REPORT DIGEST ILLINOIS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION Financial Audit For the Year Ended June 30, 2014 Compliance Examination For the Two Years Ended June 30, 2014 Release Date: March 12, 2015 FINDINGS THIS AUDIT: 6 CATEGORY: NEW -- REPEAT -- TOTAL Category 1: 0 -- 0 -- 0 Category 2: 2 -- 2 -- 4 Category 3: 1 -- 1 -- 2 TOTAL: 3 -- 3 -- 6 FINDINGS LAST AUDIT: 10 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 WILLIAM G. HOLLAND, 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 • (14-3) The Board did not adequately monitor the implementation of bullying prevention policies. • (14-4) A School Security and Standards Task Force had not been created within the Board. • (14-6) The Board failed to include required information in its Annual Report. FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS INADEQUATE MONITORING OF BULLYING PREVENTION POLICY IMPLEMENTATION The Board did not adequately monitor the implementation of bullying prevention policies. We noted none of the 163 non-public, non- sectarian Illinois schools and 1 of 886 school districts had not filed their policy on bullying with the Board. (Finding 3, pages 17-18). We recommended the Board implement procedures to adequately monitor the implementation of bullying prevention policies to ensure compliance with the School Code. The Board agreed with the finding and responded that responsibility for collecting bullying policies has been specifically assigned to ensure successful monitoring and oversight of the program. FAILURE TO ESTABLISH A SCHOOL SECURITY AND STANDARDS TASK FORCE The Board did not create a 14-member School Security and Standards Task Force to make recommendations for legislative changes and model school security plan policies. The required appointments of eight members had not been made by the Governor’s Office prior to the mandate’s January 2014 automatic repeal. The legislation was subsequently re-filed and approved with a July 2015 repeal date. (Finding 4, pages 19-20) We recommended the Board work with the Governor’s Office to make appointments to create the Task Force, and to ensure compliance with the provisions of the School Code. Board officials agreed with the finding and stated that with the transition to a new governor, legislation will be pursued this spring to re-establish the Task Force with new appointees. Board officials also stated staff will monitor the legislation to ensure smooth implementation and quick establishment of the Task Force. REQUIRED INFORMATION EXCLUDED FROM ANNUAL REPORT The Board failed to include required information in its Annual Report, including school district corrective actions for compliance violations, bilingual program exit data, and the number of male and female teachers. (Finding 6, pages 23-24) This finding has been repeated since 2012. We recommended the Board implement procedures to ensure that all required information is included in the Annual Report and checked for accuracy prior to filing. Board management agreed with the finding and stated they have assigned responsibility for each required data element and for checking data accuracy and completeness. (For the previous Board response, see Digest Footnote #1.) OTHER FINDINGS The remaining findings are reportedly being given attention by the Board. We will review the Board’s progress towards the implementation of our recommendations in our next engagement. AUDITOR’S OPINION Our special assistant auditors stated that the Board’s financial statements of the governmental activities, the major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information, as of and for the year ended June 30, 2014, are fairly stated in all material respects. WILLIAM G. HOLLAND Auditor General WGH:lw SPECIAL ASSISTANT AUDITORS Our Special Assistant Auditors for this audit were E.C. Ortiz & Co., LLP. DIGEST FOOTNOTES #1 - Required Information Excluded from Annual Report - Previous Board Response 2013 - The Agency agrees with the finding. Agency personnel will perform additional reviews of the Annual Report prior to its release to ensure the data presented is accurate.