The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides supplemental foods, nutrition education, and referrals to healthcare and other social services to low-income, nutritionally at-risk women, infants, and children up to 5 years of age. About 40 percent of all infants and 22…

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, requires the U.S. Department of Education (Department) to provide reasonable accommodations for otherwise qualified employees with disabilities unless doing so poses an undue hardship. The objective of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) inspection was to review the Department's administration of its…

"Still Asleep at the Wheel" continues the investigation of the U.S. Department of Education's Charter Schools Program (CSP) that began with the March 2019 report "Asleep at the Wheel: How the Federal Charter Schools Program Recklessly Takes Taxpayers and Students for a Ride" (ED612862). This report takes up where the first…

This "Building Capacity for Change" "playbook" highlights practices and strategies that proved to be effective in supporting the rollout and implementation of certain programs under the New York State Department of Health's First 1,000 Days on Medicaid Initiative, a series of evidence-based reforms aimed at improving health and…

Attending college without working is a luxury most California community college students do not have. In fact, nationally, 80 percent of today's community college students work while going to class (39 percent of them work full-time), with many balancing their role as a primary source of income for their family and caring for young children. Jobs…

Awareness that educational equity and health care equity are intrinsically linked is becoming more commonplace, but because a significant share of states are providing much less school funding than they were a decade ago, there are fewer local education dollars allocated to addressing the health care issues of children in school. In December 2018,…

A school's primary responsibility is to provide students with a high-quality education. However, children cannot learn to their fullest potential with unmet health needs. For over thirty years, Medicaid has helped cover the costs for certain medically necessary services provided in school-based settings to children eligible for special education…

Most states in the United States operate their public preschool programs in a mixed delivery system that serves children in local education agencies (LEAs) as well as non-LEA settings, such as Head Start agencies, child care centers, private schools, and family child care homes. To inform state preschool administrators and policymakers as they…

The enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act (2002) and the subsequent succession of legislative acts have had a profound impact on educational policy. An increased emphasis on teacher accountability and effectiveness led to the use of standardized test results to determine tangible rewards or punishments. In response, a culture of teaching to…

Section 104(a) of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010 made the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) available to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and schools in high poverty areas. Under the CEP, families are not required to submit applications for free or reduced-price meals, and schools must provide free lunch and breakfast to…

Principals are the leverage point for education reforms and the primary drivers of school improvement. A critical part of maintaining a corps of effective principals is rewarding and retaining the best school leaders. Unfortunately, few systems systematically identify principals that make important contributions to student learning or celebrate…

Despite the recent push to design and adopt educator evaluation systems, many states and local educational agencies (LEAs) have focused primarily on teacher evaluations and lack the appropriate attention to design and implementation of school leader evaluations and aligned professional development. And, since principals are responsible for…

The launch of HealthCare.gov, the website of the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare), was a major public relations disaster for the Obama administration. This case examines some of the factors that contributed to the failure of the launch and then details how Optum, an information technology service provider, considered the opportunity provided by…

The McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program (MGD Program) provides donations of U.S. agricultural products and financial and technical assistance for school feeding programs in the developing world. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), with about $200 million in funding in fiscal year 2010, the…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education programs help to enhance the nation's global competitiveness. Many federal agencies have been involved in administering these programs. Concerns have been raised about the overall effectiveness and efficiency of STEM education programs. GAO examined (1) the number of federal…