Performance audits

Synonym
I-900
Initiative 900

Schools correctly identify special education students, audit finds

Washington’s public schools properly identified special education students and spent 26% percent more than the state provided to serve them, according to a new performance audit. 

The Legislature asked the Office of the Washington State Auditor to review the prevalence of disabilities in student populations in the state and compare that need to the funding available to identify and serve special education students. Auditors were also tasked with determining whether any populations were under evaluated or underserved in special education. 

State can focus more on building climate-resilient infrastructure to meet energy needs, audit finds

Washington has taken many steps to increase the development of renewable energy infrastructure, helping to mitigate the effects of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However these investments are increasingly vulnerable to risks associated with changing climate conditions, such as wildfires, extreme winds, droughts and flooding.  

The Office of the Washington State Auditor reviewed the state’s efforts to adapt these new electricity-generating sites to future risks, and found three important areas for improvement:  

State engages with communities affected by cleanup efforts, but is rarely required to do so, audit finds

While the state is appropriately working with communities around some hazardous waste sites, community engagement requirements only apply to a fraction of the contaminated sites across Washington, according to a new performance audit. 

The audit, published today by the Office of the Washington State Auditor, examined how the Department of Ecology collects and incorporates feedback from the communities and Native American tribes living near contaminated sites. 

Audit finds college’s process for clearing surplus IT equipment has strengths worth highlighting

A check of one state college’s approach to erasing confidential data from surplus computer equipment found strong controls in place, as detailed in a new performance audit released today. 

The Office of the Washington State Auditor conducted two previous audits evaluating how well state agencies and some colleges removed confidential data from IT devices before selling them through the state’s surplus program. However, some public colleges and universities have their own surplus programs. 

Minimum school lunch times back on the menu, audit finds

Efforts to ensure Washington’s school children have adequate time to eat lunch were stalled during the COVID-19 pandemic, but are progressing again now, according to a new performance audit by the Office of the Washington State Auditor.

Dual employment is rare for Washington state workers, audit finds

Although rare, some Washington workers are employed by two state agencies at the same time, and the state can do more to ensure these instances are appropriately managed, according to a new performance audit by the Office of the Washington State Auditor.

Auditors reviewed dual employment in state agencies, in which one person holds two different positions. Out of 75,000 state workers, auditors identified 93 who were dual employed, with an average of six months of overlapping payroll payments.