Audit 403361

2025-003 – Significant Deficiency and Nonmaterial Noncompliance – Annual Report Card, High School Graduation Rate Program: Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies (ALN 84.010) – United States Department of Education – Virginia Department of Education; Federal Award Year: 2025. Criteria: For purposes of the Annual Report Card high school graduation rate, state educational agencies and local educational agencies are required to implement appropriate policies and procedures for documenting the removal of a student from the adjusted cohort. To support a student’s transfer out of the cohort, the school or local educational agency must maintain official written documentation that the student enrolled in another school or in an educational program that culminates in the award of a regular high school diploma. Condition: During testing of seven students removed from the adjusted cohort, management was unable to provide timely supporting documentation for one student demonstrating that the student had transferred to another qualifying school or educational program. As a result, the student’s removal from the adjusted cohort was not adequately supported. Cause: Management and supervisory personnel did not maintain required supporting documentation in a timely and consistent manner. Effect: Failure to maintain adequate documentation supporting student removals from the adjusted cohort increases the risk that high school graduation rate data reported on the Annual Report Card may be inaccurate. This condition resulted in noncompliance with applicable requirements and represents a significant deficiency in internal control over compliance. Questioned Costs: None Recommendation: We recommend that the grant administrator strengthen procedures to ensure that official written documentation supporting all student removals from the adjusted cohort is obtained, retained, and readily available for review on a timely basis. Supervisory review controls should also be implemented to verify that required documentation is complete and properly maintained. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Action: Responsible officials acknowledge the finding and agree that documentation supporting student removals from the adjusted cohort was not maintained timely in all instances. Management stated that it will implement enhanced procedures and supervisory review processes to ensure required documentation is obtained and retained timely for all applicable students going forward.