Education OIG Oversight of Disaster Recovery Efforts

When you think about natural disasters, like hurricanes or wildfires, and the Federal response to those disasters, you are probably thinking about FEMA, not the U.S. Department of Education. Yet the Department received about $2.7 billion to help schools in the States and territories impacted by the 2017 hurricanes and wildfires. 

Those funds can be used for a number of different things, including renting mobile educational units in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, replacing textbooks and other instructional materials, developing curricula, and transporting students in cases where the entire school was destroyed and the students ended up going someplace else. They can also be used recover electronic student and personnel data, or even to replace entire school district information systems. In some cases, these entire systems were wiped out. These systems contain all sorts of important information: demographic data, student grades, attendance data—all these things that are necessary for districts and schools for accountability purposes. 

The Education Office of Inspector General plays a critical role in overseeing the use of those disaster recovery funds. We audit grantee spending, we examine the effectiveness of the programs, and we investigate allegations of fraud, theft, and other wrongdoing involving these funds. It’s our job to make sure that these funds are spent appropriately and as intended.

Join us as we talk to two Education OIG staffers who are right in the thick of these oversight efforts. From Investigation Services, we have Neil Sanchez, Special Agent in Charge of the OIG’s Southern Regional Office. And from Audit Services, we have Keith Cummins, Acting Director of our K–12 audit unit. Find out about the work the OIG did on the ground in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and other locations, and hear why disasters and recovery efforts provide unique opportunities for criminals to exploit vulnerable people. And: learn how you can help identify and report possible fraud in your schools and communities.

Get more information on Education OIG's disaster recovery efforts.
Read the transcript for Eye on ED episode 3.