The Department’s Processes for Reviewing and Approving State Plans Submitted Pursuant to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as Amended

The Department designed its review and approval processes to provide reasonable assurance that it would identify and resolve potential instances of State plans’ noncompliance with the ESEA and McKinney-Vento Act requirements subjected to peer review. The Department also designed the review and approval processes to provide reasonable assurance that it complied with selected ESEA and McKinney-Vento Act requirements and Department policy. Although the Department implemented its plans for providing guidance to peer reviewers and States and implemented its peer review process in a manner that provided reasonable assurance of State plans’ compliance with ESEA and McKinney Vento Act requirements, we found that the Department did not implement all aspects of the review and approval processes as designed. The The Department did not (1) always retain records that ensured adequate and proper documentation of its peer reviewer selection decisions or its analysis of peer reviewer comments on the McKinney-Vento Act requirements of State plans, (2) publish all versions of States’ plans on its website, or (3) always show that it considered conflict of interest information collected from peer reviewers before assigning them to panels. We did not identify any evidence that would suggest that the Department acted outside its authority to disapprove a State plan as set forth in section 1111(a)(4)(A)(vi) of the ESEA. However, because of the issues noted above, we could not determine why the Department selected certain peer reviewers. We also could not always determine whether the Department considered the results of the peer review process when providing feedback on the McKinney-Vento Act section of State plans. Finally, we could not ensure that the Department considered conflict of interest information it collected from peer reviewers before assigning them to panels, which could affect the integrity of the peer review processes.