options.

Recommendation: The D.C. Mayor should direct the Deputy Mayor for Education and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education to deepen collaboration with PCSB and other relevant stakeholders, such as charter school local educational agencies, to develop a coordinated plan to continue progress in reducing discipline rates and, as part of this process, make explicit their respective roles, responsibilities, and authorities with regard to discipline in D.C. charter schools. This plan could include developing additional guidance, training, or resources, consistent with the unique autonomy of charter schools.

Agency: District of Columbia: Executive Office of the Mayor
Status: Open

Comments: In 2017, D.C. education officials stated they planned to continue to deepening their collaboration to reduce disciple rates. In May 2018, the D.C. Council passed the Student Fair Access to School Amendment Act of 2018 which, among other things, directs the Office of the State Superintendent of Education to provide schools (including charters) with a variety of supports and assistance on discipline and trauma-informed programs. We have reached out to OSSE and the Deputy Mayor's office for updates on implementation of the law and any additional collaboration. As of June 2020, we are awaiting a response.

Recommendation: To strengthen Education's oversight of accreditors through the recognition review process, the Secretary of Education should draw upon accreditor data to determine whether accreditors are consistently applying and enforcing their standards to ensure that the education offered by schools is of sufficient quality. For example, Education could systematically use available information related to the frequency of accreditor sanctions or could do additional analyses, such as comparing accreditor sanction data with Education's information on student outcomes, to inform its recognition reviews.

Agency: Department of Education
Status: Open

Comments: Education agreed with this recommendation, noting that it is committed to identifying ways to use data about and from accreditors in its oversight. As of December 2017, Education has taken steps to track the number of accreditor sanctions issued by each accrediting agency. Education previously noted that this information will then be used to focus their limited resources on those accrediting agencies with extremely low or high sanction rates, to strengthen its oversight of accreditors. In April 2018, Education reported that it tracks accreditor sanctions and is aware of the number of sanctions when conducting agency reviews. They found no correlation between the number of sanctions an accrediting agency levies against its accredited institutions and compliance or noncompliance with the Criteria for Recognition, so they noted that this is not a useful tool. However, we continue to believe that implementing the recommendation could help inform Education's reviews of accreditors and ultimately reduce potential risk to students and federal funds. For example, analyses of accreditor sanction data could help reveal patterns in individual accreditor behavior and overall trends in sanctions. In addition, as we noted in the report, Education could compare accreditor sanction data with outcome data for accreditors' member institutions. These analyses could help Education determine how to better use data in decision-making, which is a goal listed in their 2014 strategic plan (cited in the report), as well as help to identify potential risks the accreditors might face. To close this recommendation, Education should show that it uses sanction data to inform its discussions of accreditor recognition and oversight.