States and school districts receive funding through ESEA, IDEA, and national school meals programs. Some requirements for these programs are intended to help ensure program integrity and transparency, among other purposes, but questions have been raised about whether some federal requirements place an undue burden on states and school districts. GAO was asked to (1) describe federal requirements identified as the most burdensome by selected states and school districts and other stakeholders, (2) describe information states and school districts collect on the cost of complying with those requirements, and (3) assess federal efforts to reduce or eliminate burdensome requirements. We defined burdensome requirements as those that are viewed as complicated or duplicative, among other things. We interviewed officials in 3 states and 12 districts and obtained information on the costs to comply with selected requirements. While the results from these interviews are not generalizable, they provide insights into complying with federal requirements. We interviewed external education stakeholders and officials in the Departments of Education and Agriculture and the Office of Management and Budget. GAO recommends that the Secretary of Education take additional steps to address potentially duplicative reporting requirements, such as working with stakeholders to address their concerns, and develop legislative proposals to reduce unnecessarily burdensome statutory requirements. Education generally agreed with our recommendations. Appended are: (1) Description and Source of Requirements Identified as Burdensome by the State and School District Officials We Interviewed; (2) Comments from the U.S. Department of Education; and (3) GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments. (Contains 2 tables, 2 figures and 40 footnotes.)
Authors
- Authorizing Institution
- US Government Accountability Office
- Education Level
- Elementary Secondary Education
- Laws Policies and Programs
- ['Elementary and Secondary Education Act', 'Individuals with Disabilities Education Act']
- Location
- United States
- Peer Reviewed
- F
- Publication Type
- Reports - Evaluative
- Published in
- United States of America
Table of Contents
- K-12 EDUCATION 1
- Selected States and School Districts Cited Numerous Federal Requirements As Burdensome, While Recognizing Some Benefits 1
- Contents 3
- Letter 5
- Background 7
- Sources of Federal Requirements and Efforts to Reduce Burdensome Requirements 7
- Selected Federal Education Programs and Reporting Requirements 9
- Key Education Stakeholders and State and School District Officials Cited Many Federal Requirements as Both Burdensome and Beneficial 12
- Consistent with Key Education Stakeholders, Officials in Selected States and School Districts Identified 17 Federal Requirements as Most Burdensome 12
- Selected Federal Requirements Illustrate Burdens, Benefits, and Suggestions to Reduce or Eliminate Burden 15
- States and School Districts Generally Do Not Track Their Costs to Comply with Federal Requirements, According to Those We Interviewed 19
- Federal Agencies Are Taking Steps to Reduce Burden, but Potentially Duplicative Reporting Requirements and Statutory Limitations Remain 21
- Federal Agencies Developed Plans, Offered Waivers, and Streamlined Other Processes to Reduce Burden on States and School Districts 21
- Education Has Taken Some Action to Remove Duplicative Reporting Requirements, but Generally Disagrees with Stakeholders About the Extent to Which Duplication Exists 25
- Education’s Ability to Address the Burden Associated with Some Requirements May Be Limited without Statutory Changes 26
- Conclusions 28
- Recommendations for Executive Action 29
- Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 29
- Appendix I: Description and Source of Requirements Identified as Burdensome by the State and School District Officials We Interviewed 31
- Appendix II: Comments from the U.S. Department of Education 36
- Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 42
