General Education Provisions Act (GEPA): Overview and Issues (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
March 18, 2010 |
| Report Number |
R41119 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Rebecca R. Skinner, Specialist in Education Policy; Jody Feder, Legislative Attorney |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) contains a broad array of statutory provisions that are applicable to the majority of federal education programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED), as well as provisions related to the powers and responsibilities of ED. While these provisions cover topics as varied as appropriations and evaluations to privacy and enforcement, several provisions are particularly worth noting, especially with respect to the development of new programs or the appropriation of funds for existing programs. These provisions include an extension of the period available for the obligation and expenditure of appropriation funds; an automatic extension of the authorization of an applicable program for one additional fiscal year; a prohibition on using funds for transportation of students or teachers to overcome a racial imbalance or to carry out a desegregation plan; a prohibition on federal control of education; privacy provisions that require educational agencies that receive federal funds to provide parents with access to children's educational records and that prohibit such agencies from releasing such records without written consent; and a general prohibition on the use of funds provided to ED or to an applicable program to support a national test unless it is explicitly authorized in statutory language.
The first part of this report highlights some of the key provisions contained in GEPA. This is followed by a section-by-section overview of the act. The report concludes with an analysis of some of the policy issues that have arisen in the past or that may arise in the future with respect to GEPA.
