In fiscal year 2012, Education began to invite SEAs to waive specific  ESEA provisions, which require community learning centers to carry out  their activities during non-school hours or periods when school is not in  session. The waiver allows grantees to use 21st Century program funds  to conduct authorized activities during an extended school day, week, or  year in schools that provide extended learning time for all students in the  school. Education Supports Extended Learning Time Primarily through the School Improvement Grants Program

		Education Promoted Extended Learning Time in K-12 Public Schools with Nearly 1,800 School Improvement Grants

The School Improvement Grants (SIG) program is the only program  administered by Education that provides funds specifically to establish  extended learning time in a school, according to Education officials. Between school year 2010-2011, when changes were made to SIG to  require extended learning time in certain instances, and 2014-2015, the  last year SIG data are available, nearly 1,800 schools or approximately  94 percent of SIG schools had chosen either of two school improvement  models that require extended learning time, out of the four available  models (see fig. 1). According to an Education  report on the 2012-2013 school year, the average 3-year grant was $2.6  million as of that year. Very Few Grantees Used 21st Century Grants to Support Extended Learning Time

In contrast to SIG, where most SIG schools are implementing extended  learning time, as of July 2015, Education officials reported that only a  fraction of the 21st Century learning centers it funds—about 69 out of  10,000 nationwide—are supplementing local extended learning time  initiatives by taking advantage of waivers of ESEA requirements that  allow them to provide 21st Century program activities and services during  an extended school day. The  average subgrant per center was about $113,000 per school year. Schools May Use Other Education Funding During Extended Learning Time

Education officials told us that most Education funding streams are  designed for use during the school day–regardless of the length of the  school day or year–and as such, schools may use these funds during  extended learning time, consistent with other program requirements. Representatives from several organizations we interviewed also identified  ways that Education programs can contribute to extended learning time. Schools with the Most Time in School Share Certain Characteristics and Use the Additional Time for Different Purposes

		Average Length of K-12 Public School Day Was Just Under 7 Hours, and Those with the Most Time Add Hours to the Day, Not Days to the School Year

On average, we estimate that K-12 public schools nationwide have a 6.7- hour school day and a 179-day school year, according to our analysis of  Education’s School and Staffing Survey (SASS) data for the 2011-2012  school year, the most recent data available (see fig. 2). Consequently, charter schools may have fewer barriers than traditional  public schools to extending their hours. The average number of school hours also differs  according to a school’s setting. Schools with the Most Hours in a School Year Serve Larger Proportions of Low-Income and African American and Hispanic Students

Our analysis of SASS data for the 2011-2012 school year shows that K- 12 public schools with the most time have a larger proportion of students  receiving free or reduced price lunch—an estimated 61 percent—than all  other schools whose student body population comprises 51 percent of  these students (see fig. Schools with the Most Hours Spend More Time on Instruction

Public K-12 schools with the most hours in a school year use this  additional time for different purposes, including more instruction in math  and literacy, and more time for the arts and physical education. Agency Comments

We are not making recommendations in this report. We provided a draft  of this report to the Department of Education for comment. Education  provided technical comments, which we incorporated as appropriate.
Why GAO Did This Study

In recent years, a key strategy for improving student outcomes has been to extend learning time by lengthening the school day or year. In 2010, Education made significant changes to its SIG program, funded at about $506 million in fiscal year 2015, including requiring schools to extend learning time in certain instances. In 2012, Education began to invite waiver requests from states to use funds from its $1.2 billion 21st Century program to conduct authorized activities during extended learning time. Little is known about how much time public K-12 students spend in school. An explanatory statement accompanying Public Law 113-235 required GAO to report on learning time.
In this report, GAO examines: (1) various Education programs that can be used to support extended learning time for K-12 students, and (2) learning time in public schools nationwide. In this report, GAO focuses on programs that require or may allow schools to lengthen the school day, week, or year.
GAO analyzed the most recent available SIG and 21st Century grant data, as well as Education data on learning time from a nationally representative sample of schools. GAO also reviewed applicable federal laws, regulations, and agency documents; and interviewed Education officials and stakeholders selected to obtain diverse perspectives of school districts, states, service providers, and teachers.
GAO makes no recommendations in this report. Education provided technical comments, which are incorporated as appropriate.

What GAO Found

The Department of Education (Education) primarily supports extended learning time for K-12 public schools through the School Improvement Grants program (SIG). The SIG program, with an average 3-year grant of $2.6 million, is the only Education program that provides funds specifically to establish extended learning time in schools, according to Education. Nearly 1,800 schools that received SIG funds (about 94 percent of SIG schools) were required to extend learning time under the SIG program for school years 2010-2011 through 2014-2015. In addition, under the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st Century) grant program a small number of grantee schools—about 69 of the 10,000—have used program funds to support extended learning time. However, to do so, states need to obtain a waiver from Education to permit schools to use funds to conduct authorized program activities during an extended school day, week, or year. Education officials said that the average annual 21st Century grant was about $113,000. Although Education supports extended learning time with the SIG and, in rare cases, the 21st Century program, Education officials also pointed out that most of its K-12 programs are designed to be used during the school day, regardless of the length of the day.
Regarding learning time, GAO estimates that the average length of the school day for K-12 public schools nationwide is just under 7 hours and the average school year is almost 180 days, according to GAO's analysis of Education's 2011-2012 data, the most recent available. In terms of hours per year, schools with the most time average almost 1,350 hours compared to about 1,200 hours, nationally. In addition, among all public schools, charter schools represent a larger proportion of schools with more time (about one-third of all charter schools) compared to approximately 9 percent of traditional public schools. Charter schools also represented a larger proportion of students who are low income, African American, or Hispanic. Regarding how schools use extended learning time, we found that schools with the most hours in a school year use it for different purposes. For example, GAO estimates that eighth-grade students in these schools spend, on average, one more hour per week on academic subjects such as English, math, and science, while third-graders spent more time in music, art, and physical education classes.