The suspension of a comprehensive monitoring process by the U.S. Department of Education this year has put billions of K-12 dollars at risk of undetected waste, fraud, and abuse, according to a new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Concerns have also been raised about the reliability of federal absenteeism data, with some schools reporting absenteeism rates above 100%.
Education Department officials informed GAO that the monitoring of Elementary and Secondary Education Act requirements was suspended to develop a new approach. However, as of August, there is no timeline for resuming reviews or details on an alternative compliance method. This situation increases risks for Title 1 funding, which constitutes about two-thirds of the nearly $27 billion in 2025 Elementary and Secondary Education Act funding. Title 1 assists schools and districts with high numbers of low-income students.
States receiving Title I funding must create accountability systems and report chronic absenteeism data, defined as missing 10% or more school days. The department’s consolidated monitoring began in 2019 but was halted this year. “As a result of suspending consolidated monitoring, Education will not be able to systematically assess whether states are complying with ESEA requirements and following their approved state plans,” the report stated.
The report also found that half the states are unmonitored for chronic absenteeism reporting, which is critical for tracking trends and evaluating interventions. The Education Department requires states to report absenteeism over a school year while using a single date for total enrollment. This mismatch has led to unreliable absenteeism rates, particularly in low-performing and shared-time schools that host career and technical education programs.
More than 30% of shared-time schools showed “implausible” absenteeism rates, while nearly 13% of schools needing Comprehensive Support and Improvement had rates over 100%. In Pennsylvania, 98% of shared-time schools had implausible rates, whereas states like Delaware and Rhode Island had none.
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