Our objectives were to determine whether the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Massachusetts) ensured that (1) displaced student count data provided to the U.S. Department of Education (Department) were accurate and complete, (2) Temporary Emergency Impact Aid for Displaced Students (Emergency Impact Aid) program funds were appropriately allocated to local educational agencies (LEA), and (3) LEAs appropriately accounted for Emergency Impact Aid program funds within Federal guidelines.
Massachusetts did not ensure that displaced student count data provided to the Department were accurate and complete because it did not have adequate controls to prevent or detect inaccurate displaced student counts. As a result, it reported inaccurate displaced student count data to the Department for school year 2017–2018, and its Emergency Impact Aid program allocations to the local educational agencies (LEAs) were incorrect. We estimate that Massachusetts allocated to those LEAs some $980,999 in Emergency Impact Aid program funds that Massachusetts and its LEAs should not have received. For the LEAs reviewed, we also identified about $1.43 million in unsupported costs for students reported as children with disabilities and some $304,300 in unsupported costs for employees who worked at schools that did not support displaced students.
We made 10 recommendations, including that Massachusetts develop and implement procedures to verify the accuracy and completeness of displaced student counts that can be used for Federal reporting requirements related to the Emergency Impact Aid program, and that it provide support for or return $980,999 in Emergency Impact Aid program funds received based on inaccurate displaced student count data and about $1.43 million received to provide services for students reported as children with disabilities.
Data Quality and Reporting
Oversight and Monitoring—Grantees
This is one of several reports the OIG has issued on this issue. Find other State and territorial reports on our Disaster Recovery page.