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Open Recommendations

Special Education: Education Needs School- and District-Level Data to Fully Assess Resources Available to Students with Disabilities
GAO-24-106264
Jul 29, 2024
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Congress Congress should consider granting Education authority under IDEA to collect school- and district-level data on special education and related resources, where feasible, that would help Education fulfill its oversight responsibilities under the law. Such data could include

  • The number of students who receive specific types of special education related services, such as speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and other services that may be specified in an individualized education program.
  • The number of staff providing special education services, such as special education teachers, paraeducators, and other staff involved in delivering services to students that may be specified in an individualized education program.
  • Expenditures for special education services, such as for the wages, salaries, and compensation for staff; transportation; technology; professional development; and other related activities.

(Matter for Consideration 1)
Open
As of July 2024, there is no congressional activity on this matter.

K-12 Education: Differences in Student Arrest Rates Widen when Race, Gender, and Disability Status Overlap
GAO-24-106294
Jul 08, 2024
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3 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of the Office for Civil Rights revise the Civil Rights Data Collection to collect arrest and referral data, by race, for students with disabilities served under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. (Recommendation 1)
Open
Education agreed with this recommendation. The agency said it would reconsider collecting data on students receiving services under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, disaggregated by race when it seeks approval and obtains stakeholder feedback for the 2025-2026 data collection. We will monitor the progress of this effort.
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of the Office for Civil Rights take necessary steps to disclose the known limitation in its arrest data for the 2021–2022 school year Civil Rights Data Collection. This could include, for example, confirming and disclosing which definitions school districts used or noting that arrest data for that year is not comparable among districts. (Recommendation 2)
Open
Education agreed with this recommendation. We will monitor the agency's efforts to disclose the known limitation in its arrest data for the 2021-2022 school year Civil Rights Data Collection.
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should ensure that the Assistant Secretary of the Office for Civil Rights clearly communicate any future changes to data on arrests and referrals to law enforcement in the Civil Rights Data Collection before the start of the school year for which districts are to collect data. (Recommendation 3)
Open
Education agreed with this recommendation. We will monitor their efforts to clearly communicate any future changes to data on arrests and referrals to law enforcement in the Civil Rights Data Collection before the start of the school year for which districts are to collect data.

Higher Education: Education Could Improve Information on Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
GAO-24-105614
May 29, 2024
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should encourage state and local educational agencies to disseminate resources to assist IEP teams in informing students with disabilities who are considering postsecondary education about the importance of self-advocacy in obtaining accommodations in college. (Recommendation 1)
Open
Education agreed with the spirit and purpose of this recommendation and said that it is prepared to encourage state and local educational agencies to inform students with disabilities who are transitioning from high school about the importance of self-advocacy as they consider postsecondary education. We will monitor the agency's progress in implementing the recommendation.
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should ensure that the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights provides DSO staff a way to receive electronic notification of newly issued guidance and other information related to accommodations for students with disabilities in higher education, similar to its existing notifications on other education-related topics. (Recommendation 2)
Open
Education agreed with this recommendation and identified plans to create an opt-in email distribution list about guidance and other information related to accommodations for students with disabilities in higher education. We will monitor the progress of this and any additional efforts regarding electronic notification.

Federal Student Loans: Education Should Enhance Reporting on Direct Loan Performance and Risk
GAO-24-106174
Mar 04, 2024
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Education The Secretary of Education should enhance Education's reporting on its Direct Loan program performance and risk information. Enhanced reporting should include further reporting of sensitivity analyses and other factors, such as performance information, credit risk concentrations, and administrative risks. (Recommendation 1)
Open
Education agreed with this recommendation and stated that the department would assess possible enhancements to reporting on the Direct Loan program performance and risk information. We will monitor the agency's progress.
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