Labour introduced legislation to make councils legally responsible for managing young offender education in 2009.
The coalition put this duty on hold until April 2011, to allow ministers time to develop new policies.
But two months on from the government's own deadline, a decision is yet to be made on whether local authorities or the national Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) should manage and commission young offender education.
Donald Rae, 16 to 19 adviser at the Local Government Association (LGA), argued that councils need clarity over their duties, to help them integrate young offender education with wider services for vulnerable young people.
"Clearly there are existing legal duties on local authorities relating to the education and housing of vulnerable young people, including young offenders," he said. "It doesn't help councils meet those duties when responsibilities between different agencies are not clear."
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