Press Release: Education Bills to Combat Pandemic Learning Loss, Raise Student Voices, & Enhance Accountability

News Release — Ward 3 DC Council member Mary Cheh

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 23, 2021

Communications Director: Kelly Whittier

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, February 23rd, Councilmember Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) introduced a suite of education bills to address a number of systemic and pandemic-induced challenges within the Office of the State Superintendent for Education (OSSE) and the DC Public School system (DCPS). Based on the findings outlined in an education policy letter that Councilmember Cheh circulated to her colleagues on February 12th, the package of education bills seeks to provide school communities with a greater voice in crafting school policies, address learning loss, offer greater support to recent DCPS graduates, and ensure greater independent oversight of the District’s school system.

“The pandemic has been massively disruptive to student learning and social and emotional well-being. And, as we look for ways to help our children recover from a year’s worth of learning loss, we must also look for ways to ensure the school system to which they return is not plagued by the same system-wide problems of recent years. Namely, the devaluing of individual school leadership and student voices, the lack of independent oversight, and a school budget process that exacerbates community inequities and places undue financial burdens on parents and educators. This package of education bills aims to address several of these systemic issues, and I’m confident that it will be one of many efforts underway to help mitigate the harm caused to our students by the pandemic,” said Councilmember Cheh.

Bills within the education package include:“Preschool to Postgraduate Outcomes Amendment Act”| A cover letter and copy of the bill are available: here

• This legislation will require DCPS to automatically provide an Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) for any student who, among other learning metrics, tests at or below a 2 on the PARCC exam. The bill will also establish a new Office of Graduate Support.
• Building on the success of Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), an Individualized Learning Plan would provide students who are struggling with tailored academic interventions and educational supports to help bring them to grade level standards. ILPs may serve as an important tool to combat the significant degree of learning and/or social-emotional loss experienced by students as a result of the challenges of the pandemic and virtual learning. 
  
• Similarly, an Office of Graduate Support will be able to further identify and assist those recent DCPS graduates who are struggling as they enter higher education or the workforce. This type of support may take the form of direct college or career counseling, or by connecting graduates to District agency support systems or private organizations. Especially as the economy enters into a period of recovery from the public health emergency, this new office will serve as an essential and guiding resource for new graduates.

“Office of the State Superintendent of Education Independence Amendment Act”| A cover letter and copy of the bill are available: here

• In 2007, the “Public Education Reform Act” consolidated control of both DCPS and OSSE into the Office of the Mayor. This has created a system, unlike any other in the country, where both the state-level oversight body and the public school system are subordinate to the same elected official.
  
• Unfortunately, having a system where oversight is not conducted independently has created a conflict of interest resulting in multiple reports of data manipulation and apparent efforts to hide central office failures.
  
• This legislation addresses this issue by making OSSE an independent agency of the District government. It also clarifies OSSE’s oversight responsibilities, including auditing for waste, fraud, and mismanagement, and puts in place long-overdue best practices to empower the office to conduct rigorous oversight of District schools.

“Commission on Student and School Policies Amendment Act” | A cover letter and copy of the bill are available: here

• This legislation will provide school communities with a greater voice on influencing school policies. The bill establishes a 24-member Commission on Student and and School Policies (of students, parents, and teachers) to be tasked with identifying legislation, regulations, DCPS and individual school policies/practices that have a negative or disparate effect on students and school communities.
• The Commission will be nominated by and falls under the State Board of Education.
  
• The pressing need for such a commission was evident from the testimony received during the February 20th Committee of the Whole roundtable on student learning loss. At the hearing, there was a distinct disconnect between the significant challenges experienced by school principals and the claims of support made by DCPS’s Central Office. This disconnect is also not new and the harmful effects of stringent top-down Central Office policies, from attendance policies to discriminatory school dress codes, have been widely reported.
  
• School communities must be empowered to help shape and update education policies, and this new commission will provide a mechanism to raise student, teacher, and parent voices.

“Parent Teacher Organization Equity Study Amendment Act” | A cover letter and copy of the bill are available: here

• When school budgets fall short of meeting classroom, staffing, and programming needs, Parent Teacher Organizations (PTOs) are often left to step in and fundraise to help fill critical funding gaps.
  
• Aside from placing an undue burden on parents, the current system creates significant resource inequities among school communities, some of which have no formal PTO, with some school communities having the means to substantially enhance their schools’ budgets.
  
• This legislation requires that the Deputy Mayor for Education conduct a comprehensive study of the District’s PTOs and provide a complete picture of what budgetary gaps parents are currently filling. Importantly, this study can act as a roadmap to reforming the school budget process so that the District can ensure that schools are adequately funded at the outset of each academic year and move away from relying on fundraising by parents to meet basic school needs.

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