Finding Text
FINDING 2025-001: ANNUAL REPORT CARD, HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATE (50000) Repeat Finding? No Program Identification: Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Pass‐through Entity: California Department of Education Program Names: Title I, Part A Grants: Title I, Part A, Basic Grants Local-Income and Neglected (AL No. 84.010) ESEA, School Improvement Grant Funding for LEAs (AL No. 84.010) Criteria: ESEA sections 1111(h)(1)(C)(iii)(II) and 8101(23), (25) (20 USC 6311(h)(1)(C)(iii)(II) and 7801(23),(25))) require a local educational agency to have official written documentation that a student enrolled in another school or in a educational program that culminates in the award of a regular high school diploma in order to remove a student from the graduation cohort. A student who is retained in grade, enrolled in a GED program, or leaves school for any other reason may not be counted has having transferred out for the purpose of calculating graduation rate and must remain in the adjusted cohort. Condition: During our testing of compliance and controls over the graduation cohort, we identified four instances in which the District was unable to provide supporting documentation to demonstrate that the students enrolled in another school or in a educational program that culminates in the award of a regular high school diploma. Context: Exceptions were noted in four out of the four pupils sampled. Questioned Costs: None. Cause: Lack of review process to ensure that when a student is removed from the graduation cohort proper documentation is obtained and maintained to support the student’s removal from the graduation cohort. Effect: School sites’ graduation rate will be overstated on the school sites’ annual report cards. Recommendation: We recommend the District train school site staff on allowable documentation to remove students from a graduation cohort as well as other cohort codes. Subsequently, the District should assist school sites in developing the record retention process to ensure documentation is available upon request. Views of Responsible Officials: Once AUSD became aware that our documentation practices using PowerSchool were not acceptable, the district created a withdrawal guidance document that outlines the proper practice to withdraw a student. The District also created a guardian withdrawal form to accurately capture the withdrawal request, as well as a staff form to document all steps taken to determine the withdrawal when a guardian cannot be located. The district also runs reports to monitor student withdrawals and documentation to identify students who have not enrolled in another CA school.