Undereducated Utahns
Audit of adult education shows progress
But the program still needs adjustment, such as verifying participants' legal resident status
By Ben Fulton
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 08/28/2008 12:06:45 AM MDT


Utah's Adult Education Program has come a long way since a 2005 audit found it was not meeting all federal requirements, according to a new audit of the program released Wednesday by Utah's legislative auditor.
But the program must establish procedures to verify the state residency and legal immigration status of those it serves, the audit says.
In addition, the audit found that the program, which serves almost 25,000 undereducated and underemployed adults in Utah, should end its practice of separate performance fund allocations for General Educational Development (GED) certificates and high school diplomas. These separate allocations allow school districts partnering with AEP to "double their high school completion funding," the report stated.
A letter from Patti Harrington, state superintendent of public instruction for the Utah Office of Education, included in the audit stated that her office is already addressing the problems.
While state auditors found only five out-of-state students enrolled in the AEP program for the 2007-2008 school year, they believe the number is greater.
The issue of checking state residency and legal immigration status before adult students enroll in the program has been made more urgent in light of Utah Senate Bill 81, an omnibus anti-immigration bill passed by the Legislature this year. The bill requires that all state agencies and
"political subdivisions" verify the "lawful presence" of anyone older than 18 years of age applying for a state program or benefit. State law already requires that school districts verify AEP students' Utah resident status, because the state funds $9.1 million of the program's $12.9 million cost.
And the law also requires adult students to provide proof of state residency before enrolling in AEP, but the audit noted that SB81 "seems to deny services to undocumented adults even if served with federal funds."
The audit recommended that Utah adopt procedural standards for verifying students' legal immigration status used by Arizona's Department of Education, which was developed in part by the Department of Homeland Security.


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