November 2007

District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program: Additional Policies & Procedures Would Improve Internal Controls & Program Operations

The D.C. School Choice Incentive Act created the first private kindergarten-through-grade-12 school-choice program supported by federal funds. The program was named the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP). The Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to assess the accountability mechanisms governing the use of funds, results of the grantees efforts to meet the programs recruiting priorities and eligibility requirements and inform parents of their choices, and the extent that the evaluation of OSP reflects statutory requirements and the implementation of the program supported the detection of useful and generalized findings. To assess the program, GAO analyzed financial, program, and evaluation data. GAO did not assess the performance of participating private schools nor did GAO evaluate the impact of the program.

The Secretary of Education should direct the grantee to improve internal controls, continue to integrate its financial systems, improve monitoring, and provide accurate information to parents. The Secretary and the Mayor of the District of Columbia should ensure participating schools are in compliance with District requirements. The Secretary should ensure that programs are implemented in accordance with any required evaluation. The entities providing comments on this report generally agreed with our recommendations but disagreed with many findings.