, B-289801, December 30, 2002

B-289801 Dec 30, 2002 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights As you are aware. The principle of severability is irrelevant to a bona fide need determination. (2) a bona fide need analysis in the grant context focuses on whether the grants are made during the period of availability of the appropriation charged and further the authorized purposes of program legislation. Education's award of Early Childhood Educator program grants up to 4 years in duration is explicitly permitted by program authority and fulfills a bona fide need of the period for which the funds used are available. (4) Education's award of 5-year GEAR UP grants during fiscal year 2001 and 2002 and 2-year Early Childhood Educator grants during fiscal year 2001 is in accordance with the program legislation and fulfills a bona fide need of the period for which the funds used are available. View Decision U.S. Department of Education's Use of Fiscal Year Appropriations to Award Multiple Year Grants, B-289801, December 30, 2002 The Honorable George Miller Ranking Minority Member Committee on Education and the Workforce House of Representatives The Honorable David Obey Ranking Minority Member Committee on Appropriations House of Representatives You asked for our opinion regarding the Department of Education's (Education) use of appropriations available for only one fiscal year to fund grant awards for multiple years for the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP) and the Early Childhood Educator Professional Development Program. As you are aware, this question raises the issue of whether the bona fide need rule prohibits award of multiyear grants with fiscal year money. For the reasons explained below, we conclude that (1) for grants, the principle of severability is irrelevant to a bona fide need determination, (2) a bona fide need analysis in the grant context focuses on whether the grants are made during the period of availability of the appropriation charged and further the authorized purposes of program legislation, (3) beginning in fiscal year 2002, Education's award of Early Childhood Educator program grants up to 4 years in duration is explicitly permitted by program authority and fulfills a bona fide need of the period for which the funds used are available, and (4) Education's award of 5-year GEAR UP grants during fiscal year 2001 and 2002 and 2-year Early Childhood Educator grants during fiscal year 2001 is in accordance with the program legislation and fulfills a bona fide need of the period for which the funds used are available. BACKGROUND Education establishes policy for, administers, and coordinates most federal assistance to education in the United States. One of the ways Education accomplishes its mission is by making discretionary and formula-based grants. Concerns about Education's use of fiscal year funds to award grants that could cover more than one year arose initially in the context of the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (hereinafter GEAR UP). After conversations with your staff about this issue, your staff asked that we address the issue not only in the context of GEAR UP but also for other grant programs. This opinion addresses GEAR UP and the Early Childhood Educator Program. GEAR UP is a discretionary grant program /1/ authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended, 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1070a -21 et seq. It seeks to increase the number of disadvantaged students that continue on to postsecondary education by providing early support services and assurances of financial assistance that enable students to prepare for and pursue a college education. The Early Childhood Educator Program, also a discretionary grant program, is authorized by Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended, 20 U.S.C. Sec. 6651(e). Its goal is to enhance the school readiness of young children, particularly disadvantaged children, through grants of financial assistance to improve the knowledge and skills of early childhood educators who work in communities with high concentrations of children who live in poverty. /2/ Congress has financed both programs with fiscal year appropriations. The GEAR UP program is funded from Education's lump sum "Higher Education" appropriation. Pub. L. No. 107-116, 115 Stat. 2206 (2002); Pub. L. No. 106-554, Appendix A, 114 Stat. 2763A-38 (2000). /3/ The Early Childhood Educator Program is funded from Education's lump sum "School Improvement Programs" appropriation. Pub. L. 107-116, 115 Stat. 2202-03 (2002); Pub. L. No. 106-554, Appendix A, 114 Stat. 2763A-33-34 (2000). /4/ In the past, for GEAR UP, Education's practice was to award grants for one fiscal year at a time; that is, Education would impose a one-year term on the grantee's use of grant funds.