Utah marked down in education audit

The State Office of Education is failing to ensure school districts leave no child behind, a matter that could put at risk nearly $53 million in federal dollars that largely help struggling children and those in low-income neighborhoods, according to state education figures and a federal audit obtained by the Deseret Morning News.

The audit report says the state is not adhering to dozens of rules under No Child Left Behind, a controversial federal law that the Legislature has challenged under a national spotlight in recent years.

Issues include not letting parents know their school districts have repeatedly missed the mark on math and language arts tests and late offers to bus students in repeatedly underperforming schools to higher-achieving ones.

Federal monitoring reviews — state education bosses call them audits — to ensure states follow rules associated with federally funded programs are routine. So far, 31 states have been reviewed for No Child Left Behind compliance, the State Office of Education reports.

Utah ranks eighth from the bottom in its adherence to the law, state data show.

Its last Title I audit, conducted in 1999, though more limited and, as one state official says, not comparable to this one, revealed no problems, the audit report states.

The federal education department "has determined that the USOE (Utah State Office of Education) does not have an adequate system in place to oversee district implementation of Title I so that the USOE can ensure that its (districts) and schools are complying with critical instructional support and fiduciary requirements," the report states.

State Associate Superintendent Ray Timothy says the State Office of Education is remedying the problems and won't jeopardize federal dollars sorely needed in a state with the country's lowest per-student funding.

"We knew we were going to take our lumps. We knew we were not compliant . . . ; most of it had to do with what I consider insufficient resources," Timothy said. "We have taken steps to ensure we will be compliant. We will not put those federal resources in jeopardy, and we will put in place the support the districts and the schools need to best serve their students."

Funds in jeopardy?

No Child Left Behind seeks to have all children to be able to read and do math on grade level by 2014. Utah receives more than $100 million to make it happen.