REPORT DIGEST

ILLINOIS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

COMPLIANCE EXAMINATION FOR THE TWO
YEARS ENDED JUNE 30, 2016

Release Date:  May 11, 2017

FINDINGS THIS AUDIT:  7

CATEGORY:  NEW -- REPEAT -- TOTAL
Category 1:  0 -- 0 -- 0
Category 2:  6 -- 1 -- 7
Category 3:  0 -- 0 -- 0
TOTAL:  6 -- 1 -- 7

FINDINGS LAST AUDIT: 6

Category 1:	Findings that are
material weaknesses in internal control
and/or a qualification on compliance
with State laws and regulations
(material noncompliance).
Category 2:	Findings that are
significant deficiencies in internal
control and noncompliance with State
laws and regulations.
Category 3:	Findings that have no
internal control issues but are in
noncompliance with State laws and
regulations.

State of Illinois, Office of the
Auditor General
FRANK J. MAUTINO, AUDITOR GENERAL

To obtain a copy of the Report contact:
Office of the Auditor General, Iles
Park Plaza, 740 E. Ash Street,
Springfield, IL 62703
(217) 782-6046 or TTY (888) 261-2887

This Report Digest and Full Report are
also available on the worldwide web at
www.auditor.illinois.gov

SYNOPSIS

• (16-1) The implementation of bullying
prevention policies was not adequately
monitored.
• (16-2) The Agency did not process
applications to determine and entitle
eligible school districts for school
construction project grants.
• (16-3) A multiple measure index and
correlating annual measurable
objectives were not established for
each public school in the State of
Illinois.

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

NONCOMPLIANCE WITH THE SCHOOL CODE ON
BULLYING PREVENTION

The Agency did not adequately monitor
the implementation of bullying
prevention policies. We noted:

• Forty-four of 62 charter schools
(71%), and 248 of 300 non-public, non-
sectarian schools (83%) did not file
with the Agency their policy on
bullying.
• Five of six (83%) bullying prevention
policies we reviewed lacked the
provisions required to be included in
the policy.
• Four of the 853 (0.5%) school
districts did not submit their revised
policy. (Finding 1, pages 16-17).

The auditors recommended the Agency
strengthen its processes and procedures
to adequately monitor the
implementation of bullying prevention
policies by each school district,
charter school, and non-public, non-
sectarian schools to ensure compliance
with the bullying prevention
requirements of the School Code.

Agency management agreed with the
finding and responded they would
reinforce guidance on required
components of a school’s bullying
policy and continue to strengthen the
Agency’s monitoring.

INSUFFICIENT CONTROLS OVER SCHOOL
CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM

The Agency failed to process
applications to determine and entitle
eligible districts for school
construction project grants.

We noted the Agency had not reviewed
the 280 applications it received from
school districts since Fiscal Year 2003
to determine whether the district was
eligible and should have been entitled
to receive a school construction grant.

Agency officials stated the lack of an
appropriation at the Capital
Development Board for program grants to
districts with populations not
exceeding 500,000 would have resulted
in an entitled district not receiving
grant funds. Officials also stated
entitlement of districts would have
created an undue hardship for entitled
districts to annually update
applications until an appropriation was
provided.  (Finding 2, pages 18-19)

We recommended the Agency review
applications for school construction
projects to calculate grant indexes,
issue entitlements, and submit a
priority ranking, or seek a legislative
remedy.
Agency officials agreed with the
finding and stated they would seek a
legislative remedy.

MULTIPLE MEASURE INDEX AND ANNUAL
MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES NOT ESTABLISHED

The Agency did not establish a multiple
measure index and correlating annual
measurable objectives for each public
school in the State of Illinois.

During our testing, we noted no revised
annual measurable objectives were
proved by the Agency to all schools
beginning in 2015, which included
annual targets for progress of each
school’s multiple measure indexes.
(Finding 3, pages 20-21)

We recommended the Agency comply with
statutory requirements and develop the
required multiple measure index and
annual measurable objectives for each
school in the State or seek legislative
changes.

Agency management agreed with the
finding and stated they would seek
legislative changes upon completion and
approval of the state plan to implement
the Every Student Succeeds Act.

OTHER FINDINGS

The remaining findings are reportedly
being given attention by Agency
personnel.  We will review the Agency’s
progress towards the implementation of
our recommendations in our next
compliance examination.

ACCOUNTANT’S OPINION

The accountants conducted a compliance
examination of the Agency for the two
years ended June 30, 2016, as required
by the Illinois State Auditing Act.
The accountants stated the Agency
complied, in all material respects,
with the requirements described in the
report.

This compliance examination was
conducted by E.C. Ortiz & Co., LLP.

BRUCE L. BULLARD
Division Director

This report is transmitted in
accordance with Section 3-14 of the
Illinois State Auditing Act.

FRANK J. MAUTINO
Auditor General

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