Finding Text
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Section 8101(23)(B) states that to remove a student from a Cohort, a school or local educational agency shall require documentation, or obtain documentation from the State educational agency, to confirm that the student has transferred out, emigrated to another country, or transferred to a prison or juvenile facility, or is deceased. During testing, we selected six students to verify that adequate documentation was maintained to support Cohort removal; however, there was an instance where the Board could not provide adequate documentation to support a student's removal from the Cohort. The Board did not have controls in place to verify that documentation was obtained and maintained for review. If the Board does not maintain adequate documentation, students may wrongly be removed from the Cohort, which will result in inaccurate graduation rate data.
Recommendation
The Bibb County Board of Education should ensure that adequate withdrawal documentation is obtained and maintained to support a student's removal from the Cohort.