Study of District and School Uses of Federal Education Funds

Prepared for the Institute of Education Sciences in 2024

APA Consulting served as a key partner on the Institute of Education Sciences’ national Study of District and School Uses of Federal Education Funds, a multi‑year evaluation examining how federal K–12 dollars are allocated and used across the country. The study—led by SRI International with APA as a major subcontractor—was funded at $2.9 million and spanned more than five years (2019–2024).

As part of the evaluation team, APA contributed expertise in district‑level finance systems, data collection, and policy analysis. The study collected detailed fiscal, expenditure, and staffing data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as a nationally representative sample of 400 school districts, to understand how federal programs, including Titles I–IV of ESEA and IDEA, are distributed and used locally.

The evaluation also examined the feasibility of using district fiscal systems to analyze how federal programs support staffing and services, particularly in the context of pandemic‑related federal relief funding. Although data quality challenges limited some planned analyses, the study generated important takeaways to inform future federal efforts to collect, organize, and analyze district‑level fiscal data.