SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:
Ed Secretary Duncan proposes new accountability rules on grant money
By Tom Chorneau
Friday, December 21, 2012
In an effort to tighten up performance benchmarks that schools, districts and states may have to reach in exchange for federal funds, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has proposed a new rule that would increase accountability while also giving grant recipients some new flexibility in meeting the mandates.
The proposed rule, released this week for a 28-day public comment period, would be included in Part 75 of the Education Department General Administrative Regulations – also known as EDGAR.
As currently drafted, the rule would give the education secretary authority to demand more information from grantees including project-specific performance measures, baseline data and targets.
The reason for the proposal, the department said in a memo, is to improve the likelihood that the collection of data from a grant program effectively reflects the outcome.
“Requiring this information improves the ability of the Department to measure program effectiveness under GPRA performance measures, clarifies that grantees will be required to report on their project-specific performance measures, and stresses that the extent to which grantees meet performance targets will be considered in making continuation grants,” the memo said.
The proposal comes as Duncan and the Obama administration embark on a second term, where criticism over much