[0:09] The time is now 5:39. I appreciate
people waiting a few moments while we
[0:15] talk to our superintendent. On
Wednesday, August 19th, 2026, and this
[0:20] public meeting of the DC State Board of
Education will now come to order. The
[0:25] role will now be called to determine the
presence of a quorum. Director Butler,
[0:29] please call the role.
>> Representative Best.
[0:36] » Representative Chang,
>> present.
[0:38] » Representative Coulson,
>> present.
[0:41] » Representative Henderson,
>> present.
[0:44] » Representative Johnson Law,
>> good evening. And present.
[0:48] » Representative Thompson.
>> Representative Williams,
[0:52] » present.
>> Representative Goule,
[0:56] » here.
[0:59] President Patterson
>> present.
[1:02] » Mr. President, you have a quorum.
>> Okay. A quorum has been determined and
[1:07] state board will now proceed with the
business portion of the meeting.
[1:12] [clears throat]
Members, we have a draft agenda before
[1:15] us. Are there any corrections or
additions to this agenda?
[1:23] Seeing no corrections or additions, is
there a motion to adopt the agenda?
[1:29] » So moved.
>> It's been moved by Rep. Vice President
[1:33] Goule. Can I get a second?
>> Second.
[1:35] » It has been seconded by W a uh
Representative De Johnson Law. Okay.
[1:43] Is there any discussion on the motion?
[1:50] » Okay. Seeing no discussion, the motion
is to adopt the agenda. All in favor say
[1:54] I.
>> I.
[1:55] » Any naysay? The eyes have it. The motion
carries. We now have the minutes from
[2:01] our July 1st and August 5th working
sessions. Is there a motion to adopt
[2:04] these minutes?
>> So moved.
[2:06] » It has been moved by Johnson Law. Can I
hear a second?
[2:11] » Second.
>> It has been seconded by Representative
[2:13] Williams. Is there any discussion on the
motion?
[2:18] Seeing no discussion, the motion is to
adopt the minutes from our July and
[2:21] August working sessions. I will now ask
for the yes and the nays. All in favor
[2:26] say I.
>> I.
[2:27] » I.
>> Any oppose say nay. The eyes have it and
[2:31] the motion carries.
>> Good evening. I'm Dr. Patterson. The
[2:35] atlarge and president of the DC State
Board of Education. On behalf of the
[2:39] state board, I want to welcome our guest
members of the public, including those
[2:42] who are watching live via the district
knowledge network to our public meeting.
[2:48] These meetings take place on the third
Wednesday of each month in the old
[2:52] council chamber here at 441
4th Street. This evening, we will not be
[2:58] hosting an expert panel because we do
not have the hybrid capacity in the old
[3:04] chamber that we would like to have. We
voted as a board to shift the expert
[3:09] panel on age appropriate screen time to
a virtual roundt on August 31st. More
[3:15] information including how you can view
the round table will be available on the
[3:19] state board's website and social media
channels.
[3:23] After a remarks, we will proceed with
public comments. We have 30 public
[3:28] witnesses who have signed up to share
testimony. We encourage the public to
[3:32] sign up every month at sbe.dc.gov.
gov. The state board is available as a
[3:38] resource for our local communities.
Please don't hesitate to contact your
[3:42] representative with questions or
concerns related to public education or
[3:45] email our agency staff at sbe dc.gov.
At this time, I would like to welcome
[3:53] our state superintendent, Annette
Mitchell, to provide Aussie remarks.
[4:05] And I'm sorry, Antoanette.
[laughter]
[4:13] » Thank you so much.
Thank you so much, Mr. President. Good
[4:18] evening, state board members, staff, and
members of the public. Thank you for
[4:23] welcoming me. As President Patterson
noted, I am Anwinet Mitchell, the state
[4:29] superintendent of education for the
District of Columbia.
[4:33] It is always an honor to give an update
on our work and our shared priorities.
[4:39] Tonight is speech is especially
meaningful as the state board prepares
[4:43] to vote on updated physical education
standards and graduation requirements.
[4:49] Work I have been committed to for the
past three years. First though, I'd like
[4:55] to tell you how excited I am to start
another school year. Welcome students,
[5:01] teachers, parents, and staff to the 2026
27 school year. Fresh haircuts, new
[5:09] sneakers, new courses, new teachers,
clean classrooms, updated routines, and
[5:15] fresh starts. In education, we get a
chance to begin a new every year to
[5:22] improve what we did in the previous year
and to look forward to great benefits.
[5:27] We have been hard at work at AIE
preparing for the 2627 school year. Our
[5:34] transportation team continues to work
diligently with our families and schools
[5:39] to get information we need to provide
timely transportation services in the
[5:45] new school year. We are expanding career
and technical education with the launch
[5:51] of our new permanent home for the Ward 8
advanced technical center. This facility
[5:57] is strategically located with the Walt
Whitman Center, a critical health care
[6:03] provider east of the river. It will
serve approximately
[6:07] 130 students this school year, giving
them the chance to earn dual credit and
[6:13] industry recognized credentials. The new
ATC will prepare students to become EMTs
[6:20] and clinical medical assistants, both of
which are aligned to advanced degrees in
[6:26] nursing and are high-skll, high wage and
high demand careers. We will keep the
[6:33] focus on stronger math and literacy
outcomes in this out upcoming year as
[6:37] well. and we'll do that across all LEAs
by continuing to implement ASI's
[6:43] literacy and math task force
recommendations.
[6:48] In addition, we will continue to improve
our LEA supports for student health
[6:53] because healthy bodies and minds provide
the foundation for student growth,
[6:57] achievement, and attendance. Last school
year, we raised immunization rates in
[7:03] the four key grades. We urge families to
schedule their students annual wellchild
[7:09] visit as soon as possible to continue to
keep them up to date on all required
[7:14] immunizations.
AI will also continue to partner with
[7:18] LEAS's DC Health and FIMS to make sure
every school has its emergency
[7:25] medication action plan and cardiac
response plans in place.
[7:30] These are a few of the priorities
driving our work right now as we move
[7:34] into the 2627 school year.
We've also continued to work hard this
[7:40] summer by recently publishing a few
different reports. We published an
[7:46] English learner landscape analysis, a
report on the district's child and adult
[7:51] care uh adult care food program, and two
final rulemakings. one on AIE subsidized
[7:57] child care program and one on the
statewide academic assessments. And I
[8:03] look forward to additional announcements
soon, including the release of the DC
[8:08] CAPE scores on tomorrow afternoon.
I want to briefly highlight the
[8:14] resolutions before the board tonight,
beginning with the physical education
[8:18] standards. I very much appreciate the
board's engagement on this matter and
[8:23] encourage members to support SR 2612.
The proposed standards update the
[8:30] standards updates are based on shape
America's national physical education
[8:35] standards. AIE conducted a multiple
month review of the national standards
[8:41] update in preparation with local PE
teachers and eleas. The results of this
[8:47] engagement and the feedback we've
received from the state board so show
[8:52] strong unified support for aligning
districts the district standards with
[8:57] the national update. The proposed
standards build on our existing ones as
[9:02] well as national research. They will
strengthen students physical literacy
[9:07] journey helping them gain the knowledge
and skills needed for lifelong physical
[9:12] activity and success in team
environments.
[9:16] As a tennis enthusiast myself, I know
firsthand how physical activity skills
[9:22] build K through 12 um uh learning into
lifeline purs lifelong pursuits. The
[9:29] passage of SR 2612
positions us to drive our students to
[9:34] new heights on their physical education
journeys.
[9:38] Tonight's vote on the DC the the
district's graduation requirements
[9:43] represents the culmination of years of
work. I started this work in the spring
[9:48] of 2024, even before becoming state
superintendent. We began by creating the
[9:54] district's first graduate profile, a
shared vision of the knowledge and
[9:59] skills every student should have by
graduation. That profile informed
[10:04] extensive public informed
extensive public engagement, including
[10:09] more than 40 meetings with educators,
industry partners, community
[10:13] organizations, and other state education
agencies. The state board also held five
[10:19] public meetings, formed a task force,
and spent nearly a year reviewing the
[10:24] requirements in our proposal.
This is without question the most
[10:29] thoroughly studied and reviewed
recommendation ASI has ever brought to
[10:34] the state board. If the board approves
SR 2613,
[10:39] and I am optimistic that you will, uh DC
students will benefit in several
[10:44] important ways. For the first time,
students will have six diploma
[10:49] endorsement options to choose from.
These endorsement options will help
[10:54] students connect their learning to their
career aspirations and increase their
[10:59] marketability to schools and employers.
Students will also receive annual
[11:05] post-secary planning touch points to
help them stay on track to graduate high
[11:10] school and to clarify their
post-graduation plans.
[11:14] The community service requirement will
expand to include both paid and unpaid
[11:19] opportunities and the required hours
will decrease from 100 to 60. This will
[11:25] make the experience more meaningful for
our students and more manageable.
[11:30] Mathematics options will grow as we
begin building out a new integrated math
[11:35] pathway that weaves together essential
concepts and focuses on practical
[11:40] problem solving skills while remaining
absolutely true to our state math
[11:45] standards.
The propos proposal also ensures that
[11:50] every student takes both physical
education and health by separating the
[11:55] current 1.5 credit requirement into one
one credit for PE and a half credit
[12:01] health course. It adds a new h uh half
credit financial literacy course which
[12:07] was by far the most common request we
heard from the public while canvasing
[12:12] students and parents at public events.
And finally, at the board's
[12:17] recommendation, students will be able to
earn competencybased credit in world
[12:22] languages. This change recognizes
students language mastery, allows that
[12:27] mastery to be reflected on their report
cards, and expands access to languages
[12:33] not currently offered at their school.
These changes reflect true collaboration
[12:38] and effective compromise. While they
look significantly different from ASI's
[12:43] original proposal, they represent a
thoughtful consensus driven policy
[12:48] shaped by hundreds of voices across the
District of Columbia.
[12:53] With tonight's votes, we continue
building a stronger future for DC
[12:58] students. And after the graduation
requirements are finalized, I look
[13:03] forward to transitioning to other
important shared priorities, including
[13:08] reviewing the district's SS state
accountability plan.
[13:12] Thank you very much for your time and
for your attention. I wish you all a
[13:17] joyful, productive, and inspiring start
to the school year. And remember, every
[13:23] day counts, so please start the year
with strong attendance. Thank you.
[13:28] » Thank you, Dr. Dr. Mitchell, before you
you leave the das, I just want to say
[13:31] that um this morning when I woke and I
turned on the news,
[13:35] » I saw CBS. I was watch CBS in the
morning. I saw that we were doing this.
[13:39] We were voting on this tonight, the
graduation requirements. And I so
[13:43] appreciate and I want to say this how
much you your team have been so
[13:48] collaborative throughout this whole
process. You stated this is something
[13:51] that you started working on in 2024.
>> Yes. our task force led by two dynamic
[13:57] leaders dug in and they worked with you
and you worked handin glove with them.
[14:02] So I truly appreciate the collaboration
and that morning news showed me that
[14:07] we're leading in these areas. So thank
you so much for your collaboration over
[14:12] the duration of this time. Thank you.
>> Thank you so much. It's been a pleasure.
[14:19] We hear testimony from public witnesses
at every public meeting and your
[14:23] comments become part of our official
record.
[14:26] If you would like to speak at a future
public meeting, please sign up using the
[14:31] form or the website at spboe.dc.gov.
Sign up closes 48 hours before the
[14:38] public meeting.
As mentioned earlier, we have 30
[14:43] witnesses who have signed up to share
testimony this evening. Members, please
[14:49] also refer to the written testimonies
available in Dropbox and in your
[14:53] materials if you have them printed. As a
reminder, all public witnesses must
[14:58] share a copy of your testimony with our
staff at sbe at dc.gov
[15:04] so we can add it to the public record.
We will hear from those in attendance in
[15:08] a panel format. Each witness will have
up to three minutes to provide comments.
[15:14] Please note that you must use one of the
microphones on the table. The timer
[15:19] light on the table will be green for the
first two and a half minutes, yellow for
[15:23] the last 30 seconds, and red after three
minutes have elapsed.
[15:29] After each panel of public witnesses, we
will pause for questions from state
[15:33] board members. If members have
questions, they have up to three
[15:37] minutes. These three minutes include
their question, comment, and the
[15:41] panelist answers.
Executive Director Butler, will you call
[15:45] the public witnesses?
Oh, she will call the public w she will
[15:50] also assist with with timing to ensure
our witnesses and members stay within
[15:53] their allotted time. Now, Director
Butler, will you call our witnesses?
[15:58] » Thank you, President Patterson. As we
prepare to call public witnesses, I want
[16:02] to reiterate that each panelist has
three minutes.
[16:08] At the 30 second mark, when you have 30
seconds left, the light will turn
[16:12] yellow. Once it turns red, please stop
talking.
[16:17] » And I will add before you start, garlic,
>> we do not want to cut you off. We really
[16:23] don't, but we will. Okay. Thank you.
[16:30] All right. Well, good evening. Um, first
on our list this evening we have Noah
[16:34] Dhorty,
Maya Mechin Brier,
[16:40] Lindsay Lieberman,
[16:44] Michelle Harberg,
Chuck Bratzky,
[16:52] Anna Caribel,
[17:07] Okay. Well, we're going to call two
more. It seems like two people. Kate
[17:11] Rosenberg.
[17:19] Okay. You are here.
[17:25] Danielle Duncan,
[17:29] » I'm sorry.
[17:33] » Yeah, we can't control traffic, but yes.
So, it's it's very confusing. So,
[17:42] so the people who were called, Noah Dhy,
Maya Mackenbrier,
[17:48] Lindsay Lieberman,
Michelle Harberg, Chuck Bratzky, and
[17:55] Anna Caribel.
[17:59] So, that is five people.
>> So, we still have an empty seat.
[18:05] » Yeah, Maya Maya is in traffic.
So Maya is not here. So Kate Rosenberg,
[18:12] if you can please come.
[18:20] Thank you. We're going to start with
Noah and then work our way around.
[18:24] Unfortunately, the way the public
testimony is set up, we are unable to
[18:28] wait for people who are not here um
because people sign up on a first come,
[18:32] first- serve basis.
Mr. Dhy.
[18:36] » Good evening. My name is Noah Dhy. the
Ward 2 resident and the director of
[18:39] school talent and academic strategy at
the DC charter school alliance. First, I
[18:43] want to thank state board
representatives, superintendent
[18:45] Mitchell, members of the state board's
task force, and all of the community
[18:49] stakeholders who have engaged in the
process of reimagining our city's high
[18:53] school graduation requirements. We are
very happy with AI's most recent
[18:58] proposed changes. They honor the hard
work and deliberation of the state
[19:02] board's task force, reflect feedback
from a wide variety of stakeholders, and
[19:06] provide implement implementation
flexibility where appropriate. We deeply
[19:10] appreciate Representative Henderson's
suggestion at the working meeting to
[19:13] reduce the number of required elective
credits from 3.5 to three in order to
[19:18] maintain the number of required credits
to 24. We want to thank the other state
[19:22] board representatives and Superintendent
Mitchell for supporting this suggestion
[19:25] during that same meeting. We are also
very excited that the proposal to allow
[19:29] students to earn competency based
credits in world language has been
[19:32] included in the final recommendations.
This is a deeply equitable move that
[19:36] honors the hard work many families put
in to pass on their home language down
[19:41] to their children. And we appreciate all
the work the board has done to make this
[19:45] opportunity as simple as possible for
high schools to offer. The DC Charter
[19:50] School Alliance works with all 65 public
charter eleas including the 21 who serve
[19:54] high school students. and we plan to
convene two working groups. The first
[19:58] will explore ways to incorporate
financial literacy standards into
[20:01] existing classes and the second will
look at ways to ensure post-secondary
[20:05] planning touch points engage students
and their families in preparing our
[20:09] young people for success in college,
career and military pathways. These
[20:13] working groups will bring together the
school leaders, college and career
[20:16] counselors and teachers who will
ultimately be responsible for
[20:19] implementing these changes to develop
solutions that can benefit the entire
[20:22] sector. We know this important process
will continue for at least another year
[20:27] as Aussie develops the guidance and
resources that educators, students, and
[20:31] families will need to understand,
navigate, and take full advantage of
[20:34] these new requirements. And the alliance
and our leaders are committed to
[20:37] engaging in that process and working as
partners to ensure all of our city
[20:41] students are prepared for success in
life. And finally, we appreciate the
[20:45] attention the state board is giving to
the role of technology in our schools.
[20:49] The alliance has been playing paying
close attention to this issue and has
[20:52] welcomed the opportunity to hear from a
wide range of stakeholders. First and
[20:56] foremost, we firmly believe that more is
needed to protect our students data and
[21:00] their privacy. This is an issue that is
becoming more important and more
[21:04] complicated every day. And that's why
the alliance is drafting a model policy
[21:08] for our public charter eleas that
explicitly names the critical practices
[21:13] and processes necessary to protect our
students. As this conversation
[21:17] continues, we are eager to hear more
from parents, researchers, educators,
[21:21] and recent graduates. And we are
committed to listening first so that we
[21:25] develop a balanced understanding of this
complex and important issue. Thank you
[21:29] for your time, and I welcome your
questions.
[21:32] » Thank you.
[21:37] » Good evening. My name is Lindseay
Lieberman. I'm a DCPS parent, an
[21:41] attorney, and a volunteer with DC
Schools Beyond Screens. When I last
[21:46] testified before you, I explained that
under federal law, when schools consent
[21:50] on behalf of parents to edte used by
their children under 13, families are
[21:57] entitled to notice about the platforms,
websites, and applications that their
[22:02] children are using at school and those
companies data practices. DCPS's own
[22:07] policy expressly promises an inventory
of the platforms, websites, and
[22:13] applications that they are giving to our
students to their our children and links
[22:18] to their privacy policies and
specifically a process through which
[22:22] parents may opt out of these companies.
On in May, my husband and I emailed DCPS
[22:29] twice requesting this information. We
have still received no response. On June
[22:35] 30th, I sent a formal request to DCPS's
general counsel. Although she confirmed
[22:40] receipt, I still not have received um
any information or substantive response.
[22:46] Schools Beyond Screens has submitted
multiple FOYA requests to DCPS seeking
[22:51] this information, but has not received
any responses. My Children's Elementary
[22:56] School is fantastic, and they are doing
more than many other schools in
[22:59] examining the effects and effectiveness
of screens. and even they have not been
[23:04] able to provide this information despite
my requests. On July 10th, DCPS sent a
[23:11] letter promising clearer guidance and a
pathway for families to raise concerns,
[23:15] but none of the information that I speak
about tonight was provided. Last night,
[23:20] the interim chancellor held a town hall
for families and none of this
[23:23] information was provided. this morning.
I understand that there was a teacher
[23:27] training on screens, but again, no
indication that any of this information
[23:32] that we as parents are entitled to under
law and policy will be provided to us.
[23:38] My daughter begins PK4 next week, and I
still do not know which technology
[23:43] companies will receive her name, her
birthday, her usage, and habits or other
[23:49] personal data. And she is only four.
Just yesterday, the New York Times
[23:55] reported that many Silicon Valley
executives send their own children to a
[24:00] private Waldorf school near Google's
campus, where tuition is close to
[24:04] $50,000 a year. And of course, there are
no screens at Waldorf schools. The
[24:10] people building and selling this
technology are paying a lot of money to
[24:13] keep their own children away from it.
And meanwhile, our public school
[24:17] families are being told that children
need more screens and more technology in
[24:22] order to learn and thrive. This is
particularly concerning considering that
[24:26] DCPS has not complied with their basic
bare minimum requirement under policy
[24:33] and law to provide parents with the
inventory of the websites and apps our
[24:37] children are using and a process to opt
out.
[24:42] [applause]
[24:45] Good evening. I'm also here as a
volunteer with the school beyond screens
[24:48] DC chapter. I live in Ward One and I'm a
parent of a first and a third grader in
[24:53] DCPS schools. We invited teachers from
across the district with the opportunity
[24:59] to share their perspective and on the
ground experiences on the current use of
[25:03] technology in their classrooms so it
could be on the record for this meeting.
[25:08] teachers provided their perspective and
experience under the condition of an
[25:12] admmit.
The first testimony I will read is from
[25:16] an elementary school teacher.
She says or they say, "As a veteran
[25:22] kindergarten teacher, I am extremely
uncomfortable and distressed by having
[25:26] to put my 5-year-old students onto
tablets for I Ready testing in
[25:30] September, January, and May each school
year. This testing atmosphere is
[25:35] extremely stressful for many of my
students. The I Ready evaluation has
[25:39] little value in my mind because as a
teacher I do not have access to the
[25:43] questions they ask and we don't teach an
I Ready curriculum. In addition, the
[25:48] testing is touted as being adaptive and
that means it becomes harder for the
[25:52] students when they answer correctly and
they get even more distressed by this
[25:55] because they have no idea how to answer
some questions. For example, on the math
[25:59] test, they might see a double or
tripledigit addition, which isn't taught
[26:03] to them until much later grades. So,
they begin to cry because they don't
[26:06] know how to do it. Or if they're able to
read and they answer correctly to one of
[26:10] the questions, the test stops reading
the questions to them and expects them
[26:14] to read it for to themselves. They don't
know what is happening and get upset.
[26:18] Students shouldn't be subjected to this
pressure to perform. Students at this
[26:22] age should be given individualized
screenings by a friendly and familiar
[26:26] adult, not sitting in front of a screen.
The second testimony is also from an
[26:32] elementary school teacher. My students
are on technology far too much in my
[26:37] classroom. There's no science textbook
or workbook, so everything I do, I have
[26:41] to print or they have to read it on a
screen. For math, my kids do tons of I
[26:45] Ready le time every day. Part of this is
because my TAS score is based solely on
[26:51] I Ready test data. It's teaching to the
test and I don't really think they get
[26:54] the knowledge they need to master the
skills. But as long as I'm assessed on
[26:58] it, the kids will do lots of lessons to
improve my score. Every component of
[27:03] impact adds up to this one area, so I
can count at least a few points in my
[27:07] favor. And the last testimony is from a
high school teacher. Since the pandemic,
[27:12] it has felt as if the district wants
everything taught through apps or
[27:15] devices. There's rarely textbooks
anymore. When students struggle, the
[27:19] suggestion is to put them on an edtech
app. Students take classes in high
[27:23] school that involve sitting on a screen
the entire class watching a video of a
[27:26] professor lecturing. It doesn't spark
creativity, engagement, or growth.
[27:30] DCPS's firewalls don't block distracting
websites. I've seen kids in other
[27:35] classes while the teacher is lecturing
watch videos, play games, etc. We are
[27:39] not teaching digital literacy, so all
the screen time is not teaching skills
[27:43] that might be needed. Thank you.
[27:54] Good evening. Uh, thank you for having
us here tonight. Uh, I'm testifying as
[27:59] part of the Schools Beyond Screens DC
chapter. I live in Ward One, uh, since
[28:03] 1997. I'm a also a parent of a first and
third grader, the the two uh, great kids
[28:09] behind us at a DC public school. And I'm
here to read two additional testimonies
[28:14] submitted uh anonymously by teachers.
The first, this is from an elementary
[28:18] teacher in Ward 4 who says that I feel
strongly that screen use in general,
[28:23] including when it comes to edtech, has
gotten out of hand in DCPS. I've been
[28:27] with DCPS since 2012 and have taught in
elementary schools in wards 1, three,
[28:32] and four. I've watched screens become
more and more common as replacements for
[28:37] teacher, student, and student
interaction. Screens either on the
[28:41] Smartboard or laptops are used during
indoor recess when specialists teachers
[28:46] are absent, before and after field trips
and assemblies, and on the days leading
[28:51] up to a vacation, etc. Even during
important social emotional opportunities
[28:57] such as morning meeting, songs, and
brain breaks, YouTube videos are being
[29:02] regularly substituted for meaningful
learning and interaction. So instead of
[29:07] learning how to regulate their emotions
and sustain eye contact and take turns
[29:12] in a social setting, students stare
mindlessly at videos that are
[29:17] overstimulating and overwhelming for
many kids and even for some adults. It
[29:23] is far too easy to put students in front
of screens instead of providing
[29:27] opportunities for them to engage in
project-based learning, social emotional
[29:33] learning, independent paper-based
activities, group and partner work, and
[29:38] other activities that we know help them
develop their cognitive and social
[29:43] abilities. DCPS has pressured teachers
over and over to ensure that students
[29:49] get their I Ready minutes when many of
us understand that this program
[29:54] encourages disengagement, poor focus,
and frustration in our students. I have
[30:00] been waiting many years for DCPS to set
limits on the amount of time students
[30:05] spend on screens over the course of
their days and weeks. And without these
[30:09] limits, teachers and school leaders are
unaware of the cumulative number of
[30:14] hours that even our youngest students
spend on screens every day. As
[30:19] educators, we need to understand the
appropriate amount of time for our
[30:23] students to be on screens. And these
numbers should be based on scientific
[30:27] research, not on claims from I Ready and
other edtech companies. I would love to
[30:32] see a return to computer labs instead of
onetoone devices and a reduction in the
[30:37] screen time that is built into our
curricula. And second, this is from an
[30:41] elementary teacher in Ward 3. I believe
that students in grade three through
[30:45] five should not be able to independently
use computers while teachers are
[30:49] required to be teaching other things.
Most of the time, upper elementary
[30:54] students are using computers
independently.
[30:57] » Sir, thank you.
[applause]
[31:06] Good evening. My name is Anne Caribel. I
am a DCPS parent, a former teacher, and
[31:12] a post-doctoral researcher in special
education at the University of Maryland.
[31:16] I am here as a volunteer with schools
beyond screens to discuss the role of
[31:20] technology and education for students
with additional needs and disabilities,
[31:24] my own among them. This group includes
but is not limited to students with 504
[31:30] plans and IEPs. What evidence should we
require about a product's safety,
[31:35] legality, and efficacy over established
evidence-based practices before we offer
[31:41] it to students with disabilities. First,
some terms. Assistive technology. This
[31:47] category describes technology that
allows students greater access to
[31:50] content. These tools include screen
readers, AAC devices, voice
[31:55] amplification, texttospech and
speechtoext and so on. We should direct
[32:00] more energy to funding these tools and
supporting the students who use them.
[32:05] Next, teched or technology education.
This term refers to education about
[32:12] technology, not education with
technology. Technology education
[32:17] includes digit digital literacy, typing,
online research, file management, and
[32:22] more. Students gain these skills through
intentional instruction that is separate
[32:27] from other content areas, not through
mere exposure to digital devices and
[32:32] platforms.
Finally, edte or e education technology.
[32:39] This is technology used for educational
purposes and includes platformized
[32:43] instruction like I Ready, digital
reading applications like Sora and Epic,
[32:49] classroom management and surveillance
tools like Class Dojo, game and
[32:53] entertainment platforms like Cahoot,
YouTube and BrainPop, and learning
[32:58] management systems like Canvas or Google
Classroom. So for students with
[33:02] disabilities, what do we do with these
adtech products? We have to think about
[33:06] the characteristics of effective
instruction for children with
[33:10] disabilities. That instruction should be
systematic and explicit. It should be
[33:15] appropriately scaffolded and students
should have plentiful opportunities to
[33:19] respond and instruction should include
ample feedback. EdTE products are not
[33:24] designed with these criteria in mind.
They are marketed as adaptive, but they
[33:29] are not adaptive. They cannot retach,
scaffold content, or provide contingent
[33:34] feedback. For example, on I Ready, when
a student answers a question
[33:39] incorrectly, the platform offers a
generic hint. With a second incorrect
[33:44] answer, the platform offers the same
generic hint. With a third incorrect
[33:49] answer, the platform provides the
answer. In other words, as students
[33:54] demonstrate a need for more instruction,
the platform offers less. We cannot
[34:00] assume that a tool that works even
moderately well for the so-called
[34:03] average student will necessarily meet
the needs of an exceptional student. Our
[34:08] children I'll stop there. Thank you.
[applause]
[34:21] Thank you for the opportunity to be here
tonight. My name is Kate. I'm a DCPS
[34:25] parent and volunteer with Schools Beyond
Screens DC. Neither I nor schools beyond
[34:30] screens take money from big tech, their
philanthropic arms, or the donations of
[34:33] family offices funded by Microsoft,
Google, Meta, or otherwise. We're asking
[34:38] for policy on technology in schools
based on the best available research and
[34:42] evidence on children's learning and
development, not personal opinions or
[34:45] apherisms like the world is changing.
We're asking for very common sense
[34:50] policy protections that set all DC kids
up for success, not just those born into
[34:54] economic privilege that affords them a
human- centered and teacher-led
[34:57] education. In no other time in human
history have private companies had so
[35:02] much influence on public education.
We're asking you to move fast because
[35:05] these companies are moving fast and
because childhood moves fast. 96% of
[35:10] tech apps used in public schools share
children's personal information with
[35:14] third parties. Big tech executives
shield their own children from the
[35:17] screens and apps they've developed, the
products that made them rich. We can't
[35:21] accept a future where rich kids have
human teachers, physical textbooks, and
[35:25] handwritten assignments, while the rest
of our kids have Chromebooks,
[35:28] malfunctioning AI tutors, and screen
addiction.
[35:33] Now, I'll turn to students with
exceptional learning needs, such as, but
[35:36] not limited to 504s or IEPs. I'm a mom
to one of them. The rights of students
[35:41] with disabilities must always be
protected and DCPS should continue to
[35:44] allocate funding to meet the full range
of technology needs of students with
[35:48] disabilities and special learning needs.
But assist of technology, teched and
[35:52] edtech are three different things. While
there are many kids for whom assisted
[35:55] technology is critical, there are others
with other disabilities, diagnosed or
[36:00] undiagnosed, that will be made far worse
with the introduction more screens. If
[36:04] all children should get the education
they need, the answer cannot be that all
[36:08] kids are overexposed and harmed across
the board because there's a benefit in
[36:11] specific applications. A career
readiness argument is often used to
[36:15] justify screens and devices in
classrooms. While many of us believe
[36:19] that school is for more than just
developing future workers, I also want
[36:23] my kids getting jobs and moving out. But
more exposure time spent on apps and
[36:27] devices in schools will not better
prepare children for a technological
[36:30] future. Evidence shows that edtech use
in K to3 has a negative effect on
[36:34] learning and gap widening harms
concentrated among already disadvantaged
[36:39] students. Being AI ready means having a
capacity for critical thinking, original
[36:44] thought, focused attention, and basic
math and reading skills. The integration
[36:48] of technology should add to and not
detract from these goals. But don't take
[36:52] my word for it. A recent Deote report
listed critical thinking in problem
[36:55] solving, creativity, communication, and
the ability to work in teams as the top
[37:00] skills leaders were looking for as they
roll out AI applications.
[37:04] Today, philosophy majors are more likely
to have jobs than their peers who
[37:08] studied computer science. Anthropics
co-founder says uniquely human qualities
[37:12] will become more critical in the age of
AI, not less. We can't perfectly predict
[37:17] the skill sets that the future will
require, and education is for more than
[37:20] just making future workers. But the best
available research and evidence supports
[37:24] taking action like so many other
jurisdictions already have. [applause]
[37:31] » At this time, we will start a round of
questions with our elected state board
[37:34] members. Representative Best.
[37:39] » Hey everyone. Uh I just want to say
thank you for your continued advocacy on
[37:42] this. I don't really have any questions
at the moment, but uh thank you. Thank
[37:46] you, Representative Chang.
[37:51] » And would you like some time to finish
your section?
[37:54] » Oh, you have time to go.
>> I would. Thank you so much. Um
[38:01] to determine whether a technology tool
should be used in a particular
[38:05] situation, particularly with students
with disabilities, we should require
[38:09] evidence of efficacy from multiple
highquality, independently funded
[38:13] studies that compare the product to
existing evidence-based practices and
[38:18] that consider the experiences and
perspectives of the teachers and
[38:21] students who use the product. We need
more transparency and oversight of
[38:26] edtech and especially platformized
instruction in both general and special
[38:30] education settings. Our children with
exceptionalities do not need more
[38:34] tablets or machines or platforms or
devices. They need supportive, caring
[38:39] humans. Thank you for the opportunity to
finish.
[38:45] » I I promise I have only one more
sentence. It is just that um evidence
[38:49] supports taking action like many
jurisdictions already have to protect
[38:52] children's learning, executive
functioning and interpersonal skills so
[38:55] that today's DCPF students can think and
problem solve in tomorrow's world,
[38:59] whatever it may look like.
[39:05] » I I understand that you are all
volunteers, but as I'm looking at the
[39:08] researcher, do you have examples? Would
you remind us from other contexts what
[39:13] what what's top of uh kind of what are
the cases we should be looking at from
[39:18] other contexts?
>> Sorry, can you elaborate
[39:22] » uh on your question?
>> What are the examples from other
[39:25] geographies, other cities, other other
schools districts we should be looking
[39:29] at?
>> Sure. Um
[39:31] » Oh, that's what you were. Do you want to
Oh, for
[39:35] » any any of our neighboring jurisdictions
have already overhauled their tech
[39:39] policies. Um LA has rolled theirs out
just this school year. Um so there are a
[39:44] lot of great examples. New York City um
is reducing screen time as well. Um
[39:49] Baltimore, Arlington, Fairfax, Howard
County, the list goes on. Um
[39:56] they're they're just there's
>> And how how similar or different are
[40:00] they in terms of their the policies
they've changed to one another? Um I
[40:05] think there's there's a very wide range
in terms of what school districts are
[40:09] doing. We have heard from school
districts in North Carolina um around
[40:13] Pennsylvania. Some of them are cutting
back especially on individual tablet use
[40:18] in K to2 or preK to2. Um we see that
that is the the consensus position on
[40:24] this topic right now. Um we see also see
that in middle school and high school
[40:29] the debate is much trickier. Um in LA
USD for example, there's device time
[40:35] limits um and those are being gradually
implemented throughout this school year.
[40:39] So there there's a very wide range of
what schools are doing, but the emphasis
[40:44] is on this rebalancing or using tech
intentionally thinking about what the
[40:49] students are needing.
>> Thank you.
[40:51] » Thank you.
>> Thank you, Representative Coulson.
[40:56] » Good everyone. Thank you all for your
testimony. Thank you all for uh those
[41:00] who have been here multiple times. I
especially appreciate the additional
[41:04] context from teachers uh who are DCPS
employees. Uh I do not have any
[41:10] additional questions at this time.
>> Thank you, Representative Henderson.
[41:17] » I also want to thank you for bringing in
the uh teacher perspective. Um and I'm
[41:21] wondering what if any questions you
still have? like clearly you've you've
[41:27] been researching, you're continuing to
to learn. Um are there any questions
[41:32] that you still have? Uh President
Patterson referenced that we are having
[41:36] a an expert round table. Um and we're
going to pose some questions, but I'm
[41:41] wondering what what if anything you're
still curious about.
[41:52] in terms of
[41:57] » Well, I guess I'm asking what should we
be asking and and I'm wondering if if
[42:02] there are any outstanding questions that
you still like you you realized you
[42:06] needed to hear more from teachers, you
went and learned more from teachers.
[42:10] » Well, I think there's also a big gap in
the conversation about AI. It's very
[42:15] trendy now in all kinds of industries
and business like, oh, AI exists. let's
[42:20] get AI into this company. And now
they're saying, "Oh, we got to get AI
[42:24] into schools." And yet, I mean, this is
a brand new
[42:29] technology and it is so powerful. And it
isn't clear that DCPS is thinking
[42:35] thoughtfully and asking the right
questions and talking to the right
[42:38] experts to be able to make policy on
such an important matter. The risks are
[42:43] are so um extreme for our children. So,
we would hope that you guys would find
[42:49] out more about DCPS's plan with AI and
limit it to the extent that we can. Um,
[42:55] again, like so many people testified to,
our children need to learn human skills
[43:01] uh before outsourcing them to a robot
and we get the sense that DCPS is really
[43:07] excited about AI and is encouraging
students to use it as much as possible
[43:10] and that really concerns us. Okay. Um,
Miss Caribel, you talked about research
[43:15] and and like I agree about the need for
evidence-based policy and decisions. Um,
[43:21] but I'm I'm finding it's increasingly
difficult to get that with the way
[43:26] research is funded. You are a
researcher. Do you would you point any
[43:30] particular place to um to find
who who is evaluating edtech? Well,
[43:39] » yeah, thank you. That's a really
important question. And if I can ask my
[43:42] friend in the back to hold up my prop
for tonight. Um, we do have there is a
[43:47] lot of research done on this. Um, a lot
of research on the specific apps
[43:52] themselves is funded by technology
companies and so we always want to look
[43:56] at that very very carefully. Um, even in
the various clearing houses like the
[44:01] National Center for Intensive
Intervention, even on the ESSA website,
[44:05] the What Works Clearing House, conflicts
of interest are not taken into account.
[44:09] So it takes somebody to know who you
have to do a little um checking behind
[44:14] the scenes to know um but there is a ton
of research about reading on screens
[44:20] about the importance of social
interaction and I would direct you to
[44:23] this book.
>> Thank you representative Johnson Law.
[44:28] » Thank you all so much for your
testimony. Noah, I want to start with
[44:32] you. Thank you all so much um for all
you all do um at the charter alliance
[44:37] and like and how you all support all of
our public charter schools. Um it's no
[44:41] easy feat. I don't know you all probably
I don't know if you get any credit. I
[44:45] don't know. But I wanted to publicly um
acknowledge you and just say thank you
[44:50] for all you do and not just you but the
entire team Ariel and everybody there.
[44:53] So thank you all so much.
Um to the rest of the panel quick
[44:58] question. What interactions or outreach
have you all done with any W 8 schools
[45:03] or students or families?
[45:07] » Thanks so much for the question. Um,
we've talked to a lot of local groups.
[45:11] Um, actually Maya who was going to
present first was going to discuss all
[45:14] of the stakeholders that we've talked
to. Um, I have talked extensively with a
[45:18] good friend of mine um, at a particular
school that I won't say just to protect
[45:21] her. Um but she and I have had uh very
in-depth conversations about um I Ready
[45:28] and and the minutes and the
disproportionate use of that tool um in
[45:33] that ward for sure. So we are um we are
we have done a lot and we are continuing
[45:38] to work on um reaching families and
teachers across the city.
[45:43] » Okay. Did this W 8 teacher that you
talked to, did she submit testimony
[45:47] anonymously at all or
>> um she she did not? No,
[45:50] » she did not. Okay. Could you encourage
her to reach out to me, please?
[45:54] » Absolutely. I would be happy to.
>> Thank you so much.
[45:57] » All right. I don't have any more
questions. Thank you all so much.
[46:01] » Thank you, Representative Thompson.
[46:06] » Uh good evening. Uh thank you for
everyone making it here given uh the
[46:09] road closures. Um I went through the
same struggle as many of you did. Um I
[46:14] do uh appreciate everyone's testimony.
Uh as representative uh Henderson said
[46:20] um our committee uh will be hosting uh
the expert panel that would have been
[46:24] this evening. Um the beautiful thing
about that is we get a bit of extended
[46:29] time uh to engage and ask uh thoughtful
and thorough questions um that will be
[46:35] uh both made available to the public
real time. Um we've done roundts before
[46:40] uh particularly when issues um are
complicated and a little bit sticky. Uh
[46:45] so I'm I know that we arrived here uh
due to our own technological issues um
[46:52] outside of our control. However, I think
it's the right next step and so I'm very
[46:56] much looking forward to that. Um I do
not have any questions. All of the
[47:00] testimony uh this evening um I was able
to follow and I will yield the rest of
[47:07] my time. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Representative Williams.
[47:14] » Yes. Thank you all for uh your testimony
today. Uh Mr. Dhi, I want to start with
[47:18] you. Uh I just appreciate kind of how
you're already getting a step ahead with
[47:24] like thinking about the working groups
with the implementation of the
[47:26] graduation requirements. So, um I'm
interested in collaborating with you on
[47:30] the financial literacy piece because
I've heard so much u difference around
[47:34] training. You know, some I already know
some schools that are teaching financial
[47:38] literacy this year that are having
social studies teachers teach it that
[47:41] have not necessarily gone to a training.
as a social studies teacher myself, I'd
[47:44] be interested in teaching that course,
but I don't necessarily feel qualified
[47:47] to do that yet. So, I want to make sure
that as we move that um into uh a
[47:53] requirement that we're also being
thoughtful about how teachers are
[47:56] trained effectively to be able to do
that. Um, and there's so many so much
[48:00] difference in the charter eleas that I
want to make sure we're doing uh that
[48:03] well and thoughtfully. So, no question,
but just something to continue working
[48:06] with you on. Thank you. um to the other
parents around um the screen time piece.
[48:11] I um I'm also a DCPS teacher. Um so I
sat through the hour training today. Um
[48:18] and uh it did there there's a lot of
change kind of going around and trying
[48:24] to figure this out. I do not get the
sense although I understand from some
[48:28] people's perspectives and I've heard
that AI is being pushed completely into
[48:32] schools that were um that is that is not
anything that I got from today's
[48:38] training. Um so that that was good to
hear. um the sources that were used to
[48:45] kind of validate some of the research
because I do think that as a whether it
[48:50] be DCBS or charter districts, we need to
do a better job of just communicating
[48:54] what we're doing and how it's happening.
Um and I think that clarity um will help
[48:59] us make sure that we have thoughtful
correct policies. So a lot of the
[49:04] research today came from uh the American
Academy of Pediatrics um World Health
[49:10] Organization and the US Surgeon General
for right or for wrong. Um but that is
[49:14] what I was told as a teacher in training
today. Um and additionally the guidance
[49:19] that I got around I seemed way more
reasonable where I feel like a lot of
[49:24] the testimony experiences
um have been misuses of technology. So,
[49:30] the ELA and math guidance was 30 minutes
per week from what I received and I'm
[49:36] looking at on the screen right now.
[clears throat]
[49:40] And I think we've also heard a lot of
principal testimony, school leader
[49:45] testimony about not abandoning the tools
that we have to be able to make sure
[49:49] that students have quality instruction,
but not using technology as a
[49:54] substitute, not using that as the main
thing. Um, so I'm just I don't have any
[50:00] particular questions right now. I'll
think about it, but I'm committed to
[50:03] figuring this out with everyone. Thank
you,
[50:07] » Vice President Goule.
>> I want to thank everybody uh for coming
[50:10] out with the schools beyond screens. I
just keep fighting for our younger kids.
[50:14] I think on the same page with you and
look forward to continuing to work with
[50:17] you. Uh Mr. Dhy, I want to turn to you
because we do have the high school
[50:21] graduation requirements up tonight to
vote. So I just recently
[50:27] There's been a shift in the proposal to
having the waiverss which I don't
[50:31] support having a waiver process for our
students who have developed foreign
[50:35] language skills shifting that from AI to
the public charter school board which I
[50:40] thought was a strange shift. Have you
been involved with any of the
[50:42] discussions on that?
>> Uh this is the first time hearing about
[50:45] it.
>> Okay. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, I mean it was
[50:47] the first I' I'd heard of it recently,
too. And it just for me, if a student
[50:50] has obtained proficiency uh or fluency
in a foreign language by by
[50:56] demonstrating that competency, I I want
there to be equity with how it's
[51:00] treated. I don't want to, you know,
interrupt the operations of a particular
[51:04] charter school, but I also don't want to
have like the public charter school
[51:08] board having to go through an
application process. So, I was just very
[51:11] confused by that and I wasn't sure. I
think you've answered the question if
[51:14] you'd had any feedback in that yet or
not.
[51:17] » No, this is the first time hearing, but
a couple of just quick things I would
[51:20] note very quickly I think are um some of
the things we would have expected to
[51:24] come through the like rulem and guidance
process would be, you know, if the stamp
[51:28] test was used to decide if student was
awarded um uh competency based credit,
[51:33] we were assuming that the state
education agency would say at what
[51:37] levels um across all eleas. So I think
there's a question of if it's just
[51:41] coming from the public charter school
board then is there a world where um
[51:45] there is uh there are discrepancies
between DCPS and public charter eleas. I
[51:50] think there's some other questions but
would certainly wanted to see the the
[51:53] language first I think.
>> Thank you. I mean, and that's kind of
[51:55] how I was envisioning it as well, where
where they would set the standards uh
[51:59] for tests for various levels for
obtaining like the two credits of
[52:02] competency for obtaining fluency with
the seal of bi literacy that that would
[52:06] be set by the superintendent, but kind
of having one set approved by DCPS, one
[52:12] set approved by the public charter
school board with these waiverss. I
[52:15] mean, I'd like to get rid of the
waiverss altogether and make sure that
[52:17] the students who've earned uh you know,
these skills then just are able to take
[52:22] that to the school and get the credit
and certainly report the data back to
[52:25] AIE, but but do so in a way that makes
sense. So, thank you for your continued
[52:28] work on this and always appreciate you
being able to help us with policy on
[52:33] this. So, thank you very much and thank
you all for coming out tonight and
[52:36] braving the traffic.
>> Thank you, President Patterson.
[52:40] » Thank you so much. I want to thank
everyone. Um, I don't have any
[52:44] questions, but I do have a few comments.
Uh, for Mr. Dohy, I just want to say
[52:48] thank you for through the whole process
with our graduation requirements of
[52:52] being there, attending meetings,
providing feedback u from a charter
[52:56] perspective. I really appreciate your
just your due diligence and your
[52:59] dedication to making sure that we were
doing those in an equitable kind of way
[53:02] and providing that input. So, thank you
so much for participating so much to my
[53:07] parents. Um, I am also a parent of two
DCPS uh students. So this is very very
[53:13] vital to me. I also was online yesterday
with uh Dr. Jackson, the intram
[53:19] chancellor, and went through all of the
iterations of them talking about
[53:23] different things, you know, and each
person coming up doing their
[53:25] presentation and watching on the screen
and everything, but this did not come
[53:29] up.
And like you, I was a little annoyed by
[53:34] that. So I truly understand parentto
parent the frustration that you're
[53:39] currently feeling currently. Um, I look
forward to our round table that has been
[53:43] mentioned quite a few times here and
really digging in to see what type of
[53:47] policies we can try to uh start to craft
around this. Um, so I just appreciate
[53:53] your dedication to this to stay on this
um and and feel
[53:58] definitively your pain in this
particular issue of not being able to
[54:02] get answers or even a discussion um on
on it. So [snorts] I appreciate you so
[54:08] much. Thank you. And with that, I
believe you guys are going to be excused
[54:12] and we're going to call our next group
of people.
[54:15] » Thank you all for your testimony. At
this time, we will call our next round
[54:18] of public witnesses.
[54:34] » Danielle Duncan Hatfit
[54:41] Jacqueline Sanchez,
[54:46] Aaron Wowski,
[54:56] Toba
A.
[55:06] Llewellyn Dixon,
[55:13] Nicole Summers,
[55:18] Andrew M. Lee
[55:28] Ad
Bernu Hanu.
[55:38] » Danielle, we will start with you and go
around.
[55:40] » Okay. Um, good afternoon, good evening,
state board members, SBO staff, invited
[55:47] guests, parents, advocates, civic
communities members. My name is Danielle
[55:52] Duncan. I'm an FBLA representative. Let
me first acknowledge every personal
[55:58] personnel that has collaboratively been
dedicated to the education and learning
[56:02] experience for decades with the safe
with the sole purpose of each one. Teach
[56:07] one. Teaching does not stop. It is a
continuous requirement for sub
[56:13] substantial growth in learning from each
and every humankind in living existence
[56:19] of life. With that being said, I believe
that is very important that we as a
[56:24] nation, community, parent, leader,
teacher and pupil to understand the
[56:28] cognitive patterns of learning and
comprehensive mechanisms to understand
[56:33] how important education is. It's the
knowledge to our souls that we fe that
[56:39] we feed each other without a bias
approach whether it's classification,
[56:43] genification or radicalism of old
patterns of negative attitudes to which
[56:49] we value is acceptable behavior styles
to teaching each and other with
[56:56] with mannerisms.
It is a it is of a great importance that
[57:00] we remember as individuals that we what
we teach and how we teach what we
[57:06] learned and how we gravitate to things
based on understanding is a vi in our
[57:13] environment and economical levels of
coping with each other's cultural
[57:16] standards
will always resonate in the lives of our
[57:20] future for that for that for those who
didn't quite understand that statement
[57:26] I'm going to reference to what I I just
said to a quote from Sammy Rammy. A true
[57:33] seeker can always remedy the re the
reality and obtain freedom from old
[57:38] bondage. One who has transferred his
attitude can change his or her bad
[57:43] circumstances into favorable ones.
In my perspective, that means when we
[57:49] change the narrative of how we ourselves
enlighten the ways we believe in a
[57:53] positive light, we live and when we can
teach each other how to better ourselves
[58:00] in the way we think and believe with
free will. Education is knowledge to
[58:05] know what is right versus what is wrong.
And how we teach from how from the home
[58:10] to the school to the governance that
guides our society starts with the
[58:14] accountability to do what is just and
not losing our compassion for human
[58:19] beings feelings, emotions and continuous
contagious behavior that narrative of
[58:26] negative patterns of past histories of
of unhealed of unhealed attentions.
[58:34] Although we come from different and
diverse backgrounds of teachings, we
[58:40] must take into consideration that nobody
learns at the same pace or understands
[58:45] the same way.
>> Thank you so much for your testimony.
[58:53] » Good evening and thank you for the
opportunity to be here. My name is
[58:56] Jacqueline Sanchez and I'm a parent, a
DCPS parent of a rising kindergartener
[59:01] and a volunteer with Schools Beyond
Screens DC. I'm here to ask the state
[59:05] board to be an important ally in holding
DCPS accountable for how technology is
[59:09] used in our classrooms. Right now, it's
the wild west for parents trying to
[59:14] understand technology policies and
practices at individual schools. Too
[59:18] often, those practices conflict with
growing research about the risks of
[59:21] excessive screenbased instruction for
learning and academic growth. There is a
[59:26] striking disconnect. The technology
industry has spent years selling schools
[59:30] on digital learning, while some of the
people building these products have
[59:33] chosen intentionally low tech schools
for their own children. As one SPS
[59:38] advocate put it, CEOs are using our kids
for their tech products to pay for
[59:42] Waldorf school tuitions for their own
kids. DCPS students should not be
[59:47] subjects of an experiment we later
discover failed them. If technology
[59:51] belongs in our classrooms, the burden
should be on the system to to
[59:56] demonstrate that it is being used
intentionally, appropriately, and in
[59:59] ways that benefit children. That
requires accountability. As we await
[1:00:04] DCPS's new technology guidance, we are
asking for five things. First, make
[1:00:09] implementation measurable and public.
DCPS should regularly publish actual
[1:00:14] usage data for I Ready and other common
platforms against its own guidance along
[1:00:18] with school or ward level compliance. A
policy only matters if we know whether
[1:00:22] it is being followed. Second, put real
numbers in the guidance. Terms like
[1:00:27] defined thresholds and reduce online
assessment time are intentions, not
[1:00:31] standards. Families need maximum weekly
minutes for platform platforms like I
[1:00:36] Ready and age-based expectations for
device free instruction. Third,
[1:00:40] establish ongoing public oversight. DCPS
should report quarterly to the state
[1:00:44] board, council, and AIE on
implementation with public materials and
[1:00:49] opportunities for family and educator
feedback. This community feedback should
[1:00:52] be used to inform contract renewals like
I Ready. Uh fourth, give parents a real
[1:00:58] escalation pathway. Families need a
formal process to report concerns, a
[1:01:03] responsible office, defined response
times, and public reporting on aggregate
[1:01:07] trends. Finally, communicate repeatedly
and transparently. One parent you use
[1:01:12] session or announcement is not enough.
Families should receive guidance at
[1:01:15] launch again in September and midyear
with translations and permanent online
[1:01:18] access to DCPS guidance and individual
schools technology policies. Notices
[1:01:23] cannot simply be posted on students
schoolisssued devices. These are basic
[1:01:27] principles of accountable policymaking,
specific standards, measurable outcomes,
[1:01:31] public reporting, regular oversight, and
a meaningful feedback loop. Our children
[1:01:35] get one kindergartener year, one
kindergarten year, one third grade year,
[1:01:39] and one childhood. They should not have
to wait years for adults to determine
[1:01:43] whether an educational technology
experiment worked. We ask the state
[1:01:47] board to ensure DCPS gets this right
from day one. Thank you. [applause]
[1:01:57] » Good evening. Uh my name is Aaron
Walowski. I'm a W three resident and the
[1:02:01] proud parent of a rising sixth grader at
Deal Middle School and a rising freshman
[1:02:05] at Jackson Reed High School. I want to
talk about two important areas where our
[1:02:08] school school communities need strong
oversight, transparency, and proactive
[1:02:12] leadership. Health staffing uh and
finding the right balance on educational
[1:02:16] technology. First, on health and safety,
I want to make sure board members are
[1:02:20] aware of the available administration of
medication training from the Department
[1:02:23] of Health for school staff. And I
encourage each of you to reach out to uh
[1:02:27] school contacts across your wards and
ensure principles and staff know how to
[1:02:31] access it for the the school year. DC
law requires every public public school
[1:02:36] and uh and and public charter school to
have at least two AOM trained staff on
[1:02:40] site at all times while a dedicated
full-time nurse in every single school
[1:02:44] must remain our ultimate priority. I
also want to recognize that DOH is
[1:02:48] planning some mitigations uh to health
staffing this year. According to parents
[1:02:52] united for school health, do is hiring
additional school-based staff to reduce
[1:02:56] clusters from five schools to four.
However, it should remain a priority of
[1:03:00] city public health and educational
leaders, including this board to monitor
[1:03:04] health staffing levels and their
impacts. Uh just as we need transparency
[1:03:08] and active oversight of school health
staffing, we also need a high level of
[1:03:11] transparency and clear guide guidelines
when it comes to technology in our
[1:03:14] schools. True true transparency around
what tech is used in our classrooms, how
[1:03:19] often it's used, and what data gen it
generates are essential. Without robust
[1:03:24] transparency, we can't effectively
identify and curb excessive screen time
[1:03:28] or protect our our classrooms from
unproven digital platforms. We also
[1:03:32] can't ensure equitable access to
meaningful technology where appropriate.
[1:03:35] We need to we need clear visibility to
identify which resources work and
[1:03:39] whether they are actually reaching
students across all eight wards. We've
[1:03:42] heard many wellfounded concerns about
edtech. At the same time, I don't think
[1:03:46] we have to choose between common sense
safeguards, which which I think folks
[1:03:50] are asking for here, and digital equity.
We can and must do both. Technology
[1:03:55] needs to be treated as a as a tool to
support teachers who should remain at
[1:03:59] the center of instruction and who
deserve clear guidelines and resources
[1:04:02] from the city. And I think there are
examples where technology does s serve
[1:04:07] an important purpose. things like
assisted technology and other essential
[1:04:11] accommodations for students with special
needs, targeted acceleration for twice
[1:04:15] exceptional uh twoe learners, and age
appropriate and genuine digital
[1:04:20] literacy. Preparing students for the
modern world means touch teaching them
[1:04:24] how to navigate technology effectively,
safely, and responsibly, which includes
[1:04:28] knowing when not to use tech in favor of
analog methods that rely on fundamental
[1:04:32] skills like reading, writing, and math.
We need common sense limits on screen
[1:04:36] time where technology is
counterproductive or harmful while also
[1:04:39] ensuring older students across DC have
equitable access to evidencebacked tools
[1:04:43] where appropriate. Thank you.
[1:04:52] » Good evening. My name is Llewellyn
Dixon. I am a teacher at Leki Education
[1:04:57] Campus. I was educated at MCPS. I went
on to receive a bachelor's and master's
[1:05:02] degree from Morehouse College and Emory
University respectively. I'm now
[1:05:07] pursuing a PhD in leadership from
Pepperdine University and prior to
[1:05:11] teaching in DC, I held several
leadership roles in uh where I've raised
[1:05:15] millions of dollars. I'm also an
ordained minister of the gospel of Jesus
[1:05:18] Christ. I have a question for you on the
panel. Would you send your child to
[1:05:23] Leki? If the answer is not an
enthusiastic yes, then it is your moral
[1:05:30] and professional duty to oblige my
forthcoming request. The mission of DCPS
[1:05:35] is to educate children. With an average
literacy and math proficiency rate of
[1:05:40] 13%, it is clear that Leki is failing at
that mission. Over the course of the
[1:05:46] 2025 2026 school year, there was one
in-person staff meeting that took place
[1:05:51] in October and two optional virtual
ones. For at least one entire school
[1:05:56] year, Leki had an infestation of mice
that went unressed until the summertime.
[1:06:01] Funds that have been allocated for
specific purposes have not been made
[1:06:05] available for those purposes, and there
has been no accountability or receipts
[1:06:09] provided. Special education students are
grossly neglected and undereducated. The
[1:06:14] school is experiencing several lawsuits
because of mismanagement. And there are
[1:06:19] several other policy violations that
could be named if time permitted.
[1:06:23] Again, the mission of DCPS is to educate
students in a safe environment. And by
[1:06:29] allowing these things to go on, the
principal, Naika Wilson, has proven that
[1:06:33] she is not in line with said mission.
Any other employee who committed such
[1:06:37] egregious acts would be terminated. So
now the ball is in your court panel. As
[1:06:43] leaders of the school system, it is your
moral duty to ensure that the children
[1:06:47] receive the same level of education that
you received that allows you to sit in
[1:06:51] the seats that you're currently in. In
addition to the mission of DCPS, it is
[1:06:56] wise to have it at the forefront of your
mind to make every school in DC a school
[1:07:01] where you would send your child to. So I
ask again, after hearing the current
[1:07:07] state of the school, would you send your
child there? If the answer is no, do the
[1:07:14] right thing, conduct a full
investigation, and hold Naika Wilson
[1:07:18] accountable for her actions. Thank you.
[1:07:27] » Good evening. My name is Nicole Summers
and I am a DCPS parent here with Schools
[1:07:32] Beyond Screens. I am also a professor at
Georgetown University Law Center. Law is
[1:07:37] a profession that is largely embracing
AI. Law firms use it and many tools
[1:07:42] exist to embed AI in legal practice.
Yet, this does not mean that we are
[1:07:47] reshaping legal education and embedding
the technology across our pedagogies. To
[1:07:52] the contrary, we understand that to use
AI successfully as lawyers, students
[1:07:56] need to learn the tools of legal
analysis first. At Georgetown Law, we
[1:08:00] have required all firstear exams to be
in class with no access to the internet.
[1:08:04] The University of Chicago Law School,
currently ranked the second best law
[1:08:08] school in the nation, has done the same
and has also banned all laptops from
[1:08:12] classrooms. In a memo that circulated
widely, the University of Chicago Law
[1:08:16] School administration said, quote, "AI
is already a pervasive part of legal
[1:08:20] practice and will become more so. It is
simply unrealistic to think that
[1:08:24] students and lawyers will not use AI.
But legal technology is changing rapidly
[1:08:28] and there is no guarantee that the
specific AI tools or techniques that are
[1:08:32] ascended today will be useful when
current students enter practice. Thus,
[1:08:36] AI skills training requires more than
producing students who can use the tools
[1:08:40] that are currently part of legal
practice. Law schools must give students
[1:08:44] the analytical skills and theoretical
toolkit to adapt as technologies change.
[1:08:49] this is how we will ensure that our
students learn how to use AI
[1:08:52] responsibly, effectively, and
ethically." End quote. I completely
[1:08:56] agree with the emphasis DCPS places on
preparing students for college and
[1:08:59] beyond. From my own experience as a
professor, I want to emphasize that to
[1:09:04] succeed in higher ed, students do not
need the quote unquote digital literacy
[1:09:08] that is acquired from time spent
learning how to use AI, doing exercises
[1:09:12] on apps, and making PowerPoints. What
they need is to be able to sustain
[1:09:15] focus, to read and comprehend lengthy
texts, and to think independently and
[1:09:19] critically. Across higher ed, faculty
are discussing students decline across
[1:09:23] all of these areas. Students are more
distracted and distractable. Their
[1:09:27] capacities to absorb lengthy reading
assignments are diminished, and they're
[1:09:30] more reliant on the internet and AI to
think for them. These are skills they
[1:09:35] have to learn in their elementary and
secondary years. And all the research
[1:09:38] has shown that time spent on devices and
on edtech programs undermines them. It
[1:09:43] is precisely as these technologies have
taken over the classroom that we've
[1:09:46] witnessed these effects. Finally, I will
note that in my own law classes at
[1:09:50] Georgetown, I highly discourage laptop
use. I do this because the research
[1:09:54] shows that students learn more when they
handwrite notes. When students
[1:09:57] handwrite, not only are they less
distracted, but the process of
[1:10:01] handwriting actually helps them retain
the material. Yet, so many of my
[1:10:04] students can't act on my encouragement
to handwrite notes. For many of them,
[1:10:07] they don't have the physical handwriting
skills necessary to do so. For others,
[1:10:11] they don't know how to engage in the
process of more slowly taking notes by
[1:10:15] hand. Every year, the students with the
top scores on the blind graded exam have
[1:10:19] been the ones who took handwritten
notes. The status if the status quo
[1:10:23] continues in DCPS is only likely to
increase inequality. Time spent on
[1:10:28] devices makes Oh, thank you.
[1:10:37] Good evening, board members. My name is
A Bhanu. I'm here as a mother of a DCPS
[1:10:42] preK4 student, a physician, and a
volunteer of schools beyond screens. I'd
[1:10:47] like to start with a shared foundational
obligation between medicine and
[1:10:50] educators alike, which is to put the
health, safety, dignity, and development
[1:10:54] of children before any institutional
convenience or commercial interest.
[1:10:58] Though I'm not a pediatrician, as a
physician, I have reviewed the
[1:11:00] literature and it is from this parental
and medical responsibility that I want
[1:11:04] to share the unequivocal risks
associated with increasing presence of
[1:11:08] screens and edtech in our schools. I'll
briefly review the highlights for you.
[1:11:12] As you know, preschool is a period of
exceptionally rapid brain development.
[1:11:16] In a neuroim neuroiming study of three
to five year olds, greater screen
[1:11:20] exposure was associated with low white
brain matter changes associated with
[1:11:24] circuitry tracks supporting language,
executive function, and emergent
[1:11:28] literacy and that's associated with
lower scores on those corresponding
[1:11:31] assessments. The digital environments
introduce rapid stimulation and
[1:11:36] distraction that can compete directly
with sustained attention. Longitudinal
[1:11:39] evidence suggests a direct relationship
between digital media use and ADHD
[1:11:43] symptoms, sleep disruption, and impaired
social relationships in the classroom.
[1:11:48] The problem is not limited to the child
using the device. But research also
[1:11:52] shows that laptop multitasking can also
disrupt um and impair learning of among
[1:11:57] by nearby students who can visualize the
screen. So this makes onetoone devices
[1:12:02] not uh makes it a classroom level issue
and not simply an individual choice.
[1:12:08] A screenheavy school day can displace
one of the most important forms of
[1:12:11] pediatric preventative medicine, which
is movement. Metal analyses have shown
[1:12:16] that students who use greater than two
hours of screen time have greater than
[1:12:19] 67% odds of being overweight or obese
compared to children who use less than
[1:12:24] two hours of screen time per day.
Sedentary behavior, as you know, is
[1:12:27] associated with downstream cardabolic
risk factors such as hypertension and
[1:12:31] diabetes in children. Increasing screen
exposure also raises significant
[1:12:36] pediatric vision concerns with
significantly higher odds of myopia
[1:12:40] among children and greater screen
exposure. In fact, a meta analysis of 45
[1:12:45] studies with more than 335,000
participants found that each additional
[1:12:48] hour of daily screen time use was
associated with 21% higher odds of
[1:12:52] myopia.
I would also be remiss not to mention
[1:12:57] from um an equity perspective the
concerns here. Their research also shows
[1:13:02] that school monitoring and AI
technologies also disappropriately um
[1:13:06] surveil and misclassify and have
increased disciplinary events for black
[1:13:10] and Hispanic students. Numerous studies
also show how educational technology can
[1:13:15] reinforce existing inequalities and
widen the widen the achievement gap.
[1:13:21] Technology has legitimate uses, but we
must distinguish between supplementing
[1:13:25] education and institutionalizing high
volume um exposure to screens. Our
[1:13:30] children's developmental years are not
renewable. Their attention is not a
[1:13:33] commodity. And while edtech vendors have
legitimate commercial incentives,
[1:13:38] schools have a different obligation.
Thank you.
[1:13:41] [applause]
>> Thank you. At this time, we will have a
[1:13:45] round of question from our elected state
board members. Representative Chang.
[1:13:50] » Nicole, would you like to finish your
testimony?
[1:13:52] » Oh, thank you.
>> For sure. Um,
[1:13:58] time spent on devices makes students
less prepared for higher ed. Higher
[1:14:01] income parents will be able to
counteract this effect with screenfree
[1:14:05] supplements at home and through outside
providers. Low-income households will be
[1:14:08] unable to do the same. Thank you and
thanks for the opportunity.
[1:14:12] » And I think one one of the things that
um I was thinking about as as you were
[1:14:18] talking is what the ideal day as a as a
parent would look like. If if you're
[1:14:24] imagining what your child is
experiencing when they go to school, if
[1:14:28] any of you would be willing to walk me
through, uh what what would that what
[1:14:33] would that be?
>> And I'm looking at you, Nicole, because
[1:14:36] I'm
>> sure. Yeah,
[1:14:37] » sure. I mean, so I have a rising first
grader and a rising preker. Um and for
[1:14:43] me, it's human interaction. I mean, it's
very much what he had his first year,
[1:14:46] which had virtually no screens except
for um required I Ready testing. the his
[1:14:51] teacher did not believe in screen based
instruction. Um, and it was wonderful. I
[1:14:56] actually volunteered in the classroom
every week and saw what it was like and
[1:14:58] it was vibrant and human- centered and
the kids were interacting with each
[1:15:02] other. They were, you know, using
physical materials. It's kindergarten,
[1:15:05] so there's a lot of physical play, you
know, play with physical materials still
[1:15:09] and learning with physical materials.
They're learning how to handr write. Um,
[1:15:12] they're reading physical books and I
want that to continue, of course, you
[1:15:15] know, adapted to, um, appropriate age
and educational experiences. But um it
[1:15:20] would really be a hand uh paper and
pencil instruction um throughout and uh
[1:15:26] humanto human interaction.
[1:15:35] » I would echo everything Nicole said and
I would also say that you know an ideal
[1:15:39] day would also have the option for paper
alternatives to electronic testing. So
[1:15:45] if there's going to be testing, I I do
believe that, you know, it it makes
[1:15:48] sense to have some sort of measurement
of growth of where the students start
[1:15:52] and where the students end. But I think
we used to do it in the olden days in my
[1:15:56] day um via via paper. And so I think the
big thing with that has to the resources
[1:16:01] have to come along with that. So we must
not give an unfund funded mandate to
[1:16:05] teachers. I think that's really
important that we invest in the
[1:16:07] materials um and as much outside time
play-based activity particularly in
[1:16:12] those early years as much as we can do
to reinforce policies that um contribute
[1:16:16] to that social emotional learning um and
keep screens out unless absolutely
[1:16:20] necessary. Um but I'm not opposed to
them just an intentional use of the
[1:16:24] screens and a research based one.
>> Arinad either of you have anything to
[1:16:29] add to that?
[1:16:33] I was going to add just the um the
kinesthetic and visual ways of learning
[1:16:37] because of the new centuries of
technology. So as a parent, you have to
[1:16:42] adapt both ways of how you personally
teach them and then have them adapt to
[1:16:46] how they can collaboratively engage with
other students. So understanding the
[1:16:52] cognitive behaviors of what they like to
learn and how they learn and dealing
[1:16:56] with that hands-on with them so they can
be diverse in learning. Thank you,
[1:17:03] » Representative Coulson.
[1:17:07] » Good evening, everyone. Um, I have a
question, I have a comment, and maybe
[1:17:13] just a statement. Uh, so that allow me
to say this and you all chime in when
[1:17:18] you can. Um I was thinking while I was
listening to the parent from deal he
[1:17:23] spoke about health care and nursing and
then right behind that sir you spoke
[1:17:28] about our test scores and the condition
of the buildings and we have heard
[1:17:32] multiple testimonies about screen time
and while that is a very important issue
[1:17:38] I'm wondering why this is the particular
is issue that has galvanized everyone
[1:17:43] together again not saying that it's not
important and I do understand and my
[1:17:48] thought was maybe because their babies
are young and they're just now entering
[1:17:52] the system and so this is the issue that
is at the forefront but my also thought
[1:17:57] my thought is also as they metriculate
through the system and as you begin to
[1:18:02] see test scores uh which was mentioned
because I don't want to name any other
[1:18:06] problems or you begin to have the need
for a nurse will we have this same
[1:18:11] response so I guess my question is
specifically if you all can tell me how
[1:18:16] we got here with everyone being so um
coordinated with the screen time and
[1:18:23] then uh what would that look like once
you all have succeeded or once you move
[1:18:27] on? Will this energy and this um
coalition then move on to support some
[1:18:33] of the other concerns that older parents
or parents of older students may have?
[1:18:39] » Can I just uh jump in really quickly?
So, as a parent of of older um students,
[1:18:45] I I mean, I can't speak for sort of
what's what's galvanized everyone. I can
[1:18:48] I can say I am thinking about concerns
across the board in our schools. So, I'm
[1:18:53] concerned about whether or not there are
nurses. I'm also concerned about what
[1:18:57] the the amount amount of screen time and
I, you know, I had a daughter who was an
[1:19:00] eighth grader this past year at Deal.
We've had a great experience at Deal. I
[1:19:04] saw we saw she saw a huge increase in
the amount of technology she used. So I
[1:19:09] I think part of what's driving the issue
right now is it's happening in real
[1:19:12] time. Things are things are increasing
exponentially. So the these concerns,
[1:19:18] concerns at specific schools, concerns
with school health are are ongoing
[1:19:22] concerns and they deserve attention. But
I I think from my perspective,
[1:19:27] [clears throat] this is happening right
now. It's, you know, things look
[1:19:30] differently on the tech side than they
did five or 10 years ago. And it's
[1:19:34] happening really fast. So I think folks
are reacting to that. But that's my
[1:19:37] take.
>> And would the movement from across the
[1:19:40] country also play a part as well? The
federal lawsuit. Uh I believe we started
[1:19:45] to hear testimony uh from this group
after that was dropped. So is that part
[1:19:49] of it as well?
>> So I think I think doubling on what Erin
[1:19:53] said is exactly right. I think this is a
byproduct of COVID. So I think what
[1:19:57] happened during COVID is we were all
scrambling to make sure that our kids
[1:20:01] could get an education of some kind. And
what happened was there was a huge
[1:20:04] influx of money from the federal
government distributed to all um all
[1:20:09] states and localities and they had to
spend the money and get the devices out.
[1:20:13] And so they they just willy-nilly sent
them out with no thoughtful process
[1:20:18] behind how they were crafting the
policy. And now here we are years later
[1:20:22] dealing with the in-person real life
chaos that is on the ground. Um and I
[1:20:28] the urgency and why we all came
together. I think it was organic. It was
[1:20:32] not driven by a national movement. It
was we found each other by talking to
[1:20:36] each other at meetings and on WhatsApp
groups and that's how we just started
[1:20:39] organizing and I think the urgency is
that this tech is corrosive the way it's
[1:20:44] being used and there is an urgency to
fix it fast and so that is why that
[1:20:48] movement I think has galvanized.
[1:20:52] » Thank you.
[1:20:56] So sorry, represent
[1:21:00] » Representative Henderson.
>> Yes, thank you.
[1:21:03] » Uh I do feel like most of the people who
have testified on this issue have young
[1:21:09] young children. Um but Miss Summers, you
are also talking about um higher ed. Um,
[1:21:16] can you connect the dots a little bit
for us and kind of what that means for
[1:21:22] what you're saying for older students?
>> Sure. Yeah. So, my concern while I have
[1:21:29] very young kids, my concern actually is
much more about what is going to happen
[1:21:32] to them in the older grades because
right now my kids are at start, my older
[1:21:37] one is, and there's very little screen
use, especially in the early years. Um,
[1:21:42] » correct.
What I'm very concerned about is having
[1:21:46] as a professor having a and then having
this be my own kids having a generation
[1:21:51] of students who can't read lengthy
texts, who can't think independently,
[1:21:56] who can't take handwritten notes because
this is a part I had to cut out in my
[1:22:00] rush through my testimony, but um they
were never taught how to handr write.
[1:22:04] Many don't have the physical handwriting
skills to handwrite because they quickly
[1:22:08] moved on to devices in the lower years
of school. And um then in when they were
[1:22:13] in high school, they were never taught
how to take notes by hand. And so you
[1:22:16] get to law school and you just can't do
it. And I I can't teach that's not my
[1:22:20] role as a law professor. Um we expect
students to be able to do that. And so
[1:22:24] there all these things that we're
witnessing happening in at when students
[1:22:28] are getting to law school which is for
most you know their terminal education
[1:22:32] and they're lacking these sort of basic
skills that for generations they got in
[1:22:35] the lower grades and they're coming to
law schools and higher ed unprepared and
[1:22:42] I'm really worried about that at well
I'm for a parent strongly for my own
[1:22:48] children that they are going to grow up
not able to have those skills to be able
[1:22:51] to read substantial material. material,
think about it, digest it, have the
[1:22:56] patience and focus for it and be able to
think about it independently um and be
[1:23:00] able to write and think well and I am
extremely um worried about having a
[1:23:06] generation of law soon very soon having
a generation of law students who cannot
[1:23:11] do that and I think it all come what you
know in higher ed we're getting students
[1:23:15] again at the end they're in their mid20s
um for many of them we we can't give
[1:23:19] them those basic skills that has to be
um in the lower years. Thanks. Uh,
[1:23:23] anyone else want to talk about the older
ages?
[1:23:31] » Um, I will say that because technology
started booming at a fast rate at
[1:23:35] certain generational levels that some
parents found it easier to and schools
[1:23:41] found it easier to teach people with the
gaming systems. So they took the gaming
[1:23:45] systems and incorporated into learning
capabilities not knowing that how it's
[1:23:50] going to have a translucive effect on
them in the long run when it comes to
[1:23:53] health and understanding how to do
regular comprehension skills.
[1:23:59] » Thank you.
>> Thank you representative Johnson Law.
[1:24:06] » Thank you all again so much for your
testimony. I I have so many things and
[1:24:10] uh Mr. Dixon I represent word eight so
lucky is one of my schools. So, I will
[1:24:14] be coming to you after this, but as we
have this conversation and kind of
[1:24:17] piggybacking off of what Representative
Coulson said about this particular
[1:24:21] issue, I I wish I had you guys for
special education. I wish I had you all
[1:24:26] for transportation. I wish I had you all
for bullying. I wish I had you all for
[1:24:30] safety because those are like the top
three things that I get from my schools.
[1:24:35] And when it comes to technology, the
other side of this, again, as we talk
[1:24:39] about equity,
many of our families still don't have
[1:24:43] computers. Many of our families don't
even have access to Wi-Fi or to the
[1:24:48] internet for them to even, let's say, if
they have a research project. Many of
[1:24:52] them are in the library. Not saying that
everybody in W 8, but but many but many
[1:24:56] of them do. I get calls from schools
saying they don't even have enough
[1:24:59] devices. They're not even updated enough
to even h do some of the things that you
[1:25:03] all are talking about. So as we have
this conversation again, I would like to
[1:25:07] know where are you all with W 8
engagement?
[1:25:11] » Well,
um well, I started with engagement with
[1:25:15] W 8 and was part of some of the
enhancements of program and teaching on
[1:25:20] a on a on a I'm going to say low income
level. So I understand exactly where you
[1:25:25] coming from as far as them not having.
But a lot of the things that I find that
[1:25:29] is important when it comes to safety is
about them being able to keep the the
[1:25:34] circular networks and doing the the
educational needs that they need to do
[1:25:39] whether their environment is disruptive
or whether they just feel a competitive
[1:25:43] moment to have to work versus go to
school or have to bounce around and do
[1:25:46] certain things. So I think it's an
economical very variable based on their
[1:25:51] environments and also the narratives of
them staying in the the limelight of
[1:25:57] being in competition with other schools
and other things being able to stay
[1:26:01] focused with certain things.
>> So it's a it's a little bit about a lot
[1:26:05] of bit of of just environmental and
homebased things and then school-based
[1:26:10] favoritism things. So it's a lot of
things that need the nuances.
[1:26:14] » Yeah. Thank you, Miss Danielle. Mr.
Dixon,
[1:26:19] you mentioned Lucky and you mentioned
about the mice and you mentioned about
[1:26:23] special education. In the last 40
seconds, you can take the rest of my
[1:26:27] time. Um, one, can you just update me?
Has anyone responded from DGS? If not,
[1:26:32] let's follow up offline. And then two,
you mentioned special education. What
[1:26:36] things are not happening so I can also
follow up in regards to that as well.
[1:26:40] » Yeah. And and I I want to preface my
statement by saying this. Um I have been
[1:26:45] in DCPS only for eight months and I've
observed all these things. So um C
[1:26:50] phrases like DGS I'm not really familiar
with. Um
[1:26:53] » I'm sorry. Department of General
Services.
[1:26:55] » Okay. Department. Okay. Thank you. Um
and even with the sped stuff I am still
[1:26:59] working through some of those some of
that knowledge. However, um I have not
[1:27:04] received any responses from DGS as of
yet. Okay. And
[1:27:08] » let's I'm out of time. Let's follow up
offline. Thank you, Mix. Thank you.
[1:27:14] Representative Thompson.
[1:27:18] » Um, sir, you can take 30 seconds to
finish your response.
[1:27:23] » Uh, the most recent example I can give
as far as Thank you for that. Um, as far
[1:27:27] as the SPED violations. Um, there is
again it's a it's an abuse of power in
[1:27:34] in in in certain kind of ways. I am not
sped certified for example. Um, I don't
[1:27:40] mind, you know, teaching special
education, but I'm currently not sped
[1:27:43] certified. Um, after some conversation,
um, that was contentious between the
[1:27:48] principal and I, um, I was placed in an
ILS class this year, um, to be to to
[1:27:55] teach there in a space where that is not
my certification. And it is, uh, and
[1:28:00] that's a common practice that happens at
the school as well. Um, I have uh when I
[1:28:04] was a teacher last year in third and
fourth grade as a small groups ELA
[1:28:07] teacher, there were two students uh I
don't want to say their names, but there
[1:28:11] were two students who could not read or
write their own names and very clearly
[1:28:16] belonged in special education and they
had made it to third grade now going to
[1:28:21] fourth grade being completely ignored.
Um, as a naive first year teacher there,
[1:28:26] I went to Yes, ma'am. I said 30 seconds
and you 30 seconds times two and 30
[1:28:30] seconds times three and I I believe you
are a good teacher so you know what that
[1:28:34] means. Um I I just want to say uh really
quickly uh you are talking uh to one of
[1:28:39] the right people. Um but I wanted her to
be able to get a sense of um what you
[1:28:43] raised especially since uh you are one
testimony here and we're getting
[1:28:48] extended testimony about a larger a
different issue. Right. Um the beautiful
[1:28:53] thing uh when when multiple people come
uh is you get to delve in and everybody
[1:28:58] gets three minutes. Um I will also say
um you mentioned you are new to DCPS. I
[1:29:04] do see uh your union president in the
back. I don't know if you've met Miss
[1:29:08] Fuches. Uh I've known Miss Fuches for
many years because she's taught in war 7
[1:29:13] for many years. Um and that is your
sister Ward. So I highly recommend you
[1:29:18] stop and see her. um as another um
avenue uh to get your issues addressed.
[1:29:27] Okay. Um I
had another thought, but I lost it
[1:29:32] probably 35 seconds ago.
>> Sorry.
[1:29:35] » Um and so I uh will yield the rest of my
time. Um because I cut you off for a
[1:29:41] reason I just can't remember. Um but
it's okay. It's okay because you got
[1:29:45] across what you needed to get across.
So, uh, thank you all everyone, uh, for
[1:29:49] your testimony this evening. Um, and
I'll turn back to you, Director Butler.
[1:29:54] » Thank you, Representative Williams.
>> Yes. Um, hello everyone. Um, so I'm I'm
[1:30:00] going to come back to the, uh, DCPS
technology guidance that I was given
[1:30:03] today. Um, one of the components of the
platform, uh, is entitled family
[1:30:09] partnership and communication pathway.
It says very clearly, "Families need
[1:30:14] clear information and a simple pathway
for questions or concerns." So, I'm
[1:30:20] curious, do you feel like you have that?
And if not, what would it look like?
[1:30:33] So, we also heard a little bit about
some of those pieces being included and
[1:30:37] um right now uh there is no back and
forth with DCPS that exists at all. Um
[1:30:44] so I think what that would look like is
kind of something along the lines of my
[1:30:48] testimony. um having an escalation
pathway. So if families have uh issues
[1:30:53] that they're experiencing on any number
of issues in addition to some of the
[1:30:56] ones that were spoken about here,
there's a real path to escalate it to
[1:31:01] somebody that will listen and engage. Um
we have a there's a September 1st
[1:31:06] technology parent university um session
coming up. I I would venture to guess
[1:31:12] that that will not be interactive. It
will be us being spoken to about the
[1:31:17] guidance but no opportunity to comment.
There were hundreds of comments
[1:31:20] submitted um for the session last night
and as you noticed um they did not
[1:31:25] answer any of them. So it would be a
real process.
[1:31:29] » Yeah. Does anyone want to add to that?
I was going to say engagement and having
[1:31:35] some type of real data core value where
there's issues or concerns that parents
[1:31:40] and teachers have on a database level
where they can reach out and someone is
[1:31:43] being accountable for addressing those
issues instead of leaving them to a year
[1:31:49] later or they get to 128 and they still
have those competencies of problems.
[1:31:54] » Right. Yeah. something that I'm thinking
about because I I I hear you uh both and
[1:31:59] uh miss just to your point about just
DCBS kind of talking at you. Um that was
[1:32:04] my experience today. Um
and and so uh it's it it's just not
[1:32:11] collaborative. I and I think that's one
of the things why I'm so excited about a
[1:32:16] new marministration, right? I really
think we need a cultural shift in our
[1:32:20] schools, you know, that puts students,
uh, teachers, families at the center.
[1:32:26] And, and as I and I, yeah, and and I've
heard this also from our WTU president
[1:32:31] hundreds of times, right, that sometime
like we really need to be thoughtful
[1:32:35] about what central administration is
doing, not have it be so great, but also
[1:32:39] have it support schools and not make
teaching and learning harder. Um, so,
[1:32:45] uh, yeah, I think we there's a lot of
room for growth here. I don't want to
[1:32:49] like have it be a gotcha system with
teachers and and I want to think about
[1:32:53] proper communication channels, but I I
don't think we have that yet.
[1:33:00] » Thank you, Representative Best.
>> Thank you, uh, Jacqueline. Thank you for
[1:33:06] your continued partnership and support
uh, and advocacy on this issue. Uh, I
[1:33:10] want to talk to Mr. Dixon. Um, so
I don't want to lie to you, man. Like I
[1:33:16] hear you and uh that's extremely uh
unfortunate. I wish that there was
[1:33:22] something that this board could do. I
wish that we could launch an
[1:33:26] investigation uh but unfortunately the
way that we're set up, we just don't
[1:33:31] have that power um to really act on
that. Um I think that we can talk about
[1:33:38] what are some effective ways that we can
help you address some of those problems.
[1:33:43] I think you know one mentioned you know
connecting with Laura but like I think
[1:33:48] we can also figure out like what are
those other avenues outside of uh this
[1:33:54] right here. Um because unfortunately
this board doesn't have that power. Uh
[1:33:58] where most uh areas and regions have a
school board. Uh we're not a school
[1:34:04] board. Um, we act as a policy, uh,
advisor. Um, and so, um, I'd love to
[1:34:12] talk to you afterwards about what I
would do if I was in that scenario. And
[1:34:15] I appreciate you for being brave and
standing up and speaking out against
[1:34:19] some things that you're seeing and
you're witnessing and putting yourself
[1:34:22] on the line. Uh, so I I do appreciate
that.
[1:34:26] » Absolutely. May I
>> Yes, absolutely.
[1:34:28] » Yeah. So, uh, I I thank you for
clarifying that for me because again,
[1:34:32] new to the system. Um, but also even my
my intention was that even if you all
[1:34:38] are not able to do something, I wanted
it to be said very loudly, dragged out
[1:34:43] of the darkness because my experience
has been even in my eight months that a
[1:34:47] lot of things are done too quietly and I
didn't want this to be quiet. So, thank
[1:34:53] you. I appreciate it.
And and I just think that, you know, for
[1:34:57] those of you who are here um who have
continued to advocate for certain
[1:35:02] things, I think one thing that you could
advocate for in the future is that this
[1:35:06] board has some more power to do some
things uh outside of what we can do
[1:35:09] right now. [applause]
[1:35:14] » Thank you, sir.
[1:35:18] Representative Chang.
[1:35:30] That's for the next round. He he goes
>> right. Representative Goule. Oh,
[1:35:34] » thank you. I just want to thank you all
for your testimony tonight and thank
[1:35:38] again uh our our parents who've come out
on this screen time issue. You I think
[1:35:44] the reason I I think uh Representative
Coulson, you mentioned it like why is
[1:35:47] this such an important issue for people?
And I think it's because they're seeing
[1:35:50] the effect on their younger kids. And I
think this is where it's just
[1:35:53] tremendously concerning to me is on the
brain development of our young children.
[1:35:57] I think uh you Miss Sanchez mentioned it
and hit the nail on the head by saying
[1:36:01] we need an intentional use of this
technology. And I think that's the real
[1:36:04] concern is that our youngest learners
we have I think a physician Dr. uh Berna
[1:36:12] Hugh am I saying that right?
Viru,
[1:36:15] I think you you cited the research on
this and I think that is what should be
[1:36:19] the guide on this is what what are our
physicians, our independent physicians
[1:36:24] saying about the effect this has on our
children's learning on their brain
[1:36:27] development and then using that research
to start to set reasonable limits on the
[1:36:33] amount of time and the types of
activities that should be on screens and
[1:36:36] I think if we do that we're going to get
to a good place. Uh, so is there
[1:36:40] anything more you would like to add with
that research on really drilling down to
[1:36:44] the youngest kids and what we're seeing
from pediatricians because you talked a
[1:36:48] little bit about it. I wasn't sure if
there's anything you wanted to add to
[1:36:50] what you said previously.
>> Short of going into the specific
[1:36:54] studies, I just want to call this out.
This is parallel to a public health
[1:36:57] crisis. So, we've seen already in our
children's social media use causing
[1:37:00] significant mental health concerns. And
so, we have a choice to be ahead of the
[1:37:05] wave, on the wave, or behind the wave.
And so I think that's why this is a
[1:37:09] national issue and it is very personal
to all of us because if we don't start
[1:37:13] now, it will be too late in two years.
[applause]
[1:37:20] Well, I want to thank all of you uh for
speaking on this and I'll just lastly I
[1:37:24] want to go to Miss Summers on this and I
I appreciate you then sharing the kind
[1:37:29] of the the end of all this with with
some of our students who still haven't
[1:37:33] developed these skills, you know, even
when they get to to law school and
[1:37:36] graduate programs. What do you think at
the high school level is necessary to
[1:37:42] transition those students into college
and then into professional programs? Uh
[1:37:48] like what what skills should they be
working on to you know really so so you
[1:37:53] have students coming in ready for law
school because that's I think where you
[1:37:56] can share expertise with us here.
>> Sure. I think they have to they should
[1:38:00] be reading full books. They should be
reading a lot of full books on paper.
[1:38:05] That should be an expectation. They
should be able to analyze those texts
[1:38:09] critically and independently and that
involves writing. There was an excellent
[1:38:13] article that came out in the New York
Times yesterday. I don't know if people
[1:38:15] saw about what's lost when students
outsource writing to AI and I
[1:38:20] wholeheartedly believe with the perspect
agree with the perspective in that
[1:38:23] article which is that we have to figure
out a way to get students to write
[1:38:26] independently in an age of AI where they
are not using it because they are losing
[1:38:30] critical thinking skills when they do
not write anymore.
[1:38:34] [applause]
>> Thank you.
[1:38:37] President Patterson
>> again thank you all for your
[1:38:42] testimonies. Um the thing is when you go
last pretty much I got very smart
[1:38:46] colleagues. They ask pretty much the
questions that you are kind of
[1:38:50] formulating in your mind. So I
appreciate um Representative Best kind
[1:38:54] of spelling out the authorities that we
have and we don't have which we've
[1:38:57] advocated for more of. Um, but some
people think that we should not have
[1:39:01] those powers to perform the things that
people come to us every single month and
[1:39:06] add ask us to do. I appreciate um,
Representative Thompson pointing out
[1:39:10] that also that the president of the WTU
is here as well. Um, and I'm speaking to
[1:39:16] you, Mr. Dixon, at this particular
point. Um, but I'm going to come back to
[1:39:20] you, but I would like to say, Miss
Sanchez, thank you. Thank you for giving
[1:39:23] me five things to look at right off the
bat. I always appreciate someone who
[1:39:27] gives me a laundry list of something
that I can go and research as I get
[1:39:30] ready for the round table. So, thank you
for that. Really appreciate that. Coming
[1:39:34] back to you, uh, Mr. Dixon, um, I am a W
8 resident. Um, I have children that are
[1:39:40] raised in W 8. They now are past the age
that they would attend Leki. So, when
[1:39:44] you ask me that question, I cannot send
my children there. Plus, we're out of
[1:39:48] that. That's not my right school. Turner
Elementary School is okay. But I
[1:39:53] appreciate how you came to this meeting
because you're frustrated and you're
[1:39:57] frustrated like I'm frustrated as a W 8
resident. I've watched Leki. I've lived
[1:40:02] in that ward for over 31 years at this
point. And I remember when Leki was a
[1:40:07] totally different school. It is located
right above bowling or JBA as we call it
[1:40:13] now, Joint Base Anacostia Bowling. And
it was the school that everybody wanted
[1:40:17] to send their kid to in the southwest
area in Ward 8. I know it specifically
[1:40:22] children that you would get stationed
there because I'm a military member
[1:40:25] previously and they would say go to
Leki. Go to Leki. It's a great school.
[1:40:29] You're going to get a great education.
And now when I look up their proficiency
[1:40:32] rates, they are deplorable. They are
absolutely deplorable. So when you ask
[1:40:37] people the question, would you send your
children there? Most parents, even W 8
[1:40:41] parents are going to say no.
No. And so you've heard my colleagues
[1:40:47] talk about what what we have and what we
don't have. One thing that we have
[1:40:50] retained is the bully pull pit. Just
like the other parents are coming here
[1:40:54] for screen time, we have the power to
elevate concerns such as yours to
[1:40:59] another level. Our council member lives
within walking distance of Leki. I know
[1:41:04] exactly where he lives. We need to raise
the temperature on this problem. I look
[1:41:10] forward to working with you to raise the
temperature because as you eloquently
[1:41:14] said, bringing this out of the darkness
where it's just happening and nobody's
[1:41:19] addressing it and we continue to see it
happen to all the kids. I think they
[1:41:22] have what do you have 300 students there
some
[1:41:25] » about three or 400,
>> right? Exactly. That are in this
[1:41:28] situation right now and nobody's raising
this issue. Nobody's raising the issue
[1:41:32] of proficiency.
I look forward to working with you.
[1:41:35] Thank you for coming here in the manner
that you came. Thank you. Thank you,
[1:41:39] sir.
>> Thank you all for your testimonies this
[1:41:42] evening. We will now move on with our
next round of public witnesses.
[1:41:53] I'm sorry. Susan Friy,
[1:42:01] Maria Finluc Finuk,
[1:42:07] Sally Schwarz,
Adria Kenny,
[1:42:16] Laura Fuches,
[1:42:21] and Gabriella.
Silva,
[1:42:35] » Susan, we will start with you and then
work our way around.
[1:42:38] » Thank you.
>> Good evening. My name is Susan and I'm a
[1:42:43] W4 resident and mom of twin boys
entering second grade in a DCPS
[1:42:47] elementary.
>> Susan, could you pull the mic a little
[1:42:50] bit closer? We can't hear you.
>> Sorry.
[1:42:53] Okay. For me to start over?
>> Yes.
[1:42:54] » Thank you.
>> One second. Let me get the clock.
[1:42:57] » All right.
>> Go ahead.
[1:42:58] » Good evening. My name is Susan and I'm a
W4 resident and mom of twin boys
[1:43:02] entering second grade in a DCPS
elementary in a school and community I
[1:43:07] genuinely love. I'm here tonight because
the evidence suggests that DCPS's
[1:43:11] current approach to screens and edtech
is not serving our children well. And I
[1:43:15] believe we can and must do better. A few
months ago, I read a Wall Street Journal
[1:43:20] investigation entitled How YouTube Took
Over the American Classroom. The article
[1:43:24] is about YouTube specifically, but
points to something broader. There's a
[1:43:28] mounting research base proving that
profit-driven screen overuse in schools
[1:43:32] is hurting children's ability to learn.
Not just academically, but socially and
[1:43:37] behaviorally. Any parent who has had a
child on a screen too long knows what it
[1:43:41] looks like. the short fuse, the
resistance to putting the device down,
[1:43:45] the struggle to re-engage with the real
world afterward. These are not parenting
[1:43:49] failures. These are documented,
predictable responses to overexposure.
[1:43:54] And if it's happening at home, we should
be asking hard questions about what is
[1:43:57] happening during the school day. I'm
also deeply troubled that this is
[1:44:01] rapidly becoming an equity issue.
Wealthier districts are pulling back on
[1:44:05] screens and putting safeguards in place.
Schools with fewer resources are growing
[1:44:09] more dependent on edtech in part because
these products are offered at a low
[1:44:12] price point. They're making it cheap
because they know that our children's
[1:44:16] data is valuable.
Furthermore, my husband is a veteran. We
[1:44:21] are raising our boys to be present,
engaged, and oriented towards something
[1:44:25] larger than themselves. Algorithmically
driven content designed specifically to
[1:44:30] capture and hold child's attention works
against every one of those goals. I'll
[1:44:34] note that research has documented boys
being served particularly harmful
[1:44:38] content through these platforms which
compounds our concerns. With that, I'm
[1:44:42] leaving you with three specific asks.
First, a real audit of how much time our
[1:44:46] children are spending on screens during
the during the school day. Parents are
[1:44:50] advised to monitor overall screen time.
Only a true accounting of time spent on
[1:44:54] screens at school will allow parents to
make informed choices at home. Second, a
[1:44:59] formal plan for screen use in schools
developed collaboratively by school
[1:45:03] administration and PTAs so that the
total screen time our children
[1:45:07] experience in and out of the classroom
is intentional, coordinated, and
[1:45:10] developmentally appropriate. Third, a
commitment to a mostly device-free
[1:45:16] elementary environment as the default
with technology introduced as part of a
[1:45:19] purposeful curriculum, not as a
substitute for instruction or a
[1:45:23] classroom management tool.
DCPS is spending $54 million annually on
[1:45:29] tech and 600 million 600,000 on AI.
Comparatively, they spend $37 million
[1:45:35] annually on special education. That is a
decision worth examination.
[1:45:40] These are funds that could be and should
be reallocated to address other common
[1:45:44] areas of concern. My kids, as well as
kids across this district, all deserve
[1:45:49] an education grounded in what the
evidence actually says. Thank you.
[1:46:00] Hello. Thank you for having us here. Uh
my name is Maria Felanuk. I'm a world
[1:46:04] one parent uh of an almost fifth grader.
Uh and this is my experience as a parent
[1:46:09] of a fourth grader at DCPS title one
school. Upon asking how the school was
[1:46:14] each day, we started hearing excited
reports about free time on the computer
[1:46:18] that our child was getting every week,
if not every day. Upon further
[1:46:22] questioning, it seemed like free time is
earned by finishing up work early and
[1:46:26] was given by teachers every reward. What
the kids do during free time? We had the
[1:46:31] same questions. I can't speak for all
the children, but here's what he said. A
[1:46:36] lot of time was spent on coding. While
it sounds educational, most of coding we
[1:46:41] observed was done by modifying and then
playing existing video games. Not only
[1:46:46] that, one of the main websites used,
scratch.com,
[1:46:50] has social media functions such as
counting views and engagements under
[1:46:53] children's projects. I'm sure I don't
have to explain why this is problematic.
[1:46:58] I'm not against the idea of teaching
coding. It can be fantastic tool to
[1:47:01] teach logic and problem solving. If this
school board decides that coding should
[1:47:06] be part of our DCPS education, then
teach it. Teach it by having real
[1:47:10] curriculum, adult leaders, by
scaffolding skills, by measuring
[1:47:14] progress. The way coding is experienced
at DCPS is much closer to video game
[1:47:18] based social media.
Another program that my child cited was
[1:47:23] Sora. Sora is a digital library that
allows kids to check out digital books
[1:47:28] and read them on the computer screen.
There are multiple issues regarding
[1:47:32] screenbased reading such as drastically
increased myopia risk and difficulties
[1:47:38] focusing for kids with ADHD. We know
that reading physical books results in
[1:47:42] retaining more information because it
engages multiple senses.
[1:47:46] Books have weight, covers have textures,
and most importantly, words have a
[1:47:50] physical address. All those aspects help
us retain information and develop
[1:47:54] stamina for longer reading passages. I
checked my child's average time spent on
[1:47:59] Saurin. It was five minutes.
That brings me to my last point. Most of
[1:48:04] the three time most of the free time was
just spent on video games. Some of them
[1:48:09] I actually purchased and provided by
DCPS. For example, Prodigy, which is
[1:48:13] known for low quality instruction,
providing minuscule or learning to game
[1:48:17] ratio and aggressive upselling. But the
main offender is Google mini sites that
[1:48:22] complete that compile links to video
games that bypass the district firewall.
[1:48:27] Those games range from low quality at
best to mature content at worst. We
[1:48:32] cannot expect teachers to play screen
time police to every child. The solution
[1:48:37] is not a better firewall. During the
last week of school, my child
[1:48:40] self-reported six hours of screens a
day.
[1:48:47] Thank you.
[1:48:55] Um, hello everyone. Good evening. Uh,
I'm Sally Schwarz representing
[1:49:00] Globalized DC. I'm here tonight to urge
inclusion of a clear state level policy
[1:49:06] allowing for competency based credit for
world languages as part of the new high
[1:49:10] school graduation requirements proposal.
Simply stated, this policy creates the
[1:49:16] opportunity for DC students to earn
recognition and credit for languages
[1:49:20] learned outside school based on their
proficiency level as measured by an
[1:49:24] independent assessment approved by AIE.
Twice before in 2015 and 2018, prior
[1:49:32] state boards have made the same
recommendation. In both those cases,
[1:49:36] ASIE declined to move forward.
I am very hopeful we will not do that
[1:49:41] again. Uh this recommendation aligns
with the new graduate profile and with
[1:49:46] ASI's vision for creating more
flexibility and choice for students,
[1:49:51] real world experience and pathways to
careers. It is simply a broader
[1:49:56] application of the credit by exam policy
that underpins the new seal of
[1:50:00] biiteracy.
This is a policies whose time has come
[1:50:05] thanks to so much good work on the part
of ASI by the task force that I served
[1:50:10] on and by this state board. So I'm very
grateful to all of you for getting us to
[1:50:16] this point. Why do we keep pressing for
this policy? Because students across the
[1:50:21] city will tangibly benefit. Individual
students will have their language
[1:50:25] learning outside school credited on
their report cards, receiving a widely
[1:50:29] recognized credential that can help them
when they apply for college or jobs. And
[1:50:34] it will give us as a city the policy
tool we need to create more for credit
[1:50:40] out of school language options to
augment in school offerings. then we can
[1:50:46] begin to address some of the current
deep inequities and discontinuities
[1:50:51] in K12 world language access in DC. Uh
but here is the problem. The language in
[1:50:58] AI's final proposal in regard to this
policy as presented at the board's
[1:51:03] August working session is ambiguous and
unclear at least to me. Uh we are in
[1:51:11] support of LEA having LEAs having the
option to award credit and to allow
[1:51:16] competency based credit to fulfill
graduation requirements. We are opposed
[1:51:20] to requiring that LEAs take any
additional step requesting permission or
[1:51:26] a waiver which could represent a huge
roadblock um and a step backwards from
[1:51:32] our current uh less than satisfactory
situations. We urge AIE and the board to
[1:51:37] fix this language before this proposal
is approved. We remain hopeful you will
[1:51:41] get there. Um and look forward to
working with AIE board members, ELEAs,
[1:51:47] language experts and other stakeholders
in addressing issues around
[1:51:51] implementation, access and support for
students. This will make a big
[1:51:55] difference. Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[1:52:03] » Good evening. My name is Adria Kenny and
I'll be following up on Sally's
[1:52:06] testimony. I'm a W six resident. I'm a
former educator and international
[1:52:11] affairs professional and I'd like to
share my perspective on the value of
[1:52:15] global education and language learning
opportunities in the hopes that this
[1:52:19] will highlight the value of adopting a
policy that grants competency based
[1:52:23] credit for world learning. I know
firsthand that foreign language
[1:52:27] proficiency can open doors to career
opportunities, especially careers here
[1:52:31] here in DC. In my case, I fell in love
with Spanish as a student in Ohio, which
[1:52:36] later motivated me to study abroad, live
overseas after college, achieve Spanish
[1:52:41] fluency, and eventually to move here.
You see, my experiences as a student
[1:52:46] sparked an enduring passion for
international exchange. And I figured DC
[1:52:51] was the perfect place to build my career
since this is the heart of our nation's
[1:52:55] international relations community. I am
far from the only one who has come to DC
[1:53:00] with the intent of building a career in
global affairs. Not long after moving
[1:53:05] here, I took a job at an international
relations think tank. And what was
[1:53:08] striking to me about working there was
that every single one of my immediate
[1:53:12] colleagues was a transplant like me.
Every single one of them. There was not
[1:53:16] a single person with whom I worked
closely was a native Washingtonian.
[1:53:21] While I am thrilled to make my home
here, I think there is an opportunity to
[1:53:25] expand global learning opportunities so
that more DC youth develop the interest
[1:53:30] and skills needed to take jobs at
embassies, think tanks, and other global
[1:53:35] institutions. A competency, a competency
based credit for world language would
[1:53:40] communicate the value of foreign
language study, incentivize a broader
[1:53:44] range of students to study foreign
languages, and reward those already
[1:53:48] developing foreign language proficiency.
While plenty of DC students are
[1:53:53] currently able to pursue foreign
language learning through their schools,
[1:53:56] these opportunities are not equitable
across schools. Furthermore, students
[1:54:00] who develop proficiency outside of the
traditional classroom setting do not
[1:54:05] currently have a way to receive
recognition for their efforts.
[1:54:09] A competency based credit option could
open the door for more students to
[1:54:13] pursue language learning, thus readying
an entire population of next generation
[1:54:17] global leaders here in DC. I am a living
example of the career options that
[1:54:22] language learning can unlock. And I ask
the board to approve the proposal for a
[1:54:26] competency based credit for world
language. Thank you.
[1:54:34] » All right. Good evening. We are at an
inflection point for education in the
[1:54:38] District of Columbia. Come January, we
will have a whole host of newly elected
[1:54:42] leadership across our government. And
with that comes an opportunity to
[1:54:46] reinvision education, especially in DC
public schools. The Washington Teachers
[1:54:51] Union is preparing to meet the moment
handinand with all of our key
[1:54:55] stakeholders. We are done with the
top-down methods that have colonized our
[1:55:00] thinking in this district and have a
plan to build people power by engaging
[1:55:04] our members, parents, students, and the
community at large from the bottom up.
[1:55:09] In school year 2526, the W2 focused
inwards, building up avenues for our
[1:55:14] members to have their voices heard,
starting from their schools and building
[1:55:18] outwards towards how our union is
governed. We engaged in bylaws,
[1:55:21] amendments that enshrined greater checks
and balances and removed power from the
[1:55:25] presidency as well as founded a whole
host of committees to ensure that our
[1:55:29] union is listening and getting all of
our direction from the members
[1:55:33] themselves. Now, we turn to the
district. This school year, we are
[1:55:38] focusing on three key areas that we plan
to fundamentally change. One, replacing
[1:55:43] impact with an evaluation that focuses
on growth over punishment. to a new DCPS
[1:55:49] chancellor that is found through a
process that follows the law and
[1:55:52] includes parents, students, and the WTU
with great weight in recommending who
[1:55:56] will lead us into a future where W2 and
DCBS can work together as full and equal
[1:56:01] partners. Three, the W2 contract, which
expires September 2028 and will begin
[1:56:07] negotiating June 2027.
Throughout it all, we will be keeping
[1:56:11] our eye on the national government and
its encroachments on our district's
[1:56:14] freedom. We will make sure that our
members are prepared to take action to
[1:56:18] defend our elections and democracy
itself if that is what is called for
[1:56:24] as a union. Everything is framed around
our contract. And given that Mel control
[1:56:28] does not appear to be going anywhere
anytime soon, the WTU's contract is one
[1:56:33] of the only formal entry points for the
public to have a direct say on how our
[1:56:37] schools are run. We do not take this
responsibility lightly for our working
[1:56:42] conditions or our students learning
conditions. Therefore, we will be
[1:56:46] opening up our bargaining to the light
of day before, during, and after. We
[1:56:51] will be holding community conversations
this fall that we hope and intend to
[1:56:55] build a lasting partnership with our
parents, students, and broader
[1:56:58] community. From developing a shared
vision to drafting bargaining proposals,
[1:57:03] sitting with us at the bargaining table,
and then holding the district
[1:57:06] accountable to us all for enforcing the
contract once it is ratified.
[1:57:11] There is so much that needs to be
reformed. And while the whole point of
[1:57:14] this process is to develop clear
priorities that meet the moment, we know
[1:57:18] some topics are evergreen. Our
international educators need to be
[1:57:21] supported with green cards over testing
is happening everywhere. Impact special
[1:57:27] education, our grievance process, and
greater leadership preparedness um to
[1:57:33] protect all our students from federal
attacks.
[1:57:35] » Miss Okay. Thank you.
[applause]
[1:57:44] Thank you. Good evening, members of the
state board of education. My name is
[1:57:47] Gabriella Silva. I'm the senior program
manager at PAVE and award 2 resident.
[1:57:52] Today, I'm here to share a thank you
from our parent leaders for your work on
[1:57:55] the graduation requirements and elevate
some of their feedback as we head into
[1:57:58] the implementation phase of this
process. Earlier this year, PAVE parent
[1:58:02] leaders wrote and shared a letter with
their feedback on the proposed
[1:58:05] graduation requirements. They are glad
to see that some of their
[1:58:07] recommendations were included in the
final version of Aussiey's proposed
[1:58:10] recommendations, which we will vote on
later tonight. Parent leaders were
[1:58:14] excited to see endorsement options that
will honor the additional ways students
[1:58:17] can challenge themselves throughout high
school. Changes to community service
[1:58:20] hour requirements to include paid and
unpaid options, allowing students to
[1:58:23] broaden the ways they can get involved
in their community. The separation of
[1:58:27] health and PE requirements as parents
felt strongly that both courses are
[1:58:30] critical. an increase in the number of
touch points required in person for
[1:58:34] post-secary planning with an adviser
with a minimum of one touch point per
[1:58:38] grade for a total of four. Three of the
initial proposed changes had paved
[1:58:42] parent leaders particularly concerned.
Changes to math requirements, changes to
[1:58:46] science requirements, and the proposal
of a practical studies diploma. They are
[1:58:50] glad to see that Aussie noted a
commitment to determining a naming
[1:58:52] convention that clarifies that algebra 2
is included in integrated math agreeing
[1:58:57] with pave parent leaders recommendation
to name the course integrated algebra 2.
[1:59:01] They look forward to the positive impact
expanding math pathways could have and
[1:59:05] will remain focused on ensuring that any
negative impacts are mitigated.
[1:59:09] Parent leaders were deeply concerned
with the negative impact a reduction in
[1:59:12] science requirements would have on
students looking to pursue pursue STEM
[1:59:16] fields especially considering that
according to the office of education
[1:59:19] through employment pathways nearly 40%
of DC graduates pursue STEM pay leaders
[1:59:24] were glad to see that the number of
required science courses was not reduced
[1:59:27] in Aussie's final proposal the primary
area of concern was the proposal of a
[1:59:31] practical studies diploma as it could
severely limit the number of options
[1:59:35] available for students postgraduation
parent leaders appreciate Aussie
[1:59:39] eliminating the option and committing to
improving graduation outcomes and
[1:59:43] opportunities for post-secary success
for all students with disabilities. As
[1:59:47] noted in their original letter to the
state board, they recommend expanding
[1:59:51] foreign language requirements to include
options like ASL or coding as a way to
[1:59:55] meet the requirements for a standard
diploma. In a world where coding and
[1:59:58] understanding large language large
language models are becoming
[2:00:01] increasingly prevalent, we must prepare
our students for the future. Expanding
[2:00:05] options to include coding allows
students to build fluency in a workforce
[2:00:08] that will look different than what we're
all used to. They urge the SBE and ASIE
[2:00:12] to keep this in mind as you both work to
expand access for our students. Pay
[2:00:16] parent leaders would like to thank the
state board for incorporating their
[2:00:18] feedback into the recommendations to
ASIE and would like to thank Aussie for
[2:00:22] including the feedback in their final
proposal. In a world that is changing
[2:00:25] daybyday, parents are looking forward to
the different ways the updates to the
[2:00:28] graduation requirements can further
support students as they navigate the
[2:00:32] variety of opportunities available to
them throughout their high school
[2:00:34] experience and ultimately lead to
post-secary success. Thank you for the
[2:00:38] opportunity to testify today. I look
forward to your continued leadership
[2:00:41] working to ensure that all students in
the district have the tools they need to
[2:00:43] thrive.
Thank you all for your testimony. We
[2:00:47] will now have a round of elected member
questions.
[2:00:53] Representative Coulson,
[2:00:57] » thank you all for your testimony. Um, I
want to circle back and again just to
[2:01:02] reiterate to be make sure I'm clear, I
am not saying that technology is not a
[2:01:07] important issue. I just want to be clear
on that. I also want to say that because
[2:01:11] we're talking about brain development at
the young ages. as we get older and as
[2:01:16] our students get older in our schools
here in the city, we have an issue with
[2:01:20] vaping and with marijuana as well that
develops that impacts their development.
[2:01:26] And so when we talk about these
concerns, I want to make sure that we're
[2:01:29] talking about all of the concerns that
harm our children. So I just want to
[2:01:32] note that. Um I want to say thank you to
my ward for parent. Thank you for your
[2:01:36] testimony. Did you read a revised
testimony? because you cited some
[2:01:41] numbers at the end that were not that
they caught my ear. Um, and they're not
[2:01:46] in this testimony here. Um, so I would
love to hear those again. And before you
[2:01:52] do that, I want to say um, thank you to
President Fuches. You come often and you
[2:01:58] testify, but I am specifically thankful
about you today because many times the
[2:02:03] other unions benefit from the work that
you do and the work of WTU. I am a part
[2:02:09] of a different union. My leadership is
not as vocal as yours and I am excited
[2:02:15] that you are not waiting and that WTU is
not waiting. That we are taking action
[2:02:20] now. I say we like I'm a part of your
union. Um but I'm going to make myself
[2:02:24] an honorary member that we are taking
action now, not to wait and just see
[2:02:28] what happens. I love that we are
thinking now and not just waiting
[2:02:34] because so many times we just by default
go back to what has happened before. And
[2:02:38] when change in administration comes in
or change of any type, it is a wonderful
[2:02:44] opportunity for us to reassess and to
tear up and and to uh interrogate what
[2:02:50] has happened before and find a new way,
a better way to move forward. So I thank
[2:02:54] you for continuing to come here. All
right, my W four parents, I'm ready. hit
[2:02:58] those numbers again, please.
>> So, and I should say I those numbers
[2:03:02] came to me from a document that was
prepared by the schools beyond screens
[2:03:06] group, which I'm not a volunteer
necessarily with that group, but there's
[2:03:09] a lot of active parents in my parent
community that gave some information,
[2:03:14] which is part of certainly why I'm here
today because I'm aware of it through
[2:03:17] them. So, they can give you more
information on it. But I will say the
[2:03:21] numbers I cited were that DCPS spends
$54 million annually on tech and 600k on
[2:03:28] AI compared to $37 million spent
annually on special education. So that's
[2:03:34] just I mean you could compare to lots of
different amounts of spending, but to me
[2:03:38] $54 million annually spent on tech could
be spent on building computer labs in
[2:03:45] schools across DCPS if access to
computers and Wi-Fi is an issue that we
[2:03:50] care about which to me would be a
address an equity issue and put more
[2:03:56] control into what teachers want.
>> Ma'am, thank you. Um, so the reason I
[2:04:00] added that, that was actually in an
earlier Sorry.
[2:04:03] » Thank you. I'm sure somebody else will
yield time back to you. Thank you,
[2:04:08] » Representative Henderson.
>> Uh, Miss Rey, I was going to ask you
[2:04:12] about that, too, because I noticed that
was not in what you submitted. So, if
[2:04:15] you would send your uh your revised
testimony. Um and Miss
[2:04:22] Felenuke,
>> um your testimony reminds me that like
[2:04:28] like we're talking about policy a lot
and then you know what what's happening
[2:04:32] what our kids tell us like we need to
make sure that those things are are
[2:04:36] matching like if there's a policy it
needs to be implemented and we need to
[2:04:40] to make sure that it is. Um,
Miss Schwarz, thank you for your
[2:04:46] continuing uh, advocacy and um, staying
engaged on this issue. Uh, I have to
[2:04:53] admit I was very confused by some of the
um, proposals, counter proposals that
[2:04:58] went on um, over the last month or so.
Um, I'm feeling pretty confident that
[2:05:05] the new language gets us pretty close to
what we want. Uh I think the remaining
[2:05:12] sticky point which you mentioned is
eleas will still need to request a
[2:05:17] waiver uh but it will be to either DCPS
or PCSB
[2:05:23] rather than to AIE. Um so I'm I'm
hopeful that we can find ways to reduce
[2:05:31] that barrier. uh even if we don't
eliminate it in policy today, that there
[2:05:36] are ways that we can work to make sure
that's not an impediment uh for the
[2:05:41] opportunities that we want students to
have. Uh Miss Fuches, um it's great to
[2:05:46] hear very clear priorities from WTU and
I think I support everything that you
[2:05:50] said and have. I don't think I've
thought about replacing a chancellor
[2:05:55] before. Um, but I support uh your
approach and engaging uh
[2:06:01] » I appreciate the legal approach um in
engaging the public uh in that process
[2:06:06] and um and support the other uh issues
that you laid out and and have for many
[2:06:12] years. Um, and Miss Silva, thank you for
um getting or making sure that PAVE
[2:06:20] parents were part of the process for the
graduation requirements and making sure
[2:06:24] they knew um when and how to take those
opportunities and um to take advantage
[2:06:30] of them. So, thank you all.
>> Thank you, Representative Johnson Law.
[2:06:39] » Thank you all so much for your
testimony. I'm going to start with
[2:06:43] President Fuges and just want to say
thank you all so much for all you do. I
[2:06:47] know we have a back to school bash
coming up. I saw Mike in passing and
[2:06:50] told him thank you like as I yelled it
out the window, but as you are here
[2:06:54] publicly, President Futes, thank you so
much for all your support for our Ward A
[2:06:57] schools and students and for this back
to school bash on Saturday. Is that 1
[2:07:01] p.m.? Well, that'll be the announcements
at the end. Um, and again, thank you all
[2:07:05] so much for all of your testimony.
Gabby, I'm gonna give the rest of my
[2:07:09] time to you because maybe no one's
really answered my question and I'm
[2:07:13] hoping you can answer my question. Have
you all engaged uh East of the River
[2:07:17] families in regards to the screens and
technology concern? And if you have,
[2:07:22] what have they what have they said?
>> Yeah. So, our parents, our citywide
[2:07:27] board put together um their thoughts on
technology just in response to some of
[2:07:32] the shifts we're seeing across the
country. uh because as they will tell
[2:07:35] you as some of them are here tonight uh
they wanted to make sure that W seven
[2:07:39] and W eight voices were included in that
conversation since that's m where the
[2:07:43] majority of children's and families uh
live in DC and so essentially their
[2:07:47] takes and I can bump this I can text it
to you or send it in your inbox again uh
[2:07:51] really revolved around balance right we
want our kids to balance being prepared
[2:07:55] with also staying safe um they
understand the importance of
[2:07:58] differentiation among grade levels but
they're also really concerned about
[2:08:02] implementation and what this would mean
for educators and a lot of our parents
[2:08:07] work in schools or have worked in
schools and they were concerned of like
[2:08:10] who actually would be doing all of this?
This sounds like a full-time job. Uh and
[2:08:15] we want our teachers to have the tools
they need to thrive in the classroom. So
[2:08:19] they were really focused on making sure
like educator training is there. All of
[2:08:24] the other things a teacher needs to
succeed in the classroom are there. So
[2:08:26] that way techn is a supplement, not
necessarily the primary focus. So I can
[2:08:31] bump that up in your inbox. you can for
sure ask them because I know they have
[2:08:34] opinions and I know they will share them
with you. Um but that we have had those
[2:08:38] conversations with our parents and we
will continue to have those
[2:08:40] conversations with our parents and keep
their voices centered as we always do.
[2:08:44] » Thank you so much and again thank you
all so much for your testimony this
[2:08:47] evening.
>> Thank you Representative Thompson.
[2:08:54] » Uh good evening. I um want to focus on
the testimony run requirements uh
[2:09:01] tonight. Um
first I really appreciate the testimony
[2:09:09] um around the foreign language component
and I'll tell you why and um Sally knows
[2:09:14] this about me. So Sally knows um that
when I went to college, I went to
[2:09:19] college actually for international
relations and I have minors in Hispanic
[2:09:22] studies um and international relations.
I have I'm a history major and that when
[2:09:30] I came back to DC um and it this is at
top of mind for me now because I uh was
[2:09:35] speaking to some Georgetown students
earlier today. Um when I came back to
[2:09:39] DC, my first job uh out of college uh
was working for DCPS
[2:09:45] and I graduated during a time similar to
right now um where econ economic times
[2:09:52] were really bad. And all of my
colleagues uh were like, "Oh, you're so
[2:09:58] lucky to be from DC because DC is
recession proof." A lot of people who
[2:10:02] are transplants think DC is recession
proof. clearly many years ago before
[2:10:06] Doge um and
it's true um but it's not completely
[2:10:13] true and people who are like me who are
natives don't benefit um from that in
[2:10:17] the same way because we don't prepare
our kids uh for the economy we have and
[2:10:24] I had friends who had spent uh all of
their time um getting ready for jobs
[2:10:29] that weren't going to exist I had
friends walking out of Bear Sterns and
[2:10:32] Lehman Brothers uh with boxes which
don't exist anymore. Um because a lot of
[2:10:37] people go to my school to become an
investment banker and they were going to
[2:10:40] be the first person in their family to
pull, you know, everybody else out of
[2:10:44] poverty and all the things. And those
were the people who were telling me how
[2:10:47] lucky I was uh as a Washingtonian. So I
came home, I was actually taking the
[2:10:53] foreign service test. I passed the test.
It's a whole year and a half long
[2:10:56] process. And I decided that I was going
to continue to work for DCPS1 because I
[2:11:01] needed a job. my family is not
independently wealthy. Um, and two, uh,
[2:11:05] because I had a little bit of what we
would call, I don't know, a quarter life
[2:11:09] crisis. Um, because I plan to live, uh,
for very much longer and felt like if
[2:11:14] things weren't right at home, I
shouldn't go somewhere else. I say all
[2:11:17] that to say, um, everything you said in
your testimony about why language, why
[2:11:23] the world is important is important if
we want to prepare our kids, uh, for
[2:11:28] what is the future here. [snorts] And I
really appreciate all of the work um
[2:11:34] that yes, the task force did. Thank you,
Sally. Thank you, Laura. Um thank you
[2:11:38] Glenn who was sitting in the audience,
right? Um that you all put into that
[2:11:42] thoughtfulness um and everybody else.
And so I look forward to our discussion
[2:11:47] later tonight uh about what is in front
of us to vote and what we want to be
[2:11:53] true for all of our kids. So, thank you,
[2:11:59] » Representative Williams.
[2:12:04] » Yes, thank you all. Um,
yes. Uh, with the competency based
[2:12:09] requirement, um, I feel similarly uh to,
uh, Representative Henderson's comments
[2:12:15] about really I'm glad that AI has been
so collaborative about making these
[2:12:19] changes. um and that you know I I think
there are still some questions around
[2:12:24] implementation that I have but my
biggest concern and biggest um priority
[2:12:30] is just ensuring that students have
access to um being able to to gain
[2:12:35] credit um in appropriate ways and that
we have access to a variety of world
[2:12:40] languages um in schools. Um I think uh
Miss Fuches in terms of the WTU
[2:12:47] priorities, some of my colleagues call
me up. I am in full support and
[2:12:50] appreciate your leadership. So um thank
you for all the the effort with that and
[2:12:55] the new organizing efforts and um I'm
just excited uh to kind of see the WTU
[2:13:01] uh continue to uh to grow and to and to
lead these conversations. Um, and then I
[2:13:06] think in terms of the broader kind of
screen time things, uh, there are
[2:13:11] variety of pieces that we're coming back
to, I did get I do want to see there be
[2:13:16] balance in the way that we want our
students to be able to be treated as
[2:13:19] full students and to not be put into
screens inappropriately and to make sure
[2:13:23] that that is a force and accountable. I
think part of that is ensuring that we
[2:13:26] have quality curriculum um and making
sure that DCBS is accountable for um
[2:13:32] ensuring that teachers have what we need
to be able to teach effectively. Um
[2:13:38] and um I think there's there's a bunch
of pieces to this puzz puzzle that I
[2:13:43] think still need to to be able to be
improved. So, I think the parent
[2:13:46] communication is one of the pieces that
I want to continue to work on and and
[2:13:49] and figure out what that looks like just
generally a more responsive, transparent
[2:13:54] school system. Um but also um yeah I I I
don't what I got from the training today
[2:14:02] in terms of the the privacy component
piece which I know is alarming to to
[2:14:08] many of us uh is that there are sense
there are approved um tech platforms
[2:14:14] that are a part of like the clever and
canvas suite that educators use to log
[2:14:17] on to and like then teachers are not
supposed to independently vet additional
[2:14:25] um tools or if they are there's a pretty
rigorous set uh process that I would
[2:14:29] even not feel super confident doing um
other than just using my own lens of
[2:14:33] what I know students need to know to
learn the content in my classes. Um so I
[2:14:38] think there's a couple pieces there that
DC
[2:14:42] everyone is kind of still figuring out
to make sure that we feel safe that
[2:14:45] we're not giving data um to the edtech
companies um inappropriately. So, uh, I
[2:14:51] don't have the answers for that yet,
but, um, you know, I think it's
[2:14:54] something that I will am committed to
pushing for clarity for.
[2:14:59] » Thank you, Representative Best.
>> Um, thank you all for uh coming out. I
[2:15:06] have no further questions today.
>> Representative Chang,
[2:15:10] » Representative Coulson, I think you had
a unanswered question.
[2:15:17] » Yes.
[2:15:28] I'm trying to revisit my thoughts to
remember what it was on the question of
[2:15:33] the numbers. I know and I think I was
just saying that as someone who's maybe
[2:15:37] a step back from the detail of how the
talking points are all put together, but
[2:15:41] I know that the screens beyond schools
people have lots of information that
[2:15:44] they could send you on the numbers that
I cited. And um just to say I think to
[2:15:49] your excellent point that screens are
obviously a big part of the conversation
[2:15:53] tonight. That's in recognition that
money that is being allocated towards
[2:15:58] technology in schools that a lot of us
are really concerned about. We see and
[2:16:02] agree with you that there are many many
other concerns and hearing about
[2:16:06] specific schools tonight where I think
we would love to see that money better
[2:16:10] spent and um redirected within the DCPS
budget.
[2:16:17] President Fuches, I'm curious um on your
take whether personally or uh from what
[2:16:25] you've heard from other educators in
response to the asks that the parents
[2:16:29] have come forward with.
>> Yeah, I think maybe we've shared this
[2:16:34] with the parent group as well. I mean,
our concerns are that kind of as we look
[2:16:39] at kind of the balance of where
testimony is headed and how DCPS tends
[2:16:44] to respond to certain families more than
others and how that's clearly taking
[2:16:48] place once again. Um, that we have to be
careful that we are moving all together
[2:16:55] as one, right? DCPS moved very fast on
this roll out. They just met with W2
[2:17:00] today. I've not gotten a chance to talk
to them about the tech policy to look at
[2:17:04] our contract to look at what's going on,
right? And it was 30 minutes.
[2:17:09] So, you know, they're still kind of
doing what they do, which is pick and
[2:17:14] choose who they feel like responding to
and then which issues they choose to
[2:17:18] kind of ignore blatantly.
Um, and so it's not that we're opposed
[2:17:25] to what's happening necessarily, it's
that once again it is hasty. it is being
[2:17:30] done in reaction to families that they
want to appease um in order to try to
[2:17:37] keep the peace I suppose. Um and that
doesn't mean that it's not important
[2:17:41] what parents are advocating for and of
course they should advocate but we're
[2:17:44] just kind of concerned at how all this
is moving in a direction that still is
[2:17:49] not collaborative. It's still this very
just top down like we're going to do
[2:17:53] this. DCS is always fake. central office
never has the reality the pulse on the
[2:17:58] reality in the classrooms like they
acted shocked when we said hey you know
[2:18:02] paper we never have it so like what am I
supposed to do like that's on a good
[2:18:06] year right and they're acting surprised
as if we haven't told them this for 20
[2:18:10] years straight so you know it's just
like it's a it's just classic
[2:18:14] » Miss Fuches
>> yes
[2:18:16] » thank you representative Goule
>> I want to thank you all for your
[2:18:20] testimony today and for coming out I I
am going to focus my uh questions on the
[2:18:25] graduation requirements tonight because
that's going to be coming up and we have
[2:18:28] a couple members on the panel. I want to
thank you for serving on the task force.
[2:18:31] I think the work of the task force was
just absolutely tremendous. Uh people
[2:18:36] dedicated hours of their time, days of
their time probably when you add it all
[2:18:40] together to be able to participate in
that. And I think the product that came
[2:18:43] from the task force was really
phenomenal. And I have fully endorsed
[2:18:47] the task force report since it's been
out. uh which does lead me to some
[2:18:51] concerns on this and and I want to
express my concerns with the high school
[2:18:54] graduation requirements right now and I
think we should do in my personal
[2:19:00] opinion like we did with social studies
is hear from the public here tonight
[2:19:03] what the remaining concerns may be and
then take a month to work on those
[2:19:07] concerns that's that's my position
before the meeting and it it is now as
[2:19:12] well that we because we have one issue
specifically that I'm going to focus in
[2:19:16] on and that's this foreign language
issue and I and I think you mentioned
[2:19:19] mentioned it, Miss Schwarz, is we're
really in the same place we were four
[2:19:22] years ago and four years before that and
that we are talking about implementing
[2:19:26] this, but then the implementation hasn't
really gone anywhere with competency
[2:19:29] based credits. And what we're going to
vote on, you know, at least
[2:19:34] theoretically on the table tonight to
vote on is very much like when we the
[2:19:38] council approves the budget. It's just a
very basic document. It doesn't have any
[2:19:42] of the details in it. It's when you look
at it, you wouldn't know what really the
[2:19:47] graduation requirements were, how
they're implemented, but there's a
[2:19:50] letter that comes with it that explains
that. And I I would liken that to the
[2:19:53] budget books where you explain how all
the money is going to be spent in the
[2:19:56] city. Uh what concerns me is the
implementation on this and and I've
[2:20:00] expressed that concern uh to AIE and you
know, I think they've been very
[2:20:05] responsive and very collaborative in
working with us. Uh but the proposal
[2:20:09] I've seen, you know, in the last couple
days actually shifts it in a direction
[2:20:12] that I'm more concerned about rather
than less. And that is taking this
[2:20:16] waiver process from AI and now having it
be within DCPS and within the public
[2:20:21] charter school board. And the concern I
have with that is essentially that
[2:20:25] you're going to be having bodies picking
and choosing which students get this
[2:20:30] credit. I mean, I think you talked about
access, uh, Representative Williams, and
[2:20:34] I think that's a hugely important issue,
and we have an international city with
[2:20:38] students who know these languages from
home, who come in, who can take an exam,
[2:20:44] and that we want to make sure that their
achievement and their competency and
[2:20:50] proficiency in these languages
recognized. And I don't want to leave
[2:20:53] that up to DCPS or the public charter
school board to have to sit there and
[2:20:58] approve waiverss for individual
students. I just don't think that makes
[2:21:00] any sense. And I think we really would
benefit from sitting down for another
[2:21:04] month and trying to figure out a better
path to doing this. And I I'll be glad
[2:21:07] to speak more when we get to the bill,
but thank you both uh for your voice in
[2:21:12] this tonight.
[2:21:15] » President Patterson.
>> Again, as I always say, I appreciate
[2:21:20] every person who ever comes out and
testifies in front of us. Um it really
[2:21:24] informs me. Um, I don't have any
questions, but as always, I have some
[2:21:29] comments. First, I want to direct my
comments to President Fuges, and I want
[2:21:33] to thank you. I want to thank you for
coming in front of us and telling us
[2:21:36] what the union WTU will be focused on. I
I don't remember anyone ever doing that
[2:21:43] to be quite honest with you. And where
we can be supportive, it is always very
[2:21:46] nice when someone comes to us and say,
"These are the things that we've focused
[2:21:50] on in the past. This is where we're
going to be focused in the future." and
[2:21:54] it allows us to start aligning ourselves
to where we can be supportive. So, I
[2:21:58] appreciate you doing that and I hope
that becomes a tradition. We all know
[2:22:02] that, you know, I'm a president, you're
a president. We may not always be in our
[2:22:05] positions, but we hope that if we set a
precedence that those people will follow
[2:22:09] and continue to do that because it it
makes better for collaboration. So,
[2:22:13] thank you for doing that first and
foremost. Um especially I want to touch
[2:22:17] on a point that you talked about um
green cards um because it's very near
[2:22:21] and dear to my heart because there was a
teacher who totally transformed my
[2:22:25] daughter's understanding of math who has
literally reached out to me asking me
[2:22:29] will I help her stay in the country her
husband's a teacher her child attends a
[2:22:35] DCPS school and she we're in
communication right now see now how I
[2:22:40] can keep this amazing teacher in the
country So, I want to continue to work
[2:22:46] with you on that, whatever we can do. I
think you understand our authorities
[2:22:49] more than most people do. But I do want
to thank you for keeping that in the
[2:22:53] forefront and everything. Secondly, I'm
going to come to Miss uh Swords. Uh
[2:22:58] thank you for serving. As I told Noah,
Mr. Dhy earlier, I appreciate people who
[2:23:04] come and bring their expertise to our
task force um and just really work with
[2:23:09] us to get it right. Um, a lot of people
don't understand, you know, when you're
[2:23:14] doing policy, as they sometimes refer
to, it's like sausage making and all the
[2:23:17] things that go on and everything. Um,
and I think there's up until the 11th
[2:23:22] hour, literally, we have been talking
about this subject for credits for for
[2:23:27] language. Um, and what I will say, I
know it's been said a couple times that,
[2:23:32] yeah, this happened at this point. We've
this happened, but I don't think we've
[2:23:35] ever had the people who are assembled to
say that they're going to work on it.
[2:23:40] And right before we started this
meeting, I appreciate our uh
[2:23:44] superintendent coming up here talking to
us and telling us what's in the
[2:23:48] resolution should be voted on. And I'm
hoping that it's passed. What's in the
[2:23:53] letter we will and she gave me her word
that we will work out to make sure that
[2:23:58] we make this the easiest possible. And I
believe her. I look forward to the
[2:24:02] discussion when we get to that point.
But what I say what's important is the
[2:24:06] people who have been at the table and
the people that have shown themselves to
[2:24:10] be trustworthy and I appreciate you for
being the person that you are. So I look
[2:24:14] forward to voting on that. Okay. And
thank you for your service.
[2:24:19] » Thank you um witnesses for your
testimony this morning. We will now call
[2:24:24] our next round of public witnesses.
[2:24:39] Don,
Don Smith,
[2:24:47] Kathy Riley,
Scott Goldstein,
[2:24:56] Dylan Craig,
[2:25:00] Jeffrey Wood,
[2:25:06] Ara Shelton,
[2:25:13] Lashima Bernett.
[2:25:25] Don, we'll start with you.
>> Thank you.
[2:25:29] » Good evening, members of the state board
of education. I'm Don Smith. I'm a W
[2:25:35] seven resident and a proud native
Washingtonian. I have three wonderful
[2:25:39] children, two who have graduated and my
youngest who is about to start second
[2:25:44] grade at Vaness. I am here today to talk
about the proposed high school
[2:25:49] graduation requirements and to say thank
you.
[2:25:53] I was excited to see that AIE is
recommending that integrated math should
[2:25:57] be named integrated algebra 2 to ensure
that it is clear to all colleges and
[2:26:03] universities that students has fulfilled
their graduation requirements. I look
[2:26:08] forward to seeing how offering
integrated math can expand a student's
[2:26:13] option to help them build strong
understanding of math. My biggest
[2:26:18] concern with the initial proposed change
is about the practical studies diploma.
[2:26:24] Now, I am going to be honest. While
paved parent leaders love each other, we
[2:26:29] don't always see the same I mean have
the same opinion. We love to deeply
[2:26:35] discuss the debate and different ideas.
In all my time with PAVE, I have never
[2:26:40] seen a citywire or advisory board come
together so quickly to oppose something.
[2:26:46] The conversation about the
implementation of a practical studies
[2:26:49] diploma we had came to a unanimous
conclusion. Absolutely not. This does
[2:26:55] not support our students with
disabilities. This is not setting them
[2:26:59] up to success outside of the classroom.
This change cannot guarantee the
[2:27:04] employers will recognize the practical
studies diploma with the same weight as
[2:27:08] a traditional high school diploma. I was
thrilled to see that SBOE, the
[2:27:15] graduating task force, and AIE
recognized that the practical studies
[2:27:19] diploma will not serve students with
disabilities. I look forward to seeing
[2:27:24] AIE fulfill their commitment to
expanding options for students with
[2:27:28] disabilities and hoping they continue to
partner with parents and families as
[2:27:33] they explore options to do so. Lastly,
as a proud mother of two DC graduates
[2:27:39] and a future DC graduate, I know the
value of how postsecary plan for college
[2:27:44] or for entering the workforce right
away. My two oldests have picked two
[2:27:50] different paths. My oldest went straight
to her career and my son is currently in
[2:27:55] college pursuing his degree in animal
science with a concentration in big
[2:27:59] animals. By requiring high school
students to meet with their counselor at
[2:28:04] least once a year to build out
post-secary plan, we are ensuring that
[2:28:09] all DC students have a chance to think
about what comes next and working on the
[2:28:14] steps that they need to take to get
there. While my youngest may have a
[2:28:18] while until she enters high school, I am
looking forward to knowing that Faith
[2:28:23] will be thinking about her post high
school secondary as [clears throat] soon
[2:28:26] as she enters 9th grade. Thank you,
state board of education, the graduating
[2:28:32] task force in Aussie for your commitment
to ensuring DC graduate requirements are
[2:28:37] preparing students for an everchanging
world. I appreciate all of the ways you
[2:28:42] are incorporating.
>> Thank you, ma'am.
[2:28:45] » Thank you.
[2:28:49] » Yeah, I think that's good helpful.
>> Hi. Uh, thank you. Um, I appreciate and
[2:28:56] value the opportunity to testify on your
impending vote for the revisions to the
[2:29:01] graduation requirements to begin with
the ninth graders entering high school
[2:29:05] this week, next week. I was part of the
SBOE task force making recommendations
[2:29:10] to AIE this spring as well as in May of
2018 and I think at least one before
[2:29:15] that. I am the co-founder and executive
director of SHAPE since 1998. My name is
[2:29:20] Kathy Riley. I strongly support the SBOE
recommendation to Azie and appreciate
[2:29:25] the effort of the board on this and the
large number that of recommendations
[2:29:29] that Azie accepted. The changes are
modest and they build on the work done
[2:29:34] eight years ago. I would like
clarification. I noticed in the letter
[2:29:38] last night that it does say that you're
going to increase the graduation
[2:29:42] requirements to 24.5,
which was different than I expected. So,
[2:29:46] I hope that gets clarified. Instead of
the 24 graduation requirements apply to
[2:29:52] students,
not to eleas, they apply to students.
[2:29:56] One of our goals on the SBO task force
was to look at how a student is able to
[2:30:00] attain the necessary credits and have a
transcript that reflects their efforts
[2:30:05] regardless of which one of the high
school level 23 LEAs that they attend.
[2:30:11] We perceived an unnecessary level of
inequity in world language. Any student
[2:30:16] can demonstrate competency through their
performance on an assessment but on the
[2:30:21] you know the assessment but if their LEA
does not choose to apply for a waiver
[2:30:26] they are not eligible to receive credit.
This is a credit that is already fully
[2:30:30] recognized by ASI in their certification
of the seal of biiteracy and with the
[2:30:35] stamp assessment accepted.
Removing the requirement for an LEA to
[2:30:39] request a waiver is a step forward, but
the document forwarded last that I the
[2:30:44] last one that I read does require a
charter LEA to submit an AIE approved
[2:30:49] waiver to the public charter school
board and then DCPS which is an LEA um
[2:30:55] has to have an AI approved waiter waiver
the schools present to them. AIES
[2:31:00] established the validity of the
assessment, the cut score and the
[2:31:04] credit. So, I don't think a waiver
should be needed at this point. Um,
[2:31:09] whether a student's credit applies to
the world language requirement is a
[2:31:13] different issue. We're just talking
about credit and acknowledgement and and
[2:31:18] credit and acknowledgement of languages
not taught in the school. It's to
[2:31:22] expand. Um, world language, which was
identified, you know, in 2018 and again
[2:31:28] this year, is one rare area where
there's strong and accurate assessment
[2:31:32] of competence in being able to read,
write, listen, and speak a world
[2:31:36] language. And there's a shortage of
teachers and what we teach is not
[2:31:40] representative of the many languages our
students speak or can access for
[2:31:44] instruction.
So, I'm cautious. You know, I I can see
[2:31:47] I'm almost over. The one thing I'd say
to what you said uh Prince President
[2:31:52] Patterson is I wish the discussion if
you're going to have a discussion about
[2:31:55] the letter I wish it would be public. I
mean I've actually spent quite a lot of
[2:32:00] time on this.
>> So the thought that you're going to
[2:32:02] figure it out you're going to vote
tonight and then you guys are going to
[2:32:05] all figure it out.
>> It's a little tough to hear.
[2:32:08] » I appreciate Thank you, Miss Riley.
[2:32:14] » Uh good evening. Um, while it is not the
subject of my testimony, uh, my
[2:32:18] colleague Caroline Prior did submit
written testimony on the subject of the
[2:32:21] graduation requirements that you're
voting on tonight, as well as the
[2:32:24] important appointments you're making to
the community schools task force and the
[2:32:27] educator evaluation task force. Um, I I
do want to say that I do have a slightly
[2:32:32] different concern about the world
language requirement, not about the
[2:32:35] waiver itself, but about whether it
actually should supplement the two
[2:32:38] credits or supplant the two credits that
are necessary and how that might narrow
[2:32:42] the experience for some students in in
uh their overall high school experience.
[2:32:47] At Empower, I believe it is fundamental
that students have positive lasting
[2:32:50] relationships with adults in school that
help motivate them and provide them
[2:32:53] guidance along their way. In the past 10
years, alongside advocacy from the state
[2:32:57] board, we've made progress on teacher
retention. Still, turnover across our
[2:33:00] schools remains too high, especially in
our public charter school sector. And
[2:33:03] the beginning of each year is an
opportunity to think about how we can
[2:33:06] approach this issue proactively. So, I'd
like to raise several ways in which the
[2:33:09] board can pay close attention to this
issue over the course of the coming
[2:33:12] year. First, prioritize a holistic
approach to educator and student mental
[2:33:16] health. As many of you know, this past
year, the administration pursued a
[2:33:19] misguided attempt to bring school-based
behavioral health entirely in-house at
[2:33:23] DBH. It's a plan DBH was not ready for,
and luckily, the council rejected in its
[2:33:27] final budget. But the funding for the
CBO model was also cut back. This means
[2:33:31] dozens of schools are starting this
school year without a clinician that
[2:33:35] students depended on last year and had a
relationship with. We need your advocacy
[2:33:38] this year to rebuild and strengthen the
CBO based model for delivering mental
[2:33:42] and behavioral health to students in
schools and your support for expanding
[2:33:45] mental health services to educators both
through the kind of educator wellness
[2:33:48] partnerships that empower ed support
schools with but also clinical support
[2:33:52] like provided by organizations like
MedStar Wise. We're excited to be
[2:33:56] working with both MedStar Wise and
Transcend to launch a citywide educator
[2:33:59] wellness hub this year. Second, use your
platform to elevate educators often left
[2:34:03] out of the conversation. Educators like
our specials teachers have unique
[2:34:07] concerns for curricular support to peer
mentorship that would be that would
[2:34:10] better support their growth. Early
childhood educators have unique concern
[2:34:13] as do our special educators. Please
uplift their unique concerns. Continue
[2:34:17] your advocacy for special education
beyond the graduation requirements
[2:34:21] discussion until we are sure that all of
our educators have access to the
[2:34:24] training that they need to support
students with disabilities and we can
[2:34:27] lower the bureaucratic burden on
educators so they can devote the time
[2:34:30] and attention to students with
disabilities that they need and are
[2:34:33] legally entitled to. for participate in
efforts both through the forthcoming
[2:34:36] council educator evaluation task force
and with the new incoming administration
[2:34:40] to elevate successful growth-based
systems of teacher support and
[2:34:43] evaluation. The state board has the
ability to elevate the experience of
[2:34:47] those who have actually experienced
systems different from our own uh and do
[2:34:50] so in a in the public view. Uh fifth,
while DCPS retention is now over 80%
[2:34:55] overall, it still hovers close to 70% in
the public charter sector. Yet each year
[2:34:59] at a budget time, we hear about advocacy
or equitable school funding driven more
[2:35:02] by large eleas than the small ones that
are at a disadvantage in our system. We
[2:35:06] need your help to al elevate actual
teacher retention challenges that small
[2:35:10] eleas are facing whether different
evaluation systems, approaches to
[2:35:13] educator well-being, scheduling, and
more. And we believe the time has come
[2:35:17] for another revision of the state report
card, which is something that I know it
[2:35:20] seems like it just happened, but we
should make sure we're in that soon.
[2:35:24] Thank you.
[2:35:36] Good evening, state board of education
members. I'm Dylan Craig, former English
[2:35:40] teacher at Garnet Patterson State,
organizer for the Washington Teachers
[2:35:42] Union, and award for resident. Much like
WT President Fuches, I wanted to
[2:35:46] highlight our ambitious plans as the
school year begins. As we move closer to
[2:35:50] our contract expiration in September
2028 and our ability to call for
[2:35:53] negotiations in June 2027, um we do not
want to wait to begin developing our
[2:35:57] vision for a strong public school system
that our families and students deserve.
[2:36:01] But we also know that we cannot envision
this alone as we need all the
[2:36:04] stakeholders we can to fully understand
the needs of our school communities.
[2:36:07] This is why starting in October, while
also engaging our members internally, we
[2:36:11] want to work with the community to
collectively develop a vision of strong
[2:36:14] public education in the district. This
vision and the partnerships created will
[2:36:18] help in crafting and advocating for our
demands as we move forward in our
[2:36:21] negotiations. In order to accomplish
this, we are starting with community
[2:36:24] conversations in each ward throughout
October. These will be meetings to hear
[2:36:28] from parents, students, and educators,
educators, and various community
[2:36:31] stakeholders to identify issues and
utilize our bargaining or other forms of
[2:36:35] advocacy as a vehicle to shape change
for the entire public school community.
[2:36:39] We want to hear the visions, ideas, and
priorities regarding what will make our
[2:36:42] district one that reaches all. Parents
and students are closest to the work we
[2:36:46] do and we need them as partners in this
vision. We want to hear from parents
[2:36:49] about what structures in their
children's schools support them and
[2:36:52] their children the most and what support
can be implemented to improve further.
[2:36:55] We want to hear from students about what
brings them excitement throughout their
[2:36:58] day and what might impede their
engagement, whether that impediment is
[2:37:01] inside or outside the school building.
Of course, we'll be hearing from our
[2:37:04] educators on how we can foster joy in
the important work they do, how they can
[2:37:08] be supported to grow in their profession
and limit the stress that makes so many
[2:37:11] leave. And yes, our members and
membership will be tackling impact no
[2:37:15] matter the outcome of the council's
upcoming task force. We want to hear
[2:37:18] from all those who have have a stake in
our communities working towards the same
[2:37:21] goal of improving these systems. We hope
that we can find support in our state
[2:37:25] board of education members and even
attendance from members. as we engage
[2:37:29] with the communities represented and
work as partners and work as partners as
[2:37:33] we use our contract campaign as one that
serves the community at large.
[2:37:36] Negotiating a contract that the
community can see itself in, inspiring
[2:37:39] bold changes that can move our schools
forward and create partnerships that go
[2:37:43] beyond any contract ratification and
foster true collaboration into the
[2:37:46] future. Thank you.
[2:37:56] Good evening everyone. My name is
Jeffrey Wood, Theodor Roosevelt High
[2:38:00] School, class of 2011, right here in the
district. Go Ruff Riders. In the summer
[2:38:04] of 2009, I never owned a passport, never
been on a plane. Then, as a DC public
[2:38:09] school student, I flew to Beijing for
six weeks of intensive Mandarin. I came
[2:38:15] home in August of 2009, speaking a
language that I hadn't known in June.
[2:38:20] There was no Mandarin at my school, so I
commuted across town to Wilson High
[2:38:24] School after the day ended several days
a week. for an hour at a time
[2:38:30] while I was still taking Spanish as my
requirement. I did two languages. I
[2:38:34] earned credit for one. Beijing, the
commute, the hours after everyone went
[2:38:40] home, none of it appeared on my
transcript. So on paper, that experience
[2:38:44] never happened. I went on to George
Mason University, majored in Chinese and
[2:38:49] won two federal scholarships, the Borne
and the Gilman to study a year in
[2:38:53] Harbin, China. And then while I was
there in 2014, I interviewed former
[2:38:58] first lady of the United States,
Michelle Obama. During her visit, I
[2:39:01] became a foreign service officer with
the State Department and spent my career
[2:39:05] in immigration and consular work.
Everything downstream in my life came
[2:39:10] through that language and still I
couldn't prove I hadn't I didn't have it
[2:39:14] when I went to college. But however, I
was lucky. I had a mentor who helped me
[2:39:19] find the fellowships necessary to make
the rest possible. But as a student and
[2:39:25] students in general, they shouldn't need
to feel as lucky as I was. And so the
[2:39:30] system's answer to a kid who learns a
language on their own time is silence
[2:39:35] based on my own experience. Not a lower
grade, nothing. And think about who that
[2:39:40] silence falls on hard is. Every DC
student has a two-year language
[2:39:44] requirement, but at many schools, the
door open is Spanish one and two. So, a
[2:39:50] student who wants to learn Mandarin like
I did previously or someone who already
[2:39:54] speaks Mharic at home or wants to take a
different language based on their own
[2:39:59] personal interests either takes a
language they don't need or finds one
[2:40:03] themselves either after hours across
town or in some cases self-funded and
[2:40:08] comes back to a transcript that says
they did nothing. We are telling the
[2:40:13] most motivated students in the least
resource buildings that their effort is
[2:40:16] invisible. Competency based credit
doesn't lower a standard. It applies the
[2:40:22] same one, an independent proficiency
assessment, and asks a single question.
[2:40:27] Can this student do it? If yes, the
transcript should say so. The board's
[2:40:34] own task force approved this. The board
approved this. Please don't let this
[2:40:38] disappear now. 17 years ago, I did the
work and the district had no way to
[2:40:43] acknowledge it. Students in DC right now
should not still be waiting. Put
[2:40:48] competency based credit for learn world
language back in and vote yes. Thank
[2:40:52] you.
[2:41:02] Good evening state board of education
representatives. My name is Dashima
[2:41:06] Bernett. I'm a W 8 resident and a proud
mother to two amazing children at
[2:41:10] Steuart Hopson Middle School and
McKinley Techch High School. While I'm
[2:41:14] not a native Washingtonian, I've had the
pleasure of living in DC for over 10
[2:41:18] years and I care deeply about all of our
student success. Um, I would like to
[2:41:23] begin with a thank you for listening to
pay parent leaders feedback on the
[2:41:28] proposed education graduation
requirements. DC is a tale of two
[2:41:32] cities. Those who have access to
resources and those who do not. I am
[2:41:36] hopeful that these new requirements will
will create a more equitable system that
[2:41:41] will allow all students to not only
survive but thrive in the district
[2:41:45] postgraduation.
As the mother of an incoming middle
[2:41:48] schooler and an 11th grader,
post-secondary planning is at the top of
[2:41:52] my mind. Throughout the graduation
requirement update process, I met with
[2:41:56] fellow paid parent leaders, other
community organ organizations, including
[2:42:01] DC policy center. Through these
conversations, I learned more about the
[2:42:05] importance of post-secondary planning
touch points. As a result, I reached out
[2:42:09] to my son's counselor, Mckenley Tech.
Our check-in was a gamecher. Now, my
[2:42:14] son, Landon, is enrolled in two AP
classes for this upcoming school year.
[2:42:18] He's enrolled in a Spark Your Journey
program, and this is going to allow him
[2:42:22] to get ready for his post-secary goal to
go to college and become an engineer. I
[2:42:27] was also glad to see that AIE increased
the number of required touch points to
[2:42:31] four touch points with an adviser one
per year throughout high schoolers
[2:42:36] students career by requiring these touch
points at least once per year. The new
[2:42:41] graduation requirements help to ensure
that all students leave high school with
[2:42:45] a plan. I'm excited to see how this
positively impacts my daughter Lana when
[2:42:50] she eventually enters high school. Thank
you SBOE the gradu for the graduation
[2:42:55] task force and AIE for all your hard
work and throughout your all your
[2:43:00] consideration throughout the process. I
look forward to your continued
[2:43:03] leadership. Thank you.
[2:43:07] » Thank you each for your testimony. We
will now go to our members for a round
[2:43:11] of questions.
Representative Henderson.
[2:43:17] » Thank you all. Um Miss Riley, thanks for
serving on the task force. thanks for
[2:43:22] your years of service. I can clarify um
I'm not sure what you saw, but the final
[2:43:28] proposal does take the total credits
down to 24 um from the um
[2:43:36] electives changing from 3.5 to three. Um
[2:43:46] and I have no other questions.
>> Thanks. Did you double check?
[2:43:51] » Okay. Representics.
[2:43:57] » You good? Representative Johnson Law.
[2:44:04] Sorry guys. I just want to make sure
Representative Henderson was finished.
[2:44:07] And yes, Kathy, it's in the language. Um
that is it's down to 24. Um it's in
[2:44:13] there. Yes. Uh thank you Kathy for
serving on the task force. We always
[2:44:17] appreciate you. Um, Scott, I want to say
thank you to you and Caroline and
[2:44:22] Dominique and everyone at Empower Ed for
really listening to families and
[2:44:27] teachers and different folks around the
practical studies diploma and the
[2:44:30] challenges that they were having with
that. Thank you um my dear, thank you so
[2:44:34] much for all the things you do for the
WTU. Thank you so much, my dear, for
[2:44:37] your testimony.
Missed um Don and Lashima,
[2:44:43] everybody knows I love again to all of
the parents who are here. I love all of
[2:44:46] our families, but I have a special place
in my heart for East of the River
[2:44:50] families. And I always love when we come
out because sometimes we don't come up
[2:44:54] we don't come in the biggest numbers,
but when we come, we we again we are
[2:44:57] still strong and just want to honor um
you all. Miss Lashima, just as a W 8
[2:45:02] resident, thank you for all that you do
and for your advocacy. And I want to
[2:45:05] point out what you said about
a city, a tale of two cities. And
[2:45:11] sometimes I think even in advocacy and
the things that we do as a city, we
[2:45:14] forget about how does it affect the
other side? How does it affect W seven
[2:45:18] and eight? And all and again I know
Representative Thompson represents W
[2:45:21] seven but always just say east of the
river just as an inclusive model because
[2:45:24] a lot of us are dealing with similar
similar situations both Don you know in
[2:45:28] seven and and in eight and so sometimes
I don't think I think it gets lost in
[2:45:33] the narrative. I think when we talk
about equity,
[2:45:36] I think people want equity to look a
certain way instead of what equity
[2:45:40] actually looks like and what is really
going on because sometimes the truth is
[2:45:43] not pretty. Sometimes it is ugly and
sometimes we really don't want to
[2:45:47] address the things that are going on,
especially with I'm just going to say
[2:45:50] with black and brown families and we
don't always get heard like if we were
[2:45:54] to raise issues, are we going to get
heard the same way others are? Is DCPS
[2:45:58] going to hear us? Is the PCSB going to
hear us? Is the council going to hear
[2:46:01] us? Is Aussie going to hear us? Are
people really going to center our voices
[2:46:04] like they do like they do in other parts
of the city? And that I just want to
[2:46:07] make everyone that's not a dig at
anyone, but it is an unfortunate truth
[2:46:11] of what is going on east of the river
and how we just don't get included in a
[2:46:15] lot of conversations. And so I just want
to say thank you to the two of you for
[2:46:19] all of your work. This isn't the first
time you've done it. You all have been
[2:46:22] doing it for years. I don't know if
anyone has publicly said thank you, but
[2:46:27] as a mother we have. Well, we're going
to Dr. Lejoy Johnson law is going to say
[2:46:32] thank you again because sometimes it
gets lost and I'm just really happy that
[2:46:38] with the practical studies diploma that
was a community push and it's not saying
[2:46:43] that
it's not saying that Aussie Aussie
[2:46:46] didn't get it wrong. We just have to
work. We got to flush it out. And I just
[2:46:50] want to say thank you to Andrew and Dr.
Mitchell about coming to the different
[2:46:53] task force not just task force but
different community meetings and really
[2:46:57] listening to what we were saying about
it. So, thank you both so much.
[2:47:03] » Thank you, Representative Thompson.
[2:47:10] » All right. Um,
I uh definitely always appreciate
[2:47:16] everyone's uh testimony. I think uh the
following things uh are I'm telling you
[2:47:23] what's in my head. Uh Kathy, I'm sitting
here digging through the appendences to
[2:47:26] make sure none of us are crazy. Um and
I'm trying to do math uh and listen at
[2:47:32] the same time. Um and I believe uh that
we are at uh 24
[2:47:38] requirements
and then the overall is how like that's
[2:47:43] different than how many classes you have
to take, which I think some people we're
[2:47:48] not talking about the same thing. 24
requirements still the same because we
[2:47:51] now have one uh what is it one for PE.5
for health five for art.5 for math 0.5
[2:48:01] uh for or.5 excuse me for music nobody
shoot me about the math I know we've
[2:48:06] been through all the whole thing about
the math 0.5 for music and 0.5 uh for
[2:48:11] financial literacy um is is where we
landed so um that is a even number that
[2:48:17] I can tell uh which I believe is still
keeping us at the 24. So I just because
[2:48:24] this is something we are talking about
tonight I and I know um there has been a
[2:48:28] lot of very very very uh good work to
get us uh to this point. So I um want to
[2:48:33] say that out loud. Um second and not
second in order of importance just um in
[2:48:40] things happening at Ebony Rose's head.
um we I'm look forward to our discussion
[2:48:47] uh about the what what we're going to do
um between implementation uh and policy.
[2:48:52] Um that is always a dance um that not
just the state board has to do but every
[2:48:56] policy body has to do. Um I um
am hopeful uh that our colleagues will
[2:49:04] have a full uh discussion around that.
Um I will say I I think I was a bit
[2:49:09] surprised. No, Granite, your girl was
late because um roads have been closed
[2:49:15] and all the things. So maybe there is
something I missed. Uh but I do want us
[2:49:19] to talk about um how we both put
together and make sure there is a policy
[2:49:26] uh that has a certain spirit um and
folks can implement with a certain um
[2:49:31] with fidelity to the letter, right? And
so we will have that discussion uh on
[2:49:35] the dis later today. That's not going to
be uh a secret. That's why we have
[2:49:39] public meetings. Um, and we appreciate
everyone um, coming to testify. Um, to
[2:49:43] your point, sir, about like what do we
um, count, what do we measure, what do
[2:49:48] we showcase um, for all of our students.
So, um, I thank everyone for their
[2:49:53] testimony. Um, I thank the task force
for their work. I thank the people who
[2:49:57] have shown up throughout. Um, and I
thank you all for your time tonight.
[2:50:05] Representative Williams.
[2:50:09] » Yeah, thank you all for your testimony.
Um,
[2:50:14] Mr. Kra, I want to kind of start with
you. You would I I'm encouraged by the
[2:50:18] community conversations. I heard a
little bit about what a plan could look
[2:50:23] like. Um, can you share a little bit
more to the best that you have about
[2:50:27] when they'll be, where they'll be? Um
and the big thing that I want to kind of
[2:50:33] um share with that is just that I think
too often and I've heard this from Mr.
[2:50:36] Goldstein and other people too many
times is that teachers interests and
[2:50:40] students interests and families are
being are pitted against each other. You
[2:50:43] know we have to be 100% students first
and you know therefore um we have to do
[2:50:48] something that's against good
instruction or against what's good for
[2:50:50] teachers. I would also see this as a
great opportunity to be able to align
[2:50:54] those interests to be able to um
strengthen our uh advocacy and
[2:50:58] strengthen policy and create healthier
schools. So, um I'm encouraged that
[2:51:02] you're doing this and just wanted to
throw that out there um as the
[2:51:06] conversations unfold.
>> Yeah, and that is the idea. Um be on the
[2:51:09] lookout for the dates. We're finalizing
logistics. We're hoping to get them
[2:51:13] throughout October, mostly on Tuesdays
and Thursdays. And um we're going to
[2:51:17] have two on W 8 ideally um since it is a
larger ward with a large art education
[2:51:22] population. And um yeah, so be on the
lookout with uh more information to
[2:51:27] come, but uh it'll be a time to align
that vision to really kind of come up
[2:51:31] with what we want to push forward
collectively. So that is the idea.
[2:51:35] » Thank you. Yeah, I look forward to
attending. Um yeah, just want to say a
[2:51:38] couple quick things. Um Mr. Wood, I
really appreciate your story. It's very
[2:51:41] inspiring. Um thank you for being here
tonight. It was great to great to hear
[2:51:44] and listen to and the and uh hear the
impact that the experience had on you.
[2:51:49] Um and then Mr. Riley, thank you so much
for your engagement on this. I
[2:51:52] understand your your feelings on the
lack of transparency at the end of this
[2:51:56] process. Um and I think that your
advocacy and clarifying kind of what we
[2:52:01] were solving for throughout this process
and what the purpose is and making sure
[2:52:06] we're we're doing right by students and
centering students has been helpful for
[2:52:09] me throughout this process. So, um I
think we clarified some important things
[2:52:13] last minute and um I agree with
Representative Thompson that you know
[2:52:17] this to me is not the end of the process
like we still have to continue to
[2:52:21] collaborate with implementation
um to make sure that um all of these
[2:52:26] things you know whether it be financial
literacy or the competency based things
[2:52:31] are actually implemented um effectively.
So thank you for your work here.
[2:52:38] Thank you, Representative Best.
>> Um, no further questions,
[2:52:45] » Representative Chang.
>> Also, no further questions. Thank you.
[2:52:50] » Representative Coulson, thank you all
for your testimony. Thank you for the
[2:52:54] parents always coming out. I'm so
excited. Don't even know your babies,
[2:52:57] but I'm excited for what's going on with
them. And thank you for sharing your
[2:53:01] experience as a DCPS grad. Uh thank you
my ward four friend for your work with
[2:53:06] uh WTU. Again like my colleagues have
said I look forward to the work. Uh Miss
[2:53:11] Raleigh, thank you so much for
continuing to push and advocate uh for
[2:53:16] some things that were discussed, some
things that we missed. I really
[2:53:18] appreciate that. I've learned more from
your perspective. I will say that I am
[2:53:23] still on the fence tonight uh and I look
forward to the discussion about this.
[2:53:28] I'm still on the fence because uh as we
share stories about DCP DCPS experiences
[2:53:34] or our experiences, I remember many
years ago I was at a high school and I
[2:53:40] should have had a credit and I had an
empty spot on my schedule and even with
[2:53:45] parent advocacy I did not get that class
that I needed which meant that I would
[2:53:50] have needed to go to summer school. And
I know that that was a long time ago,
[2:53:53] but sometimes we still have experiences
like that where parents cannot get up to
[2:53:58] the school or do what is necessary to
really push the needle. And so for me,
[2:54:03] when it comes to policy, it's really
important that things are very clear in
[2:54:07] the policy so that there's no ambiguity
in the implementation. I want us to be
[2:54:12] very clear with all that we're doing to
support our students that we don't drop
[2:54:16] the ball when it comes to
implementation. I do I would really hate
[2:54:20] for our students to have the skills
necessary to pass this to get the seal
[2:54:26] all of those things but cannot get that
because of a roadblock in terms of their
[2:54:31] local school uh in their school body. So
I look forward to discussing
[2:54:35] implementation but I thank you all for
the work that has been done. Thank you
[2:54:39] Dr. Mitchell and everyone the task force
for getting us here. I yield my time.
[2:54:47] Representative Goule,
>> Mr. Wood, that was a very inspirational
[2:54:52] story. Uh, thank you for coming and
sharing it. I think that really actually
[2:54:56] I mean it's incredible what you're able
to achieve there through your hard work
[2:55:01] and it's it's what we want to provide as
an option for all our students here and
[2:55:05] and I think that is exactly what we
should be trying to get done with this.
[2:55:08] And I mean DC is such an international
city. We have so many families with such
[2:55:13] diverse backgrounds and like we have
families who speak all sorts of
[2:55:18] languages at home that we would never
teach in in DC public schools or even in
[2:55:21] public charter schools. And so to be
able to recognize like the unique
[2:55:26] backgrounds, the unique experiences of
those families and to be able to let
[2:55:30] them have credit for for their skills on
their diploma is is exactly what we
[2:55:35] should be doing with this. So that
inspired me to keep going on this and
[2:55:39] thank you for sharing it here. Uh, I
mean, we're we're at a place right now
[2:55:43] where we have been working on this for a
very long time and and I think taking an
[2:55:47] additional month to figure this out
makes perfect sense. It's what we did
[2:55:51] with the social studies standards and we
got a better product. I I agree with
[2:55:55] you, Miss Riley. I think transparency is
key and this is a very transparent body
[2:55:59] and we always do, I think, a very good
job. I go above and beyond of working
[2:56:03] with the public. And in this case, I
think there's no there's no villain in
[2:56:08] the process. Everybody's working hard.
is just we're working up to a deadline.
[2:56:12] Uh you know and Aussie's been a great
partner in this. My colleagues are great
[2:56:15] partners. I mean I think the challenge
is we just kind of ran out of time to
[2:56:18] get it done tonight. So I think those
discussions should continue and I think
[2:56:23] a month from now we we may nail this and
have really a perfect product and that's
[2:56:27] what I want to get to on this. I don't
want to get to after all this hard work
[2:56:31] 95% of the way there I want to get to
100%. So, I mean, things that are still
[2:56:35] confusing to me a little bit with this
waiver process is I don't see the need
[2:56:40] for it in the first place. I think if a
student, you know, like Mr. Wood talked
[2:56:43] about, has achieved those skills, they
shouldn't have to worry that DCPS is
[2:56:48] going to approve a waiver, that the
charter school board is going to approve
[2:56:51] a waiver. I mean, the charter school
board may not even know they're
[2:56:53] approving waiverss because the charter
school alliance wasn't even aware that
[2:56:58] they were going to be doing that today.
So, I think we've just got some more
[2:57:00] work to do on this. And then, you know,
making sure that if the student has
[2:57:06] those skills, we want to make sure it's
not a process that drags them down and
[2:57:10] prevents them from doing it. It's not
that that one DCPS school is doing one
[2:57:14] thing and another school's doing
something else. We need equity,
[2:57:17] consistency, and we need to recognize
our students achievements here. So, I'm
[2:57:21] willing to wait a month to be able to
try to get us there to do that. And uh I
[2:57:25] just encourage my colleagues to do the
same. I want to thank you all for your
[2:57:28] testimony tonight.
President Patterson,
[2:57:32] » thank you. Um, thank every single one of
you for again coming here. For those who
[2:57:37] have served on task forces like Miss
Riley, um, I believe you directed um, a
[2:57:42] question at me, so to speak, as far as
how we handled last week, and I believe
[2:57:45] Vice President uh, Goule has kind of
said that we were just basically working
[2:57:49] right up to the to the deadline, so to
speak, before we got here to make sure
[2:57:53] we were responsive. And I appreciate my
colleagues who pressed, you know, as a
[2:57:58] person, you know, um, that's sitting in
the seat right now, presidency to say,
[2:58:02] Jacques, we still there are things that
need to be addressed. It was never to be
[2:58:06] kind of exclusive or anything like that.
And as you stated, when we got answers,
[2:58:10] we shared that with those who had raised
those questions were who are outside of
[2:58:14] the elected body. And we always will do
that. Um, and I just appreciate even the
[2:58:20] um, superintendent for answering
questions all the way up to the end. So,
[2:58:24] we're always going to be transparent as
best as we possibly can, especially for
[2:58:28] those who are actually advocating and
everything like that. And I want
[2:58:31] everyone to know that for the record
that I believe all my colleagues and
[2:58:34] everybody that they work with are the
most transparent people and processes
[2:58:38] that I've met in public service. And I
appreciate everybody who works even up
[2:58:43] to the 11th, you know, 12th hour,
whatever. Yes, I appreciate that. So, I
[2:58:48] just want to make sure I answered that
specifically as far as and going forward
[2:58:51] we will be the same. Okay. Um secondly,
um I would like to say I appreciate you
[2:58:57] bringing up the touch points. That's
important to me. I love that that Azie
[2:59:01] has put in there's going to be four
touch points, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th.
[2:59:05] Um yes, because I am a person who when I
was in school, no one talked to me. So
[2:59:11] when I got to the 12th grade and I was
getting ready to do things, they were
[2:59:14] like, "No, you can't go there. you can't
apply there cuz you know you don't have
[2:59:18] the right things, you didn't take the
right classes, you know, I want to go to
[2:59:21] the University of Washington at that
particular time. They're like, no,
[2:59:23] you'll probably be going to a community
college, which I did. Eventually, I
[2:59:26] caught up and I'm now I'm a doctor. But
I I get it. So, I appreciate you calling
[2:59:32] that out because there are students,
even myself, you know, who truly needs
[2:59:36] that because our students need to have
that touch point every single year of
[2:59:40] their education in high school. So, I
appreciate that. from going to three to
[2:59:44] four. The last thing that I will say,
I'm gonna talk to you, sir. You marry my
[2:59:48] daughter. And I say that because as far
as you said, 17 years and everything
[2:59:52] like that. My daughter took a Mandarin
Chinese class when she was at TMA. She
[2:59:56] did the program downtown and she didn't
get any credit for it. Now, it worked
[3:00:01] well for her because she put on her
college, you know, kind of letter and
[3:00:03] got into the school of her dreams,
Spellman, but she got nothing outside
[3:00:07] of, you know, any type of credit for.
She took two years of managing Chinese
[3:00:11] right there in Chinatown, right there on
8th Street and nothing, you know,
[3:00:15] whatsoever. And to sum this all up, she
missed being validictorian by like.5.
[3:00:22] What would that have done had and she
was saludiatoran. What would that have
[3:00:25] done for her had she got that credit?
So, I come to this as a parent. I will
[3:00:29] always look at this from a parent
perspective and I appreciate your story.
[3:00:32] So, thank you.
[3:00:38] » Okay.
I believe we have one last person now.
[3:00:42] Two. Okay. So, I'm going to turn it over
to you for those last two.
[3:00:45] » Okay. Thank you all so much for coming
and testify. We will have our last two
[3:00:49] witnesses.
[3:00:53] Dominique Moore.
Oh, we have our last witness, Jessica
[3:00:59] Giles.
[3:01:03] I thought people
[3:01:11] just because you're alone, you're not
alone.
[3:01:20] All right, that means I get a lot of
time, right? Three times. [laughter]
[3:01:31] Okay,
I didn't bring my laptop. I'm I'm
[3:01:36] screenless.
All right.
[3:01:41] Um, greetings represents of the DC State
Board of Education. My name is Jessica
[3:01:45] Jiles. I'm a W7 resident and executive
director of the Washington DC office of
[3:01:48] the Center for Strong Public Schools
Action Fund. CSPS Action Fund is a 501c4
[3:01:54] organization committed to ensuring that
every student, especially black, brown,
[3:01:57] and low-income kids, attends a
highquality public school regardless of
[3:02:02] their zip code. Today, I'll be
testifying about the state board of
[3:02:05] education's resolution 2613.
AIE released recommendations that
[3:02:10] outlined a vision for college and career
readiness. AIE, the high school
[3:02:14] graduations requirements task force and
the state board of education engaged in
[3:02:18] thoughtful dialogue with the community
to get us to a place where we have
[3:02:22] substantially improved graduation
requirements to vote on today. Exciting.
[3:02:27] CSPS Action Fund has been proud to be a
part of the process. We attended the
[3:02:30] task force's community meeting, shared
feedback, and testify at the April
[3:02:34] public meeting. During those
interactions, we've consistently
[3:02:37] reiterated that all students must be
held to high standards of excellence,
[3:02:41] that there should be more flexibility to
ensure every student can reach their
[3:02:44] full potential, and that there continues
to be urgency to ensure we prepare
[3:02:48] students for future success. We maintain
that DC's graduation requirements can
[3:02:53] remain rigorous while allowing for
greater flexibility in student schedule.
[3:02:57] We're proud to see many of our
recommendations reflected in the
[3:03:00] resolution today,
including the following. Students must
[3:03:05] receive four in-person graduation and
post-secondary plan touch points once
[3:03:10] every year. Students can choose from six
diploma endorsement options. Financial
[3:03:14] literacy is required as a uh half a
credit course, but content can be
[3:03:18] incorporated into other courses.
Students are required to earn 60
[3:03:21] community engagement hours which can
include paid and unpaid opportunities
[3:03:26] which is really important. Um, we also
appreciate that students can take
[3:03:30] integrated math given how important
algebra is for post-secary outcomes. And
[3:03:35] we are pleased to see that the practical
studies diploma recommendation was
[3:03:39] removed and that Aussie dropped the
required career preparation course
[3:03:43] because there uh is a lack of clear
guidance in place. So, we support these
[3:03:46] changes and we appreciate the time and
work that has been devoted to this
[3:03:49] effort. Still, we continue to stress the
importance of DC dramatically expanding
[3:03:54] access to intensive high-quality career
programming to ensure every high school
[3:03:57] student, not just older students or a
limited view, has meaningful career
[3:04:01] building opportunities before
graduation. We won't stop saying that.
[3:04:04] The district has seen greater um higher
graduation uh graduation rates. However,
[3:04:10] our public education system continues to
produce too few degree and credential
[3:04:14] holders. Additionally, DC has struggled
with disconnected young people in a
[3:04:17] workforce system that leaves native
Washingtonians, many of them locked out
[3:04:21] of living wage careers. As we shared
earlier, um findings from the education
[3:04:25] through employment data system, DC
alumni early career outcome survey. Um
[3:04:31] those uh who participated in career
oriented experiences in the high school
[3:04:35] were significantly more likely to report
feeling prepared for careers. Skipping
[3:04:39] around. Um thank you for the opportunity
to testify. We look forward to
[3:04:42] partnering with future conversations on
these topics.
[3:04:48] » Thank you so much for your testimony. We
will now have a round of questions from
[3:04:52] our elected state board members.
Representative Johnson Law.
[3:05:00] » Thank you so much, Jess, for your
testimony. We love you. I just have a
[3:05:03] quick comment and then I was going I'm
going to actually yield the rest of my
[3:05:05] time to you to finish to actually finish
because I know you skipped around. Um,
[3:05:09] just wanted to say like thank you for
like all all you do and to publicly say
[3:05:13] thank you for also supporting our W 8
back to school bash that's also
[3:05:17] happening on this Saturday from Wonder
Sigcorn Oak. That's a little plug. But
[3:05:21] um again, just thank um you and Victor
and the entire team for all the work
[3:05:24] that you're doing. Again, it's not easy.
And so just again want to publicly say
[3:05:27] thank you. I say thank you all the time,
but also want to say it publicly. And
[3:05:30] then I'm just going to yield the rest of
my time for you to finish what you were
[3:05:34] saying because I know you skipped
around.
[3:05:36] » Thank you.
>> You're welcome.
[3:05:45] Currently, only 16% of DC students meet
the SAT college and career ready
[3:05:49] benchmark and only 18% of 2011 2012 nth
graders had completed an associates or
[3:05:54] bachelor's degree by 2022.
And so um the find the findings of the
[3:06:00] studies that I mentioned earlier with
regards to the DC alumni ear early
[3:06:04] career outcome survey shows that
providing students multi-layered career
[3:06:09] focused experiences is increasing
for students to uh be ready for what
[3:06:16] comes next after high school. Um, our
nonpartisan nonprofit affiliate, the
[3:06:21] Center for Strong Public Schools
commissioned a poll which also showed
[3:06:24] that 88% of DC Democratic voters believe
every high school student should have
[3:06:28] had access to meaningful career or
connected learning experiences before
[3:06:33] graduation.
In addition, we also want to continue to
[3:06:36] stress the importance of DC graduation
requirements allowing for flexibility in
[3:06:40] students schedules. Students deserve
multiple rigorous pathways to
[3:06:44] demonstrate mastery through academics,
expanded course equivalency offers
[3:06:48] offerings, career connected learning,
and real world exper real world
[3:06:52] experience all at a pace that meets
their needs. So we believe these
[3:06:56] improved graduation requirements rec
represent a crucial step in that
[3:07:00] direction. And so we look forward to
being a part of the conversations that
[3:07:03] the SPOE has with regards to
implementation. We totally uh want to
[3:07:09] underscore the importance of of
implementation and getting this right
[3:07:12] and um being a part of the conversations
around the integrated math proposal so
[3:07:17] that DC can continue to lead the nation
with strong public schools and real
[3:07:21] opportunity for every student. Thank
you.
[3:07:23] » Thanks Jess. I appreciate you. I yield
the rest of my time.
[3:07:28] » Thank you Representative
Thompson.
[3:07:38] Um,
thank you for braving the traffic and
[3:07:41] make it here. Um, hopefully that wasn't
too terrible for you. Um,
[3:07:47] what uh you you mentioned a a survey um
about uh recent graduate Well, maybe not
[3:07:54] that recent. Um what what was the
survey?
[3:07:58] I'm trying to pull up your testimony.
our computers and it's hyperl um but
[3:08:03] it's the uh education through employment
data system DC alumni early career
[3:08:09] outcome survey that might be DC
>> yeah it's a it's a DME survey so I
[3:08:14] realized when and and and I don't think
I had thought about this before I've
[3:08:19] I've I've thought about it in other ways
but when you cited uh the stat about um
[3:08:26] completing a AA a or a bachelor's.
>> Um, and I need to dig into the survey
[3:08:34] that doesn't necess that might not
necessarily include folks who went a
[3:08:38] different path like who were um who
decided to take on a trade um or who
[3:08:45] I don't know started their own business.
Correct.
[3:08:49] Um,
[3:08:52] so are you talking about the 18% of
ninth graders that completed?
[3:08:59] » Yes.
>> Associate.
[3:09:00] » Uhhuh.
>> That comes from AIE's data that they put
[3:09:03] together. And um it has lots of data for
those who had graduated high school and
[3:09:11] gone on to college and for those that
another there's other statistics there
[3:09:16] for students that didn't graduate.
>> Yeah. I I think so and I I'll tell you
[3:09:19] why I'm asking not to I'm not trying to
um discredit the data but I am um
[3:09:26] particularly thinking about a shift um
in how we have thought about education
[3:09:32] because um in the years where like 2008
20ou the the 2000s and then some of the
[3:09:40] 2010s all we were tracking was college.
>> Correct. Um, and college is a specific
[3:09:47] destination uh on a path to success, but
it's not the only destination. Now, I'm
[3:09:52] not the person who's going to say, "Oh,
you know, college isn't for everybody."
[3:09:55] Cuz honestly, I think anybody could do
college um with the right supports. I'm
[3:09:59] not saying everybody has to do college
to be successful, though. That's a
[3:10:02] different thing. Um, and let me tie this
up in a bow. Um, some of what I believe
[3:10:09] that we have gotten right with the
graduation requirements is thinking
[3:10:12] about how folks can be on multiple paths
and so like how do we have endorsements
[3:10:16] for CTE? But one of the key things I
hear from my constituents um is actually
[3:10:22] more access to career and technical
education. Um, and so I'm looking
[3:10:28] forward to digging in a bit more with
that lens and not just the college
[3:10:33] completion lens because it is the
overall success. Yes. So that caught my
[3:10:37] ear. Thank you.
>> Thank you both.
[3:10:41] Representative Williams.
[3:10:45] » Thank you for your testimony. I have no
questions at this time.
[3:10:49] » Representative Best.
>> Uh thank you for your partnership uh in
[3:10:54] ensuring that all schools and all
students are supported regardless of the
[3:10:59] sector. Uh I don't have any questions at
the time, but I just appreciate the work
[3:11:03] that you do. Representative Chang.
[3:11:09] » Also, no questions at this time, but I
may take a picture of you because I
[3:11:12] think this is a a moment to [laughter]
remember.
[3:11:15] » I'll make sure I'm frowning when you do
it.
[3:11:19] » Um, Representative Coulson,
>> thank you for your testimony. I think
[3:11:25] often when we hear testimony here in the
chambers, it's always, I won't say
[3:11:30] always, often comparing one LEA to the
other. and I appreciate your testimony
[3:11:35] for highlighting or spotlighting the
outcomes what we hope our children will
[3:11:40] be able to achieve. So I just want to
say thank you for continuing to elevate
[3:11:44] that. I do not believe that we should be
in competition in DC one LA against the
[3:11:50] other but looking at who's doing it best
in the nation and what we can learn from
[3:11:55] them and how we can implement that here.
Uh, so I guess my question is now that
[3:11:59] we've come to the the voting part in
terms of implementation, is there any
[3:12:05] one specific thing that you would really
love for us to see to ensure that it
[3:12:09] doesn't fall by the wayside?
[3:12:13] Wow. Um,
[3:12:20] I'm gonna cheat and say everything. Make
sure everything doesn't fall by the
[3:12:24] wayside. Um I really am interested in
participating in the conversations
[3:12:28] around um the integrated math pathways.
So I know that there's more work to be
[3:12:33] done there. So um I'm really interested
in those conversations.
[3:12:39] » I also say well you give me a moment. I
also say that it's really important that
[3:12:43] when we talk about um dual enrollment
um that it's not just that students are
[3:12:49] taking those courses, but we have to
also make sure that there's
[3:12:52] opportunities for students to really
truly um earn college college credit as
[3:12:58] well.
[3:13:02] Okay. Representative Henderson.
>> Thank you. I don't have any questions.
[3:13:08] » Vice President Goule.
>> Mr. Jos, I want to thank you for coming
[3:13:13] to testify tonight and, you know, for
your leadership on this and so many
[3:13:17] issues here in the city. I think one
thing you said really resonated with me
[3:13:21] in your testimony and that was talking
about the flexibility to ensure students
[3:13:25] reach their full potential and I'm
really excited about the high school
[3:13:28] graduation requirements things we have
in there. Like I'm excited to see
[3:13:31] financial literacy, but I'm also
realistic about what we approved and
[3:13:35] what we, you know, have have in there
right now. that's we have one half
[3:13:38] credit less of flexibility uh than we
did before and we we've added financial
[3:13:43] literacy removed an elective credit half
credit of electives and so we've reduced
[3:13:49] flexibility which I I know wasn't quite
our goal when we set out but that's
[3:13:53] where we ended up u for me on this
that's why I think the foreign language
[3:13:56] issue is so important because uh when we
we want to be able to provide
[3:14:02] flexibility to our students that would
include students who have mastered a
[3:14:05] language at home and who are fluent
fluent in it that they could then go
[3:14:09] take a competency based exam, get those
credits, get that seal of biiteracy and
[3:14:15] then have flexibility to do other
things, other interests they may have uh
[3:14:19] instead of going back and taking maybe
Spanish one or uh taking a language that
[3:14:23] they've already mastered. So, so for me
that's a way to improve flexibility when
[3:14:27] we haven't addressed it already. Also
for our English language learner
[3:14:31] students, we have so many students uh
who may have a language uh that they've
[3:14:37] learned that they know much better than
English. So they may be fluent in
[3:14:40] Spanish. They have come to DC. Uh they
could simply take an exam to demonstrate
[3:14:46] that fluency, but they may need help in
other coursework. Uh that would benefit
[3:14:51] them a great deal more than just taking
uh Spanish uh or another foreign
[3:14:55] language. They may they may need may
need help on their English. And so as we
[3:15:00] look at flexibility, that's another way
uh that we have an opportunity right now
[3:15:04] uh or within the next month to be able
to add the flexibility that I think
[3:15:09] you've talked about. So I just want to
kind of get your take on this and if
[3:15:13] that's a way you see of improving
flexibility.
[3:15:18] I think you're asking some important
questions um with regards to the world
[3:15:24] language competency credit and I'm
interested to hear what your colleagues
[3:15:28] have to say, you know, in addition to
the points you've raised.
[3:15:31] » Yeah. Well, thank you for everything you
do for the city. I appreciate it very
[3:15:34] much,
>> President Patterson.
[3:15:39] » Thank you. Um,
thank you, Miss Giles, for bringing up
[3:15:45] something in the course of your uh,
testimony. And I was going to save this
[3:15:49] comment until we got into the discussion
about the graduation requirements, but
[3:15:54] because you said a certain number um,
during your testimony, 16%. I'm going to
[3:16:00] bring it up now because recently you and
I um, we saw a video and there was a
[3:16:06] teacher. He was a a senior's teacher and
he was literally crying
[3:16:12] because
he knew that his class he had given a
[3:16:17] test and he was crying because none of
the students in his class could read. He
[3:16:21] said even when he gave them prompts that
only needed them to fill in four words
[3:16:28] to finish the sentence, they couldn't do
it. And you and I made a comment about
[3:16:34] it because it touched us to see this man
crying about his seniors that could not
[3:16:41] read or finish a sentence or put four
words in that. And I was going to save
[3:16:47] this till the end, but I just because
you and I talked about it. We have a
[3:16:51] graduation rate since we're talking
about graduation requirements of 79%.
[3:16:57] We have a career and readiness rate of
16%.
[3:17:02] And from my last math, that's 63%
difference.
[3:17:08] That's horrible. We're about to have a
big discussion about graduation
[3:17:13] requirements,
which I think we're doing the right
[3:17:16] thing. I do. all the debates that we've
had and all of this conversation,
[3:17:22] but if we're still graduating students
that are not college and career
[3:17:27] readiness and we're still saying numbers
like 16%.
[3:17:32] That's a problem.
That's a major problem. I have a
[3:17:37] colleague who wrote an article about it
and I want to thank um Representative
[3:17:41] Chang for writing his article about that
because then we're we're not aligned.
[3:17:48] It's nice that we're going to do these
graduation requirements, but they will
[3:17:52] mean nothing at all if we continue to
have students who are at 16% proficiency
[3:18:00] as far as college and career readiness.
So, I want to thank you for the
[3:18:04] conversation that we had. I look forward
to the conversation that we're going to
[3:18:07] have about the graduation requirements,
but I just wanted to pull that out
[3:18:12] because again, at the end of the day,
the end of the day, we're supposed to be
[3:18:17] graduating students, our main goal, our
north star who are career and college
[3:18:24] ready.
That is our goal. That is our north
[3:18:28] star. Everything else kind of builds on
to that to get us to that point. So, I
[3:18:33] appreciate you just alluding to that to
allow me to say that um as we get ready
[3:18:37] for that discussion. Thank you very
much.
[3:18:39] » Thank you. Thank you all.
[3:18:43] » Thank you for your testimony this
evening
[3:18:47] » and thank you again.
>> Can't wait till the last minute this
[3:18:49] afternoon. [laughter]
>> And so, normally when we have an expert
[3:18:53] panel, we would have a break in between
that and the public testimony. My
[3:18:58] colleagues up here, including myself,
has been needing a break, a bio break,
[3:19:02] so to speak. And so, we're gonna take a
five minute
[3:19:06] » five minute
just to allow people to have that
[3:19:09] because I know this discussion we're
about to have is about to be rich and I
[3:19:13] don't want people jumping up and missing
parts of that because they have to go to
[3:19:16] the restroom. Five minute break. It is
currently
[3:19:20] 8:58.
I will see you guys at 9. Well, it's not
[3:19:25] 8:59. I will see you guys at 9:04 prom.
[3:19:43] I love you. [laughter]
resist.
[3:27:54] All right. I know there are some great
conversations that's going on. Um, and I
[3:27:59] know they could go on for some time, but
I'm going to gavvel us in because I know
[3:28:03] that everybody wants to get out here
before 12:00 the next day. So, members,
[3:28:09] members, make your way back to the DAS.
Members,
[3:28:17] make your way back to the dis.
[3:28:30] Representative Williams and Thompson, if
you could make your way back.
[3:28:34] Representative Henderson, if you could
conclude your conversation.
[3:28:51] All right.
[3:29:02] » Okay. I know there are conversations
that are still kind of being had and I'm
[3:29:07] going to try to be gracious and letting
our members have those conversations.
[3:29:12] But I am going to proceed at this point.
[3:29:19] We will now move to consider our state
resolutions for administrative votes.
[3:29:30] We will now move to vote on state
resolution SR26-11
[3:29:36] supporting student access to
identification real IDs in the District
[3:29:40] of Columbia.
Is there a motion?
[3:29:44] » So moved.
>> It has been moved by Representative
[3:29:47] Johnson Law. Is there a second?
>> Second.
[3:29:50] » It has been seconded by Vice President
Goule.
[3:29:59] The motion has been properly moved and
seconded. Executive Butler, will you
[3:30:04] read the resolution into the record
unless there are members who think
[3:30:09] otherwise
>> can I move to uh read uh wave the
[3:30:12] reading of the of the um resolution?
>> Second.
[3:30:16] » There has been a motion and it have been
second. It is moved by Representative uh
[3:30:20] Williams and seconded by Representative
uh Johnson Law. All in favor?
[3:30:26] » I I nays. All right, we will go forego
the reading.
[3:30:33] » Is there discussion on the resolution?
I'm going to go first to Representative
[3:30:39] Johnson Law.
>> Um just going to make this really quick.
[3:30:42] Just want to say thank you to the board.
Um again for all your support with this.
[3:30:46] Um we know many of our young people,
especially our homeless students and our
[3:30:50] students for this opportunity. We want
to make sure that they have every
[3:30:53] resource at the at their disposal um at
their disposal. And so some of our
[3:30:57] babies are, you know, going to
internships, they're traveling. There's
[3:31:00] a lot going on in the city and we just
want to make sure that they have as much
[3:31:03] access as possible. So looking forward
to um folks supporting this and also
[3:31:07] advocating to council about this because
I it has to get more attention. We got
[3:31:11] to get our babies their IDs so that way
they can have them for their
[3:31:15] internships. They can have them when
they're going to college. I think it is
[3:31:18] unacceptable for students to come to me
in the 12th grade and say, "Hey, I need
[3:31:22] to get on a plane. I'm 18 and I need my
ID. Hey, I need it for college and I
[3:31:26] don't have it." And it's just happening
just way too often. It's happening way
[3:31:30] too often with our homeless families.
And I understand that people can just go
[3:31:34] on dmv.dc.gov
and you can just be able to look at some
[3:31:37] of these things. But families are
already doing that and there's still a
[3:31:39] disconnect though about connecting folks
to how am I supposed to do certain
[3:31:43] things, especially if they are
experiencing homelessness. I'm going to
[3:31:46] wrap it up here because I know there's a
bigger discussion coming down the
[3:31:48] pipeline, but just want to say thank you
to the board.
[3:31:51] » All right. Thank you, Representative. Or
is there other discussion?
[3:31:54] Representative Coulson.
>> Yes, I want to say thank you to the
[3:31:57] board and thank you also to repres
Representative Johnson Law. Uh you named
[3:32:01] several reasons why this is important. I
just want to also elevate elevate that.
[3:32:05] We know that the National Guard will be
with us until 2029 and many of our
[3:32:10] students do not have ID. So, it's also a
security concern as well. So, I'm happy
[3:32:15] that we're doing this. Thank you for the
work and for everyone else who has
[3:32:18] supported this.
>> Further discussion?
[3:32:24] » Well, I'll chime in at this point. I
just want to thank you, Representative
[3:32:27] Johnson Law, for staying uh consistent
and not letting this die. I know we've
[3:32:32] been talking about this for some time.
Um, and how important it is for our
[3:32:36] students, especially those who will be
profiled. um because we as was just
[3:32:40] stated by Representative Coulson will
have the National Guard in our city till
[3:32:45] 2029 until the end of this current
president's uh end of his tenure. And so
[3:32:50] I think it's even more important as we
see these things happening in our city
[3:32:55] um that our children are be will be able
to be identified um with something that
[3:32:59] they can also identify our children
with. Um so I just want to thank you for
[3:33:03] your persistence in moving this forward.
Thank you so much.
[3:33:08] I'm going look around once, twice again
just to make sure there's no further
[3:33:11] discussion. All right. Um,
seeing there is no um no more
[3:33:18] discussion, the motion is to adopt
SR26-11.
[3:33:21] D Executive Director Butler, will you
call the role?
[3:33:26] » Representative Best,
>> I.
[3:33:29] » Representative Chang,
>> I.
[3:33:31] » Representative Coulson,
>> I.
[3:33:32] » Representative Henderson,
>> I. Representative Johnson Law.
[3:33:37] » I,
>> Representative Thompson.
[3:33:39] » I,
>> Representative Williams.
[3:33:41] » I,
>> Vice President Goule.
[3:33:44] » I,
>> President Patterson.
[3:33:46] » I,
>> State Board of Education Resolution
[3:33:50] 26-11 supporting students access to
identification real IDs in the District
[3:33:55] of Columbia passes unanimously.
>> Thank you, director.
[3:34:00] Next, we will move to vote on state
resolution SR26-12
[3:34:05] approving the District of Columbia's
physical education standards. Is there a
[3:34:09] motion?
>> So, moved.
[3:34:11] » Okay, I'm hearing two. Um, I'm going to
go with it was moved first. Well, he's
[3:34:15] being a gentleman. Uh, it was moved by
Representative Johnson Law and seconded
[3:34:20] by Representative uh Williams. All
right.
[3:34:25] Okay. Since it has been properly moved
and seconded, Executive Bullet, will you
[3:34:29] read the resolution into the record?
>> Mr. President, may I move at this time a
[3:34:32] motion to wave the reading of the
resolution?
[3:34:34] » You have move Representative Goule have
moved a motion. Second,
[3:34:38] » it has been seconded by Goule. All in
favor?
[3:34:42] » I any naysay
>> Coulson. My fault. It was seconded by
[3:34:48] Representative Coulson. Um,
all in favor?
[3:34:52] » I. Any nazs?
Okay, we will forgo the reading. Is
[3:34:57] there discussion on the resolution?
[3:35:03] Wow. Okay. Well, yes, there is. Okay.
Representative Johnson Law,
[3:35:08] » because I know we're getting to like the
big kahuna in a second. And again, just
[3:35:11] want to thank AIE for their work with us
on this. It's a lot of work that we're
[3:35:14] doing together. And just want to say
thank you for your partnership on the PE
[3:35:18] standards. And I know we also talked
about kids with disabilities and that
[3:35:20] was raised up and also included. And so
to the entire team, to Glenn, to Andrew,
[3:35:25] to Dr. Mitchell, again, just want to say
thank you because this is what this is
[3:35:29] really hard work even though even if we
don't all agree all the time, I think
[3:35:32] it's important to center why we're all
here and that's for our kids. So, thank
[3:35:36] you so much for your partnership with
the PE standards.
[3:35:41] » All right. Is there further discussion?
[3:35:46] » All right. Seeing no further discussion,
the motion is to adopt SR26-12.
[3:35:50] Executive Director Butler, will you
please call the role?
[3:35:53] » Representative Best,
>> I.
[3:35:56] » Representative Chang,
>> I.
[3:35:59] » Representative Coulson,
>> I.
[3:36:01] » Representative Henderson,
>> I.
[3:36:03] » Representative Johnson Law,
>> I.
[3:36:05] » Representative Thompson,
>> I.
[3:36:08] » Representative Williams,
>> I.
[3:36:10] » Vice President Gulan.
>> I,
[3:36:13] » President Patterson. I
>> State Board of Education resolution
[3:36:17] 26-13,
excuse me, 26-12,
[3:36:23] approving the District of Columbia
physical education standard passes
[3:36:26] unanimously.
>> Thank you. We will now move to vote on
[3:36:31] state resolution SR26-13
[3:36:35] approving a approving amendments to the
District of Columbia's high school
[3:36:39] graduation requirements. Is there a
motion?
[3:36:44] So moved.
>> It has been moved by Representative
[3:36:48] Coulson. Is there a second?
>> Second.
[3:36:50] » Second.
[laughter]
[3:36:52] » Seconded by Representative Williams.
I'll go again. Okay. Um All right. The
[3:36:58] motion has been properly moved and
seconded. Um Executive, would you read?
[3:37:03] » Yes, Representative Goule.
>> At this time, I move a motion to wave
[3:37:07] the reading of the resolution.
>> There has been a motion to wave the the
[3:37:11] reading of the resolution. Is there a
second?
[3:37:14] » Second.
>> Has been seconded by Representative
[3:37:16] Jeff. Um, Johnson [snorts] Law. All in
favor?
[3:37:21] » I. Any nays?
All right.
[3:37:26] Is there discussion on the resolution?
Let's have fun.
[3:37:32] » All right.
Representative Goule. Okay. So, I'm
[3:37:38] going to come back on second round and
and move a motion to postpone, but I
[3:37:42] want to put some some points on the
record at this time. So, I want to first
[3:37:46] of all congratulate Aussie for all their
work on this and specifically thank uh
[3:37:50] my colleagues uh Representative
Thompson, Representative Henderson for
[3:37:53] co-chairing the task force. I think uh
that was really got us to a great place
[3:37:58] on this. Uh I support the task force's
recommendations. Uh I think they were
[3:38:02] they were fantastic. So, and I want to
thank all the people who volunteered
[3:38:06] their time to participate on the task
force. U I have concerns though and I
[3:38:11] want to put those on the record too
right now. And and my concerns I think
[3:38:14] could be alleviated with another month's
work on this. We we've put so much
[3:38:18] effort in and I just don't want to see
us rush this. Uh the board doesn't have
[3:38:22] a lot of formal duties. Uh we have
certain things we have to do and I think
[3:38:27] this is the most important thing uh that
we have to do this year. uh maybe
[3:38:31] perhaps in the last four years even I
think right now my concern is that if
[3:38:36] you have a student who has achieved
competency and they've demonstrated that
[3:38:40] competency on an ASI approved exam by
meeting an ASI approved score that they
[3:38:45] should get those two foreign language
credits they should get their seal of bi
[3:38:48] literacy and that they really have a
right to that now that's what the task
[3:38:53] force recommended and that's where I
think we should land I I think we were
[3:38:57] willing to to try to address a concern
that was raised and not force this upon
[3:39:01] ELEAS if it had operational concerns. Uh
but what really still concerns me is
[3:39:06] having a waiver process because I think
this is going to create uh even if it's
[3:39:10] a short waiver uh a lot of problems and
I simply don't support it. Uh we had
[3:39:15] concerns when it was with ASI uh and I
think now the new proposal which we saw
[3:39:21] yesterday actually raises new concerns
and even more concerns for me. I'm not
[3:39:26] sure if anyone has even talked you know
up here. I haven't had a conversation
[3:39:29] with the public charter school board
about this. I'm not sure how they would
[3:39:33] approve these waiverss. I'm concerned
about DCPS doing it as well because I I
[3:39:39] think there should be uniformity among
schools. Like DCPS should just simply
[3:39:43] grant this credit once the state
superintendent determines that like a
[3:39:48] certain standard needs to be met and it
is met by students for foreign language.
[3:39:52] So I don't know why there would be
different schools doing different things
[3:39:56] on this. that that makes little sense to
me. And I think ultimately this has to
[3:40:01] be about the students. It has to be
about the students who achieve
[3:40:05] proficiency, who demonstrate
proficiency, uh should be able to get
[3:40:09] that. And I can't possibly imagine a
situation where you have students who at
[3:40:15] home have demonstrated this proficiency
who then have to go to their their
[3:40:19] charter school and ask for then a waiver
to be sent to the public charter school
[3:40:24] board that then has to be approved so
the student can get the credit that
[3:40:28] they've already achieved by meeting the
ASI standard already. like that's two
[3:40:32] extra steps that could potentially keep
that student from getting the credit
[3:40:36] because it just gets bogged down in
unnecessary
[3:40:40] uh administrative burdens. I mean, we
can still report data uh of the number
[3:40:45] of students that have uh achieved this
and received the credit. So, I I just am
[3:40:51] very confused at this point. Uh we've
talked a lot about flexibility
[3:40:55] throughout this process and and I think
something that's really important in
[3:40:58] generating flexibility is making sure
we're not making students take
[3:41:02] unnecessary courses uh that they don't
need. So if you have a a student whose
[3:41:07] first language is Spanish, who is fluent
in Spanish, they can go get their seal
[3:41:12] by literacy and then maybe have courses
to help their English uh so that they
[3:41:16] can make sure they're able to stay on
course there. Uh if you have a student
[3:41:20] who uh you know has traveled overseas or
is fluent at home in another language,
[3:41:25] they can get their seal of bi literacy,
they can get their two credits and they
[3:41:28] can explore other elective credits
because we've reduced in this proposal
[3:41:32] the number of elective credits from
three and a half to three despite
[3:41:36] talking about as a board priority trying
to create more flexibility. So I think
[3:41:41] we've done a lot of good things in here.
I definitely support financial literacy.
[3:41:44] I really support reducing the number of
community service hours from 100 to 60.
[3:41:49] But I think this one last issue, it's
just strange to me that we wouldn't take
[3:41:54] a month to continue the good work we've
had with ASI and the positive
[3:41:58] collaboration to try to just get to a
place where we understand this because I
[3:42:02] do not support the implementation plan
that's in the letter and we are voting
[3:42:08] by reference to that letter in the same
way that when council votes on the
[3:42:12] budget, uh, it's voting the budget books
by reference. So, we're essentially
[3:42:16] adopting a plan that that I don't agree
with on this. I don't agree with the
[3:42:20] waiver process and I would rather set a
waiver process that we support and and
[3:42:25] approve that today than have a waiver
process that we don't support and then
[3:42:30] we have to try to clean it up through
implementation. So, I'm going to move it
[3:42:34] later round to postpone this one month
and then keep up the great work that
[3:42:38] everybody's been doing on it. Thank you
very much.
[3:42:42] » Thank you, Vice President. Is there more
discussion?
[3:42:48] Representative Thompson.
>> Um
[3:42:52] I I have the following thoughts. Um I um
here's where I agree uh with um
[3:43:00] Representative Goule. I agree uh that uh
this is some of the most important work
[3:43:06] before the board. I've said that um from
the beginning before we ever even um
[3:43:10] embarked on this work. This is our high
school our high school graduation
[3:43:15] requirements are essentially the road
map to what we are saying will if they
[3:43:21] if students take the following steps
they will be prepared um when they leave
[3:43:28] our high schools doesn't matter which
high school um doesn't matter where the
[3:43:33] high school is located as long as you
are in the District of Columbia uh you
[3:43:37] will be prepared to do what you want in
life uh that is something that I
[3:43:43] personally am very uh committed to as a
person, as a human. Um, and so I
[3:43:50] absolutely agree with Representative
Goule that this is one of the most
[3:43:56] important votes this board will take.
I will say um I also really appreciate
[3:44:06] Representative Goule's point about um
implementation and and knowing what we
[3:44:13] are voting for and saying we support. I
will say I am I don't have and and I
[3:44:19] have been um I tend to be very very
thorough. I'm someone who has been very
[3:44:24] engaged in this process. I've been in
the conversations around uh the
[3:44:28] competency based um most recently and I
am a little confused about um the roles
[3:44:37] and the why like why is the PTSB the
best party to do this? Um why is it not
[3:44:44] AIE? Like why is is was the compromised
language the best language? Are there
[3:44:49] other constraints that I don't know to
consider from AIE? Um, and I know I have
[3:44:54] asked a few times um, and and I do
appreciate very much uh, Representative
[3:44:58] Goule's uh, push to get us to uh, a
compromise on this. Um, because I
[3:45:04] absolutely uh, would have like would
like this to be my birthday present this
[3:45:09] month uh, to vote on this and put a bow
on it. Um, but I do still have some
[3:45:14] things that if a constituent asked me, I
would not be able to explain and I don't
[3:45:20] know and specifically around this
implementation piece. Um, I do not I and
[3:45:26] and if someone could help me understand
that in this discussion, that would be
[3:45:31] particularly helpful. Um, because this
language we saw today
[3:45:37] um, and we have been very uh,
consistent. We've been very open. We've
[3:45:42] been very transparent and uh we have
been in an ongoing conversation with AIE
[3:45:48] and they have provided us a lot to weed
through and we've taken the time to weed
[3:45:52] through that. They've done a ymen's job
of responding uh to all the things uh
[3:45:57] that we have raised and the public's
raised and everyone's raised. Um but I
[3:46:01] am someone who and this is one of the
reasons I thought the task force was
[3:46:05] particularly important. I always want to
understand why I'm supporting something
[3:46:10] or why I'm not supporting something. And
it would be really helpful during this
[3:46:15] discussion um if someone can't explain
why this is the right answer. Um I think
[3:46:22] that is helpful to know since it was put
on the t this version was put on the
[3:46:26] table today.
[3:46:32] » Thank you, Representative Thompson. I
don't know if there's someone who wants
[3:46:35] to speak to that specifically in this
the course of the discussion.
[3:46:39] » I mean, I would imagine uh somewhere
between uh Vice President Goule and
[3:46:45] President Patterson since you all are
the ones who negotiate on behalf of the
[3:46:50] board. Um
and uh you spoke to earlier uh that
[3:46:56] there was um a conversation with Dr.
Mitchell um which you said you had full
[3:47:01] confidence in. Um if I would I would
expect it would be
[3:47:05] » so you're asking me because if I would I
would imagine so you're asking me can I
[3:47:10] speak to it for you
>> unless there's someone else who was part
[3:47:12] party to the conversation but
>> no I can do that.
[3:47:16] » Okay.
>> All right. Thank you. Um
[3:47:19] what I will say directly to your
response uh Representative Thompson is
[3:47:24] that
first and foremost I appreciate all that
[3:47:28] has gone into this process. Um, as I've
stated in earlier conversations,
[3:47:35] um, we weren't going to even have a task
force until you personally started
[3:47:39] talking about a task force so that we
could get the input that we could get
[3:47:42] into get for this. So, I appreciate the
process that we have gone through. As
[3:47:48] far as the conversations that were at
the 11th hour, um, if we want to use
[3:47:52] that term, that was in response to, and
I, and I'll take you down the
[3:47:58] chronological order, is that we had a
meeting with the deputy mayor. Um, I did
[3:48:06] not attend that meeting because I could
not because of a personal situation. And
[3:48:10] so, Representative Goule attended that
meeting. And at that time, that's when
[3:48:15] this was brought up kind of like, can we
there's still some problems. We have
[3:48:20] some constituents who are here in the
audience that are raising some issues
[3:48:24] about this. We want to tackle this
again. And so what happened after that,
[3:48:29] and this happened in very short order
within the span of about 5 days. And
[3:48:33] that's why you probably didn't see this
play out all over the place like, you
[3:48:38] know, like some things do. It was like,
well, we need a letter and we're working
[3:48:42] with the staff and we're saying, okay,
we need a letter. So, that's how we got
[3:48:46] to the letter that was sent out
yesterday. And I believe that letter was
[3:48:50] sent out about 607 somewhere
thereabouts. And basically, I had called
[3:48:56] and I'm a very transparent person. I
called the deputy mayor's office. I
[3:48:59] said, "Where's this letter that we have
requested from AIE? Can we get this
[3:49:04] letter as soon as possible so we can go
through it?" We get the letter back from
[3:49:07] uh Dr. Mitchell, it has this new
language in it specifically around um
[3:49:14] the foreign languages and everything.
People had some time to read it. Um
[3:49:21] and today we see where we at. People's
like, I feel confused. I still don't
[3:49:25] understand it. But it wasn't any type of
meeting where we said we tried to like
[3:49:31] not be transparent with it is what I'll
say is what I'll say is that I think
[3:49:36] that language was kind of rushed and
then we came the letter was and we're
[3:49:40] discussing it now.
>> And I don't know if this is helpful to
[3:49:45] clarify because
>> um I am not asking the how did we get
[3:49:49] here question.
>> Okay. I am specifically asking why this
[3:49:54] is the right solution and what the
language means.
[3:49:57] » Okay.
>> Um because I want to be able to say yes,
[3:50:01] I fully support the language that's
here. I am not I I know better than
[3:50:06] probably anybody else sitting here.
>> Um how much work happens between working
[3:50:11] sessions and um what it looks like to
negotiate with AIE, right?
[3:50:16] » Um I've done that more than anybody
else. I so I am not at all implying that
[3:50:22] that was wrong to do.
>> Okay.
[3:50:24] » Or uh that that is in any way
inappropriate to do.
[3:50:29] » I think that is always the
responsibility of the leadership to do
[3:50:32] is to do their best to get to the finish
line on behalf of the board. Um and I
[3:50:37] think that uh was done here
>> and I think it is also an important step
[3:50:43] to take and turn around and say hey
board uh this is what this means. This
[3:50:49] is why um it's not the language that we
put forth as a task force and this is
[3:50:57] why this is the place that arrives and
this is what this means for the public
[3:51:00] charter school board and this is what it
means for imple and I'm so I am more so
[3:51:04] asking
trying to understand the language
[3:51:07] itself.
>> Okay. Um, and I'm and I think I'm making
[3:51:10] the assumption since you and you and
Vice President Goule have been carrying
[3:51:16] that ball forward
>> that that was shared with you
[3:51:20] » and so therefore you should be able to
share with us
[3:51:24] » more about the solution and why this is
the appropriate solution and or if there
[3:51:29] is a reason that August matters more
than September. Okay. Because what I
[3:51:34] hear your counterpart saying is a month
matters.
[3:51:40] » Okay.
>> Um for getting everybody on the same
[3:51:44] page and people voting in full
confidence. Um even if the language like
[3:51:48] whether it changes, whether it doesn't,
I tend to be able to want to explain
[3:51:52] that to people. I have not heard um
again the why this solution so we can
[3:51:59] explain it to the public and and there
might be really good reasons for that
[3:52:03] but I want to consider them and I have
not heard
[3:52:07] why we should or should not vote tonight
versus in September with so therefore I
[3:52:13] can consider any motion Vice President
Goule would put before us.
[3:52:17] » Okay. So what I will say is as far as me
explaining
[3:52:22] this to you, I received it, as I said at
the time stamp that I gave you, I
[3:52:27] understand it as much as you do. Okay?
So I am not in a position myself any
[3:52:32] more so than you are in your reading of
it or your interpretation of it to give
[3:52:36] you any more clarity on that particular
aspect. That's I I can't give that to
[3:52:41] you if that's what you're searching for.
So let me let me state that to you first
[3:52:44] and foremost. Okay? I received the
language and I disseminated it to
[3:52:49] everyone and was assuming like you were
that they would look at the language and
[3:52:55] understand it and they would say okay I
can vote yes or no. I believe I put in
[3:52:59] my email to all the members basically
please read this over. It may affect
[3:53:04] your ability on how you vote but I was
not trying to interpret the language.
[3:53:10] Okay. So I I have no more understanding
of the language or how it was proposed
[3:53:14] or put together any more so than you do.
We asked Aussie for a particular thing
[3:53:21] um as far as implementation. They gave
us that that language back to us. So
[3:53:27] other than that, I can't give you any
more understanding of how to explain
[3:53:31] something to a particular um constituent
that may come to you. I can't give you
[3:53:36] that particular thing. I I'm listening
to see if we need another month. I'm
[3:53:42] with everyone else, listening to my
colleague, my vice president, and
[3:53:47] everyone else. Why should we or
shouldn't we? So, that's why I am. I'm
[3:53:51] with I'm in the same place as you are.
Even though I'm in a leadership
[3:53:55] position, I'm in the same exact place as
you are.
[3:54:02] » Discussion. I see. I don't know which
hands went up first or I'll go with
[3:54:06] Chang. Is a question okay for this part?
>> Sure.
[3:54:09] » Okay. I I um I think I I would love some
help
[3:54:15] from from either of you just to lay out
what what are we actually
[3:54:29] there's currently no motion to delay
anything before the board.
[3:54:48] Representative Chang, we can't hear you
online. Your mic is not on.
[3:54:52] » What is the What is the consequence of
delaying for a month? What What is the
[3:54:57] downside of delaying for a month?
[3:55:04] I don't believe there is a downside to
that.
[3:55:06] » Okay.
>> To be honest with you, I don't I don't
[3:55:10] know of Representative Chang of any
deadline that has to be met. It pushes
[3:55:14] back when you can institute it um or
anything just by delaying by a month.
[3:55:18] So, that's my answer.
>> So, so I think what what I'm hearing is
[3:55:22] a lot of these conversations are things
that we should be discuss discussing in
[3:55:28] a working session as well. Um, and so
would propose that, and I I hear your
[3:55:35] point, Kathy, that these conversations
need to be open and transparent, but it
[3:55:39] it does feel like we have either three
hours here or um or work that we can do
[3:55:47] more efficiently
>> outside of this setup. And and so uh you
[3:55:53] know I think for for those reasons would
uh I hear what what Ebony Rose is saying
[3:55:59] and and and what what what Eric is
saying.
[3:56:02] » Okay.
>> Other discussion,
[3:56:06] Representative Coulson.
>> Um I want to echo Oh, I'm so sorry.
[3:56:12] » Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry,
Representative Coulson, because I turned
[3:56:16] and I know that you had stated put your
hand up, Representative Johnson Law, so
[3:56:20] I apologize.
>> Go right ahead.
[3:56:22] » Okay,
[3:56:26] this is a weird request,
but
[3:56:31] in the Do you all have your computers?
Can we look at the memo? I'm trying to
[3:56:34] figure out where the point of confusion
is. Is it based on the the letter that
[3:56:39] was sent about like the specific waiver?
Like where is there
[3:56:45] there seems to be confusion. Is it that
we don't understand like the updated
[3:56:49] language? Do we need to go old school
and literally read like just read it
[3:56:54] together? Aussiey's updated language
together as a board because if that's
[3:56:58] the case, we can do that. I'm just
trying to gain understanding about
[3:57:02] kind of building off of Ebony I'm sorry,
Representative Thompson's concern is
[3:57:07] like, okay,
where's the disconnect here? I'm
[3:57:11] confused about the disconnect and where
is it specifically in the resolution? Is
[3:57:15] it about the entire is it specifically
just about the language that's in again
[3:57:21] I'm just going to really quick like as
described in the proposed policy
[3:57:23] regarding a new DC steel I mean state
seal by literacy like is it something in
[3:57:28] here? Is it talking about the DC code
when it comes to um the language
[3:57:33] requirements and the waiver of who it's
going to like where like can we you know
[3:57:38] how they say in church baby go to your
Bible go to Can we just go there
[3:57:42] together and figure out where we are
because I'm lost a little bit.
[3:57:46] » I believe Representative Goule would
like to respond to your question.
[3:57:50] » So So I I I think Representative Johnson
law I think that's a very helpful point.
[3:57:54] I mean so I think we have three
documents at play here. I mean one we
[3:57:58] have the resolution itself which you're
not going to see that level of detail
[3:58:00] in.
>> Yes.
[3:58:01] » The second thing is the attachment to it
that breaks it down to the next level
[3:58:04] which is showing the uh like the credits
that you have per subject. And and the
[3:58:09] third thing is like like we have when we
have like the budget with DC, you have
[3:58:13] then the the plan and uh in this case uh
I want to give AI credit. They've been
[3:58:18] very responsive to us. You know uh we
had our working session where we we we
[3:58:24] had concerns that were raised. I'll give
uh Representative Henderson,
[3:58:27] Representative Williams, you raised
concerns at the meeting and you know
[3:58:31] leadership went back and took those
concerns to the state superintendent.
[3:58:35] » The the letter that was sent over
>> correct. Correct. We talked about the
[3:58:38] letter
>> and uh and addressed those concerns. Uh
[3:58:42] we then met with the deputy mayor again
reiterated those concerns and and then
[3:58:46] AI provided a new letter to us with kind
of a different implementation strategy.
[3:58:51] I think the po the point I have is I I
don't it's not that I don't I can't read
[3:58:56] the language. It's just that I think we
need more time as a board to be able to
[3:59:00] articulate that plan and be sure we can
explain it to our constituents and make
[3:59:04] sure that that's the best way to go
because it is different from what was
[3:59:06] there before. It's a different waiver
process. So for me, it's just about
[3:59:11] having the time to try to continue the
work we've been doing, go through a
[3:59:15] working session, have that transparency
that the public's talked about, and do
[3:59:19] what we did during social studies, which
is to take the time to to bring the
[3:59:22] public feedback in, get a product where
we all enthusiastically voted for. And I
[3:59:28] think we can get there within a month.
So I I don't think it's uh anything more
[3:59:31] than that. I think it's everybody's just
working. It's just kind of we hit an
[3:59:34] artificial deadline and now we just need
a little bit more time to get to the
[3:59:38] finish line for this and hopefully have
unonymity for it.
[3:59:43] » Got it. Okay.
>> Other discussion, Representative
[3:59:46] Henderson. Um, so just to elucidate some
of like the rub, um, my understanding,
[3:59:54] um, the board sent a letter to Aussie,
>> right,
[4:00:00] » asking them to remove the requirement
for an Aussie waiver to grant the the
[4:00:07] competency based credit. They came back
to us with a proposal that did that,
[4:00:13] » right? And it pointed to regulations
that require
[4:00:19] le
>> like the DCPS
[4:00:23] » schools to go to DCPS and PCSB,
>> right? That's like the old like the
[4:00:27] original code like the DCMR 20 2203.7
that the original one that one,
[4:00:34] » right? So then then representative
Thompson's question is relevant of is
[4:00:39] that the solution that
>> Got it. Okay. works that we want
[4:00:45] um or not.
Um my
[4:00:50] » with you
>> thought is um
[4:00:57] I think we do need to be careful around
like having
[4:01:01] a clear
policy for waving
[4:01:06] credit hours and we need to protect
that. Um, and so I don't know if there's
[4:01:14] a solution that protects that and maybe
it needs to alter those regulations that
[4:01:24] point to DCPS and PCSB.
Um, I get the perspective from Aussie
[4:01:31] that like they
from their perspective we asked them to
[4:01:36] remove something and then they removed
it. Um but we're
[4:01:41] we're now dealing with that proposal and
considering the implications of that and
[4:01:48] um it doesn't solve all the problems
that we were trying to solve with uh our
[4:01:54] proposed language. Um I appreciate the
compromise um that Aussie offered. um as
[4:02:02] everyone has said like they have been
collaborating
[4:02:07] for years now and up to you know moments
ago. [clears throat] Um and all
[4:02:12] appreciation for that. Um
I also feel like the
[4:02:20] this is complicated by the fact that the
um the resolution that we have that
[4:02:25] speaks to the graduation requirements
doesn't actually touch this other
[4:02:29] proposal about
competency based credits. Um
[4:02:36] so like I feel comfortable voting on the
resolution um and what it has. I would
[4:02:42] also like to continue working on this
competencybased
[4:02:49] uh foreign language credit. Um I I think
we could could do that. Um even if we
[4:02:57] did vote for the graduation requirements
today, um I also
[4:03:03] um do think it's important that
everybody understand what we're voting
[4:03:07] on and be able to explain it to
constituents. That is important. And if
[4:03:11] there is confusion um
that may be reason for pause um but I
[4:03:17] hope that illuminates a little bit uh I
may have spoken from too many sides uh
[4:03:26] during that but that's my read
>> that's helpful because now that puts
[4:03:32] into perspective about when they when
you're talking about the DC code and it
[4:03:35] going if it you know with the waiver
with DCPS or a charter But then in the
[4:03:40] law it also states that
the DCPS or PC PCSB respectively shall
[4:03:46] review the school's application in
accordance with the standards and
[4:03:49] requirements established by AIE. So if
Aussie's already establishing it and it
[4:03:54] has to go through the LEA then I think
I'm trying to figure out what the
[4:03:59] disconnect is.
>> Yeah, because I think Aussie is doing
[4:04:02] that in their latest language. I think
they're very clear on they would set um
[4:04:09] the scores that you would have to get
and they would approve the tests that
[4:04:12] you would have to get. The rub is that
there's another layer of having the
[4:04:18] schools having to apply for the waiver.
[4:04:26] » Got it.
>> Second round and we'll go to
[4:04:30] Representative Gle.
>> Oh, Representative Coulson. Sorry, did
[4:04:35] we not get Sorry.
>> Um
[4:04:40] I agree that this is the most important
vote. Um I agree that uh as a board I
[4:04:47] believe we want to get this right and as
um a resident who also runs into her
[4:04:55] students years beyond their time with
her. I want to know I want to be able to
[4:05:00] look at their face in their face and
know that we did right by them. So I I
[4:05:05] whether we have a vote on this or not, I
just want to be clear that I would feel
[4:05:09] better waiting to further discuss this
and sit with this to make sure that we
[4:05:14] get this right. Um because when I think
about my time working in the school
[4:05:20] building, we are the implementers of the
policies that come down to us and it is
[4:05:26] with good intention that we receive
these policies. But often just by nature
[4:05:32] of the work, nature of the day, nature
of the staffing,
[4:05:37] these policies are often not implemented
at the highest level at which they were
[4:05:43] written. So when I read
advisor, counselor or other designate
[4:05:51] that can end up being anybody can fill
the other designate portion. I'm also
[4:05:56] thinking about our work on chronic
absenteeism. what our rate is right now
[4:06:01] in the city and with implementation. If
we're saying that, and this is just the
[4:06:06] way I'm thinking about it, if we're
saying that the student should meet with
[4:06:10] an advisor once every year, what if the
child is absent during that time? Do
[4:06:16] they get a chance to meet with that
advisor when they return back to school?
[4:06:20] Do they wait the next year? If they've
only seen seen their advisor two out of
[4:06:25] the four years, is that going to hinder
them from graduating? All of those
[4:06:29] things are the things that I think about
with implementation. And I know that
[4:06:33] maybe we can't get into the weeds like
that with this language, but as much as
[4:06:37] possible, I want to remove the barrier
of interpretation from the LEAS and from
[4:06:43] the schools so that we can make sure
that the students are receiving
[4:06:47] everything that they deserve. It means
nothing for us to make a policy and then
[4:06:51] when implementation strikes, it's not
being done well or done with fidelity.
[4:06:56] That's the same thing that happens now
when we're looking at our uh grading
[4:07:00] policy or our attendance policy. We have
to make sure that we remove the
[4:07:06] possibility of human error or lack of
implementation. And for that reason, I
[4:07:11] appreciate the work that everyone has
done. I appreciate all the compromise
[4:07:16] and the back and forth. Um but for Ward
4 and all of our students, I want to
[4:07:20] make sure that we absolutely without a
doubt get this right.
[4:07:26] Thank you, Representative Coulson. I
believe we're at second round and I
[4:07:29] believe Vice President Goule,
I just uh I want to again thank uh
[4:07:36] everyone who who works so hard on this
on the board, people who put in a lot
[4:07:40] more work than me. I mean,
Representatives, you know, Thompson,
[4:07:44] Representative Henderson, I want to
thank you both uh for your work, and I
[4:07:47] want to thank everybody on the task
force. So, you know, for me on this,
[4:07:51] it's just about making sure that we we
do everything we can as a board to
[4:07:56] exercise really our mo most important
duty of the year on this, and that's to
[4:08:00] make sure we fully understand the
proposal, make sure we fully vet it,
[4:08:03] make sure we're transparent about it,
and I think we are we are right near the
[4:08:08] finish line on this, but we just have a
little bit more work to do to get us to
[4:08:11] the point where we'll be able to go out
and explain this to our constituents
[4:08:15] that we'll be confident with it. And uh
I again want to just thank AIE for all
[4:08:19] of the work it's done uh in
collaborating with us and working on
[4:08:23] this and it's just such a positive uh
working relationship with you Dr.
[4:08:27] Mitchell and your leadership has got us
to this point and I just want to you
[4:08:31] know thank you for that. Uh at this time
I I think given where we are uh I'd like
[4:08:36] to move a motion to postpone
because I do want to make you
[4:08:40] » well it'll be debatable so you can so
I'd like to to move a motion to postpone
[4:08:45] which will be debatable and then uh
[4:08:51] » so
parliamentary point of order.
[4:08:55] » So um
Vice President Goule can make a motion
[4:09:01] now. that motion then will suspend
discussion on the current issue and you
[4:09:05] would take up the whatever issue at
hand. Um
[4:09:09] but Vice President Goule had already
been recognized to speak and so he had
[4:09:14] not and since there's no time limit on
the comment period he can continue to
[4:09:18] speak and unfortunately President
Patterson can't disrupt his discussion
[4:09:23] time.
>> So if he'd like to make a motion during
[4:09:25] this time he can.
>> I'll I'll I'll just be clear. This isn't
[4:09:28] a motion that would cut anybody's
opportunity to speak further on this
[4:09:31] off. This is a motion that would move us
along in the discussion, I think. So,
[4:09:36] this is a motion to postpone this uh for
one month. That motion is debatable.
[4:09:41] Like a motion to table would not be
debatable, but a motion to postpone is
[4:09:45] debatable. So, you can comment on the
motion. You can comment on the
[4:09:48] underlying measure uh to the degree that
you want. Uh you know, but but this
[4:09:52] isn't an opportunity. This would not cut
off anyone's opportunity for another
[4:09:56] round. and I would not do that to any of
you. So, I move at this time a motion to
[4:10:00] postpone this until the next uh public
meeting. Uh and that motion is
[4:10:05] debatable.
>> Motion has been
[4:10:07] » A motion has been moved by Vice
President Goule. Is there a second?
[4:10:13] » I'll second it.
>> Has been seconded by Representative
[4:10:16] Thompson.
[4:10:19] » There needs to be a vote.
>> All in favor?
[4:10:23] Well, we call a roll.
>> It is a voice vote, but if you can
[4:10:28] request a roll call vote.
>> I'm going request a roll call vote.
[4:10:35] » Discussion.
>> No, it's to move for it be open to
[4:10:37] discussion.
>> The motion.
[4:10:38] » Yeah, we're still in the motion of the
of the discussion. He made a
[4:10:42] » he moved that there be postponement of
the
[4:10:47] » voting on this particular matter to the
next public meeting. So there's that
[4:10:52] vote hasn't occurred. It's just been
moved and seconded. The board hasn't
[4:10:54] voted to actually do that.
[4:11:02] » Yes.
>> Why don't we take a roll call before the
[4:11:07] discussion?
>> I thought it was just to have the
[4:11:09] discussion to put it on the table.
>> Once it's been moved as laid, y'all once
[4:11:13] it's been seconded, it's already on the
table. Right. So,
[4:11:17] » thank you. Discussion. There you go.
[4:11:25] discussion.
[4:11:30] » Let's speak first.
>> Uh I'll just say if we do vote to
[4:11:35] postpone
um just to underline, it's incumbent on
[4:11:40] all of us to
make sure we are prepared uh and do
[4:11:46] everything we need to do. Um I think you
know we we did receive the latest
[4:11:52] language just yesterday and so that is a
short amount of time to process that but
[4:11:57] just to make sure that we are proactive
in settling everything not at the last
[4:12:04] hour
[4:12:07] » other before I go representative
Williams. Yeah, I um
[4:12:14] we'll simply say that um I I think I
have I have some questions around how to
[4:12:20] interpret some of the final language in
what was sent over yesterday. But at the
[4:12:24] same time, when I think about this whole
process for the last 3 years, like I
[4:12:29] feel good about it, good enough about it
at this point. So if people want to put
[4:12:35] in the work, like I will engage in that
work and I will work to continue to
[4:12:38] clarify things. And yet I do not
necessarily see it as necessary. So I
[4:12:43] will be voting no um to uh postpone uh
but I will understand if people want to
[4:12:49] clarify things to be able to explain it
to their constituents.
[4:12:55] » Okay. Representative Thompson.
>> Um so I'm I'm going to say something
[4:13:00] actually very plainly um because I don't
have a better way to say it. Um my fear
[4:13:07] um is that what if the school won't
apply for the waiver?
[4:13:12] Where does that leave the young person?
Like what if they just refuse to reply?
[4:13:16] And I say that from a place of my
graduating class had 21 people.
[4:13:23] What was offered is what was offered. My
neighborhood school when I was a kid,
[4:13:29] the same neighborhood school my mom went
to is my neighborhood school now. I am
[4:13:32] someone who made a choice to come back
to my community and had a lot of
[4:13:37] different experiences. Um, some because
of my school and some things I did not
[4:13:42] get because of my school. And I am not
saying uh at all that anyone is acting
[4:13:50] in bad faith. But I do want to
understand the answer to that question
[4:13:56] in a very real way. What um and I'm
sorry I cannot remember your name but
[4:14:00] and I'm going to call you a young man
because you younger than me,
[4:14:02] » Mr. Woods.
>> Uh what uh the young man Mr. was said
[4:14:06] earlier um is a real example
and I am wrestling with is that still
[4:14:16] true with if we put this policy in place
because I actually don't know I can't
[4:14:24] say consistently how each LEA makes
decisions because we have upwards of 60
[4:14:30] of them probably upwards of 70 of them
and I want to be honest when I say to my
[4:14:38] kids who are from board seven who go to
pretty much all of them, this is what
[4:14:44] this means for you. So I I do want to
speak very plainly in the why I'm
[4:14:49] pushing about this particular language
of why why like and if there are real
[4:14:54] constraints there are real constraints
and we need to um deal with I'm not I'm
[4:14:58] not pretending that any of it is uh
light or artificial or uncomplicated.
[4:15:04] Um, I am saying that if we understand
the implications, we should actually
[4:15:09] deal with the complications. And I was
like, I don't know what this means. If a
[4:15:13] school has to apply to the PCSB, is
there something I don't understand here?
[4:15:16] Am I reading this wrong? That literally
if a school just says, yeah, we're not
[4:15:21] going to do that because we don't have
the capacity. as somebody who went to a
[4:15:25] very small LEA and I know a lot of my
kids that I represent go to very small
[4:15:29] LEAs and we hear so much testimony about
people going to their LEA and getting
[4:15:36] nothing of a response after we just sat
here for I don't know how many hours and
[4:15:40] listened to folks and assured them that
we cared about engagement and followth
[4:15:45] through and screen time. That is a real
potential consequence.
[4:15:51] And so I do believe um that there has
been so much good work put into this
[4:15:59] and I believe that across the board. And
I want to make sure that I can say yes,
[4:16:06] this means you too kid, no matter what
school you go to, no matter what
[4:16:10] neighborhood you come from, no matter if
they're going to apply to PCSB or
[4:16:14] they're applying through DCPS, this
policy does apply to you in a real way.
[4:16:20] And so for that reason, I seconded
Representative Goule's motion uh to
[4:16:25] postpone because I think that is
worthwhile for figuring out over the
[4:16:30] course of a month and I have not heard
any reason to not do that.
[4:16:40] » I'm turning look both ways before I add
comments. See if there's other
[4:16:45] discussions.
Representative Johnson Law.
[4:16:54] It's it's a question about what
representative Henderson said earlier
[4:16:57] because I don't all the work that the
task force has done, all the work that
[4:17:01] we have done, all the work that the
co-chairs have done, all the work that
[4:17:04] Aussie has done and Representative
Henderson, didn't you say something
[4:17:08] about like can't we vote for the
resolution and then still look into this
[4:17:13] issue or did I misar that or did I mis
hear you?
[4:17:18] » I did say that. Uh, I said I would be
comfortable with that, but I don't know
[4:17:21] that everyone else is.
>> Okay. I didn't know if that was like
[4:17:26] maybe could be an option. I was trying
to think through solutions, but okay.
[4:17:29] Thank you. I just wanted clarity.
>> All right. I want to thank everyone for
[4:17:35] their comments. As far as my own um what
I will say is this is
[4:17:41] I appreciate
[4:17:45] the work and the responses from AIE.
I
[4:17:52] know we will continue to talk regardless
if we delay or any other way that we
[4:17:58] decide to do it the language of the
letter so that we get more clarity um
[4:18:04] about implementation. I know that's
going to continue
[4:18:09] and I want to state that what we're
talking about is the implementation
[4:18:13] letter not the resolution. We're talking
about the implementation and I
[4:18:18] understand and I appreciate
Representative Henderson
[4:18:23] specifically and how he spelled that out
um about he's comfortable
[4:18:31] with the resolution even as we continue
the discussion on the implementation
[4:18:36] aspect.
um
[4:18:42] that provides me because I will tell you
as I told Representative Thompson when I
[4:18:47] received the language I received it like
everyone else.
[4:18:53] I didn't get all of it, but I knew I was
still comfortable with the resolution
[4:18:58] itself.
And I know we're going to go back and
[4:19:02] forth with the implementation aspect.
In that interim time, we've had
[4:19:07] conversations
um with individuals even to the point
[4:19:12] I'm looking the directly at Sally right
now as she smiles at me
[4:19:17] where we're talking about that specific
part and I wanted to hear from her
[4:19:21] specifically as a task force um member
who has extensive experience in this
[4:19:27] particular area um to hear if I told her
we were going to make sure during the
[4:19:35] implementation that we were going to be
transparent
[4:19:39] about how we do implementation.
You know, I wanted to know and look her
[4:19:45] in the face and talk to her personally,
you know, to give me a better gauge of
[4:19:50] how I was going to vote. I came away
from our conversation that I'm still at
[4:19:53] the same point that has been reiterated
by Representative Henderson. I'm
[4:19:58] comfortable with the resolution. I'm
comfortable on voting yes on the
[4:20:01] resolution this evening. That's me. But
I also
[4:20:07] listen to because I'm one vote to my
peers who feel like
[4:20:15] delaying or getting a better
understanding or how they respond to
[4:20:19] their um constituents matters.
Implementation, as you said, Dr.
[4:20:25] Coulson, matters.
Um so I know how I'm going to vote. I'm
[4:20:32] going to be not voting to delay
representative vice vice president goule
[4:20:37] but I'm going to respect the re the
votes of my other um
[4:20:44] members that are here. So
>> second round
[4:20:47] » this third oh second round for this part
this so I I I thank you for for sharing
[4:20:54] that. I think my concern I'm going to
put this on the record and be very brief
[4:20:59] about it is that this resolution that
we're talking about approving I mean the
[4:21:04] whereas is just talk about a chronology
and a timeline. All this resolution says
[4:21:09] is now therefore it be resolved that the
DC state board of education approves AIE
[4:21:14] to amend the district's graduation
requirements in chapter 22 subtitle A of
[4:21:20] title 5 of the DCMR to consistent with
this resolution. So, so all all that
[4:21:25] really is saying is the same thing it
would have said before we started the
[4:21:29] high school graduation task force. So,
like approving this resolution is really
[4:21:34] nothing. Where it gets down to the
details is the letter that talks about
[4:21:38] what we're going to be doing. And that's
what I really believe we need to get
[4:21:43] right. We we can't be up here with a
fuzzy understanding of what's in that
[4:21:48] because then we have not done our most
important duty as a board. And our most
[4:21:52] important duty as a board is to make
sure we get those limited statutory
[4:21:57] areas and know them like like the back
of our hand. Be able to explain that to
[4:22:02] any constituent who asks and make sure
that we're doing the right thing in
[4:22:06] terms of how we're going to get to uh
all of those elements that fit into
[4:22:11] those three sentences in that
resolution. So I I want to make sure we
[4:22:16] can speak with clarity and know we're
doing the right thing today so we don't
[4:22:19] end up a month from now, a week from now
figuring out that we we made a mistake.
[4:22:26] And that's what really is making me very
uncomfortable tonight is feeling like
[4:22:30] there's a lack of clarity on this
process at the end because right now
[4:22:34] when we're voting on something like we
were social studies, we should be
[4:22:38] crystal clear about what the impact is.
and I and I think it's very apparent
[4:22:42] that we're not yet. So I I think a month
will give us that clarity and it will
[4:22:47] get everybody on board in an
enthusiastic way. So thank you all.
[4:22:54] I'm not seeing any further discussion
and we have had a motion that has been
[4:22:59] properly moved and seconded to postpone
is the word that was used and I asked as
[4:23:06] as opposed to just a yay and nay for a
roll call. So, Director Butler,
[4:23:13] » Representative Best.
>> Hi,
[4:23:16] » Representative Chang.
[4:23:21] » Hi,
>> Representative Coulson.
[4:23:25] » I
>> Representative Henderson.
[4:23:28] » No.
>> Representative Johnson Law.
[4:23:31] » I.
>> Representative Thompson.
[4:23:35] » I.
>> Representative Williams.
[4:23:38] » No.
Representative Goule.
[4:23:41] » Hi.
>> President Patterson.
[4:23:44] » No.
>> No. No.
[4:23:49] » The eyes have it on a voice. Excuse me.
A voice count of
[4:23:57] Lord Jesus. It's 7 to three. That's not
it. 64.
[4:24:02] 63. Thank you.
[4:24:08] Thank you, ma'am. Um,
>> so to be clear,
[4:24:12] there's no longer discussion on this
issue on the agenda. The matter has been
[4:24:16] postponed.
>> Exactly.
[4:24:19] Thank you so much. So, that's where we
are on um
[4:24:24] that particular resolution, which is
SR26-13,
[4:24:28] approving amendments to the District of
Columbia's high school graduation
[4:24:32] requirements. It has been voted to
postpone.
[4:24:39] With that being said, um we will next
move to the vote on the state resolution
[4:24:44] SR2614
appointing representatives to the DC
[4:24:48] council's community schools task force
and the DCPS educator evaluation and
[4:24:55] performance working group. Is there a
motion?
[4:25:00] » So moved.
>> It has been moved by Dr. Coulson. Is
[4:25:03] there a second?
>> Second.
[4:25:04] » It has been seconded by Dr. Johnson Law.
[4:25:10] » Okay. Having properly been moved and
seconded, the Executive Butler, will you
[4:25:14] read the resolution into the record?
>> State Board of Education resoluting
[4:25:19] appointing representatives to the DC's
Council Community Schools Task Force and
[4:25:24] DCPS Educator Evaluation and Performance
Working Group SR26-15.
[4:25:29] Whereas the DC State Board of Education
is committed to leveraging research,
[4:25:34] advocacy, positive relationships, and
policy recommendations to drive
[4:25:37] improvements in the quality of public
education in the District of Columbia,
[4:25:40] especially for our most vulnerable
students. Whereas the state board
[4:25:43] contains standing committees and ad hoc
committees and task forces to enhance
[4:25:47] fundamental education related matters
such as student attendance, out of
[4:25:49] school time, academic standards,
literacy, teacher retention, and more.
[4:25:53] Whereas in addition to the state's
board's internal committees, there are
[4:25:55] certain external committees, working
groups, and task forces related to
[4:25:58] education policy that require appointing
a member of the state board of education
[4:26:02] to those entities. Whereas the council
of the District of Columbia, Bill
[4:26:05] 26-0661
fiscal year 2027 budget support act of
[4:26:09] 2026 establishes
the community school task force and DCPS
[4:26:14] educated evaluation and performance
working groups, both of which require
[4:26:18] representation from the state board of
education. Now therefore, be it resolved
[4:26:23] that the state board appoints W 7
Representative Ebony Rose Thompson to
[4:26:26] the DC Council Community School Task
Force. Be it further resolved that the
[4:26:30] state board also appoints Ward 4
representative
[4:26:34] T. Michelle Coulson to the DC council's
DCPS educator evaluation and performance
[4:26:39] working group. Be it further resolved
that the representative listed above are
[4:26:43] directed to report all updates monthly
to the state board at working sessions
[4:26:47] as relevant. Be it finally resolved that
these appointments will continue until
[4:26:51] each representative entity and
objectives are accomplished.
[4:26:56] » Thank you for the reading. Is there
discussion on the resolution?
[4:27:03] » Representative Thompson.
>> Can I just note that I too want to go
[4:27:07] home um and it is after 10 o'clock. Um,
and uh I do uh I don't know if anyone
[4:27:15] else um raised their hand uh for the
community schools appointment. Um I do
[4:27:19] appreciate um
um I do appreciate the appointment. Um I
[4:27:26] do know that more than one person raised
their hand um for the impact
[4:27:32] appointment. Um and I will say that I
know prior to um understanding that the
[4:27:39] board was going to make an appointment
um Mendlesson's office have reached out
[4:27:43] for suggestions of folks. I know to me
as an individual I am wondering if
[4:27:48] because we get a seat uh if we should
also maybe say and we would recommend
[4:27:55] others. I know repres former
representative uh Olirri has expressed
[4:28:00] interest and has done a lot of work
around this and I know our current um
[4:28:05] representative from W one um has also
has a a different perspective around
[4:28:10] this because he is a current teacher and
so I'm actually asking the board if not
[4:28:16] not to not appoint the word like that
that be our appointed seat and we
[4:28:22] actually make a push um for two other
people to also be on the task force just
[4:28:27] because that would give us kind of the
band of all the work that has been done
[4:28:31] across the years since we have been such
an authority on this. Um
[4:28:36] so that is my discussion to see if
that's something we can consider because
[4:28:39] I would love for us um to have to you
know I always want more um and I'm I'm
[4:28:47] wondering if that is a way to get more
because I'm sure there was a very hard
[4:28:51] decision made.
>> Thank you. Representative Thompson. Is
[4:28:55] there other discussion? Representative
Williams.
[4:28:58] » Yeah. So, just to clarify then,
Representative Thompson, what you're
[4:29:02] saying is that we would still keep
like you as the community schools
[4:29:08] appointee and Representative Coulson as
the state board appointee.
[4:29:13] Um but then just add if there are other
seats like that we would not be like
[4:29:18] from the state board but if they're
dealing with the configuration of the
[4:29:22] task force and they and they had other
people for us to like be in
[4:29:26] consideration.
>> Yes. So I'm essentially saying I know uh
[4:29:30] that Menohen's office reached out and
said we want recommendations for folks.
[4:29:34] I am not saying that um I I understand
fully that the state board gets an
[4:29:40] appointment as the state board. I'm also
saying because they asked us for like I
[4:29:45] know they asked me I don't know if they
asked maybe they reached out to you um
[4:29:47] as a teacher um but I know they reached
out and said are there recommendations
[4:29:52] I'm asking since we also have another
member who has said who has expressed
[4:29:56] interest and we have a former member
who's a longtime teacher who's expressed
[4:30:00] interest if we can also just say we
would like them to be considered for the
[4:30:06] task force not that they are the state
board's appointment um because they are
[4:30:11] looking for IND individuals and they
want more individuals and I think that
[4:30:15] all three of these people have really
valuable um perspectives and insights.
[4:30:22] » Other discussion
did that did that get your answer your
[4:30:27] question?
>> Okay. Is there other discussion? I'm
[4:30:32] seeing
[4:30:38] » I just he asked me if it clarified.
>> Could you speak on your mic?
[4:30:43] » President Patterson asked me if
Representative Thompson's response
[4:30:46] clarified my question. I just said that
it clarified my question.
[4:30:51] » Was there further discussion? Dr.
Coulson,
[4:30:56] » I don't think there's necessarily
further discussion. I just know that
[4:31:00] when we have resolutions and
discussions, we usually have
[4:31:03] conversations offline with one another
so that we are at least have a clear
[4:31:08] understanding of where we stand going
into these votes. And so I made that
[4:31:14] attempt to do that and moving forward I
hope that that's a practice that we can
[4:31:17] try to implement with having discussions
and then wherever we stand still having
[4:31:22] that discussion here on the dis but at
least having an understanding of where
[4:31:27] votes lie or where people stand that's
my only thought
[4:31:32] » thank you um not seen any further
discussion so I'll hands um what I will
[4:31:39] say did did
Okay. Okay. Um what I will say um in
[4:31:46] regards to this appointment and I
appreciate your comments uh
[4:31:49] Representative Thompson that they gave
us um one appointment for each of those
[4:31:56] uh external committees as what I'll call
them. um after which I looked in the
[4:32:03] bylaws and then I went beyond that and I
talked with um the chairman's office and
[4:32:10] he were the one that made the initial
kind of request for them um because
[4:32:14] um from talking to their office staff
members they didn't know exactly how
[4:32:17] that worked. They had people's names
that they heard but they said okay
[4:32:21] what's your process for doing this? So I
explained that to their staff and how we
[4:32:24] do that what our resolution process with
was um and then I said I will get back
[4:32:30] with you um after
um I talked to individuals who have
[4:32:34] shown interest as you stated and you
asked the question I can answer
[4:32:39] definitively community engagement I mean
not community schools you were the
[4:32:45] person that showed the interest no one
else showed interest I got two members
[4:32:48] who showed interest in the evaluation
aspect ect of it. I spoke to both of the
[4:32:55] individuals. Then I also asked so to
speak questions about their tenure and
[4:33:02] what they had done, their experience
with impact and I took those all into
[4:33:07] consideration and I made the nominations
which we are reading currently. That's
[4:33:12] how I did it. When I had a further
discussion, and Representative Williams
[4:33:17] can um attest to this, um we talked
about the the particular um nominees
[4:33:23] that I put forth that are in this
resolution. I gave him my my opinion. He
[4:33:28] gave me what he thought about those
opinions and everything. And at that
[4:33:31] point, to your point, Representative
Thompson, um he said he feels that there
[4:33:37] should be other individuals that can be
considered. I said at that particular
[4:33:41] point, I've done what my
responsibilities were
[4:33:46] and if that's something that we want to
do,
[4:33:50] as I said, we can take that up with a
constituting entity
[4:33:55] if that's what we choose to do. So
basically, I was saying that's not a
[4:33:59] that's not for me to to do. Me
personally as the president, I've
[4:34:02] executed my responsibilities, but if
this board decides that that's something
[4:34:06] that they want to do, I'm fine with
that.
[4:34:09] they would have to take that out with
the with the entity. So that that was my
[4:34:12] final conclusion because I've put forth
and it's in the resolution of who I was
[4:34:16] nominating from this board. Okay.
Representative Thompson.
[4:34:19] » Uh I appreciate that.
>> I um literally had this thought today
[4:34:25] » um real time in the meeting. Um and so I
was suggesting it because when I and in
[4:34:29] in in full transparency, I've been much
more focused on high school graduation
[4:34:33] requirements um than anything else. and
I figured uh there was a hard decision
[4:34:39] made. I'm not questioning that decision,
nor am I saying um that Representative
[4:34:45] Cosen is not someone who could represent
us well. I am actually saying that we as
[4:34:50] a board could also push for more people.
Um, and I'm making a suggestion to say
[4:34:58] and these people can also be considered
not to replace her, not not as
[4:35:03] alternates, but because I did not see
anywhere and and I will say they did
[4:35:08] reach out ask me about um folks who
should be considered I think prior to
[4:35:15] they when they knew what the board was
supposed to do, right? Mhm.
[4:35:19] » Um and so if there is value, I guess I
am suggesting that we also say we say
[4:35:27] the board for the board seat that comes
virtue by virtue of us as a body, it is
[4:35:32] representative Coulson and um we would
also recommend the following people be
[4:35:40] considered for the task force because
they have um you know good teaching
[4:35:46] experience or whatever ample like I just
I'm just thinking about the fact that
[4:35:49] we've done a lot of work around this as
a board and both of those people I know
[4:35:54] are people who have expressed interest
and the reason that they've expressed
[4:35:58] interest is because of the work we've
done as a board and I think would be it
[4:36:02] would be a value ad to the larger
conversation um and we as a body um can
[4:36:08] be a champion for that
>> okay
[4:36:10] » um instead of being constrained um by
by a particular piece piece of
[4:36:18] legislation. I think we should make the
legislation work for us. Um, we can
[4:36:22] always have more people at the table
rather than less.
[4:36:25] » I'm going to go to representative, if
I'm I looked around on both sides.
[4:36:29] Representative uh Coulson,
>> I I want to go back because this is
[4:36:34] really reminiscent of the discussion,
the lengthy discussion that we had with
[4:36:40] the administrative vote and who was
going to be on that committee. And at
[4:36:45] that time there was a nomination or a
recommendation for appointment and then
[4:36:51] we had the lengthy back and forth going
through the bylaws of if uh to decide if
[4:36:56] additional people could be added. Um I
will say that there are multiple task
[4:37:02] force that come up that I think multiple
representatives of this board could sit
[4:37:07] on. I think there are also times where
the space will call for one or two
[4:37:13] people and during our time I hope that
we will have the opportunity to have
[4:37:19] multiple people to sit on external
committees. Um I again would like to say
[4:37:25] that when we have situations like this I
think it's great that we reach out and
[4:37:29] we talked to other board members. I
reached out to Representative Williams.
[4:37:34] we had an understanding uh and I I just
want to note that uh that we should have
[4:37:40] these discussions and be clear on what
we're going to do uh rather than having
[4:37:45] all of this now. It it it's
>> it is interesting. Thank you.
[4:37:51] » And to your point, I'm looking if
there's any further discussion. What I
[4:37:55] will say is this. Um I believe we have a
resolution that is on the floor that
[4:38:00] we're going to vote on. I believe that
there is room um at the suggestion of
[4:38:05] representative Thompson to discuss what
that if there's possibility a lobbying
[4:38:11] is the word I'll use for board
representatives are more voices on that
[4:38:15] thing I think that can be worked out in
our working meeting that can be a
[4:38:19] discussion that can happen there but I
believe we have a resolution currently
[4:38:23] that is been properly formatted and done
the ways and that I would like to vote
[4:38:28] on this evening
[4:38:31] Representative Thompson. Wait.
>> Okay. I don't know who on this side
[4:38:36] raised the hand first.
>> Go ahead if you'd like to speak.
[4:38:39] » Okay. Okay. Representative.
>> No, I I just uh want to support I I we
[4:38:45] we had it sounds like we had uh great
choices for this. Uh I know you've
[4:38:50] always got the unenviable choice of
having to pick between two very
[4:38:53] qualified people for it and you made a
selection as president. Uh, and I'm
[4:38:57] going to support you on that. And I I do
like what Representative Thompson's also
[4:39:02] talking about is always having ongoing
conversations to see if we can have uh,
[4:39:07] you know, you know, more uh, support
like more engagement from this board
[4:39:12] with policy makers in the city, I think
is a good thing, too. So, if that's
[4:39:15] possible, that sounds great. But, I'm
going to I'm going to vote for this
[4:39:18] resolution tonight. Thank you for having
to make the tough call on this one, uh,
[4:39:22] President Patterson, and then I'll look
forward to, you know, working on any
[4:39:26] ways we can expand engagement with other
members and former members who are
[4:39:30] interested. So, thank you all.
>> Thank you so much, Representative Goule.
[4:39:33] Was there a last comment, Representative
Thompson?
[4:39:36] » Um, I think two. One, uh, I
will say I apologize if I caught anyone
[4:39:43] offguard. Um because literally I
read this and thought, "Oh, this was a
[4:39:50] really hard decision." Um and we have
multiple people who want to serve and
[4:39:54] I've had to make those enviable
decisions. Um I think that I would have
[4:39:59] liked um for us to discuss this more
robustly at our working session before
[4:40:04] tonight. Um but it did not feel like we
had the opportunity to do so. And I know
[4:40:09] I personally asked some questions
because I was like I want to make sure
[4:40:14] if I am raising my hand I know what I'm
raising my hand for. My question would
[4:40:18] be since we have to vote on this this
evening.
[4:40:23] Um if
what is the because I know Hannah has
[4:40:28] already reached out to me uh about
sending in a resume and like that. What
[4:40:32] is the larger timeline? Because if that
is the case, I would like to move I I'm
[4:40:37] going to put forth my amendment and
someone can second it or not and we can
[4:40:40] discuss it. But if the timeline is we
have to vote on this tonight, um I would
[4:40:46] urge us to go the amendment route
because we did not we were we did not
[4:40:50] have the larger discussion in a working
session about the task force and
[4:40:54] appointees as we normally would do. We
just said this is something that's
[4:40:59] coming and I get that you know things
were put in front of us at a certain
[4:41:02] time. I'm not blaming anyone.
>> Um I'm only looking for um a
[4:41:08] collaborative remedy.
>> Okay. And and what I'll say is I
[4:41:14] appreciate and you know you're going to
propose an amendment. What I will say is
[4:41:19] um I attended virtually the meeting um
that we had um the working meeting.
[4:41:25] There was discussion. There was a
process that said reach out to the
[4:41:29] president who is nominating. There was a
discussion about that. I don't know if
[4:41:34] we want to have more discussion about
who was interested, but I believe we had
[4:41:38] some in in you know discussion at that
particular point. I discussed who you
[4:41:43] know I discussed with the individuals
who expressed interest and this was the
[4:41:47] decision per the bylaws that I came up
with. So I will not be supporting the
[4:41:51] amendment. I am always open to having
the discussion about if we could add
[4:41:57] other individuals. I don't believe we've
unless you can correct me where we went
[4:42:03] back after the resolution and said we
want to do something of this nature but
[4:42:08] okay so um I will not be supporting the
amendment but you're welcome to put
[4:42:14] forward the amendment
>> before the amendment made is made can I
[4:42:18] be recognized
>> sure you can recognize is it possible
[4:42:21] then to to just send an email after this
that it's not included in the amendment
[4:42:25] I mean we don't this doesn't need to
>> it could be
[4:42:27] » yeah I think it just could be a simple
email that we
[4:42:30] » I mean like I've been clear I've told
Representative Coulson this directly
[4:42:35] like she has incredible valuable
experience for this like we have
[4:42:38] different experience for this. There are
other members who have also important
[4:42:42] valuable experiences. I told her I would
support her. I'm happy to support her. I
[4:42:46] also hear what you're saying um with
more robust discussion earlier could
[4:42:50] have avoided this situation completely.
Um but I I don't want to undermine that.
[4:42:55] But if there's a way because I know that
the task force is not shaped fully yet.
[4:43:00] The composition could be then if we
could advocate for more state board
[4:43:04] participation on top of Representative
Coulson then I would be open to that.
[4:43:08] But I think it could just take the form
of an email. Um and that that would be
[4:43:12] the route that I would go.
>> And I appreciate that and that's why I
[4:43:15] was suggesting that if we wanted to
lobby them for after this resolution is
[4:43:20] passed for more seats. I'm in support of
doing that. I wanted to be respectful of
[4:43:26] the discussion that I had with both of
you and Dr. Coulson. Um, and move
[4:43:31] forward this particular resolution
because that's what's before us this
[4:43:34] evening. So, I don't know if there's
more discussion, but I'm kind of ready
[4:43:39] for
Okay. And I think that's exactly how
[4:43:43] this go. So, um,
>> clarifying question.
[4:43:47] So if we lobby for additional seats that
can be anyone
[4:43:54] » from my
>> what are the parameters in terms of who
[4:43:58] » I believe just just to get us to the
vote I believe um from if I'm
[4:44:02] understanding Representative Thompson
correctly there have been individuals
[4:44:04] who have um showed um interest in this
and that those are the names that they
[4:44:09] probably would be lobbying for to expand
it to include those individuals that
[4:44:13] bring value to the discussion because of
their length of time of of studying. in
[4:44:16] this if I'm understanding this correct
but I don't think that excludes anybody
[4:44:20] either if from what I'm understanding
your question is if it could be anybody
[4:44:25] » so it could be a principal it could be
any of the former representatives it can
[4:44:30] be anyone from any of the other unions
it can just be anyone
[4:44:35] » I think what we would be doing we'd be
lobbying for them to expand the um the
[4:44:40] number we'd be lobbying perfectly for
some individuals but We're asking them
[4:44:46] to expand it for some individuals that
we would lobby for.
[4:44:53] » I guess to clarify I think what I'm
proposing um as I understand it um the
[4:45:00] appointments to the larger task force
are happening very soon. I do not but I
[4:45:05] don't think I I'm not asking for us to
ask to expand the number of seats. I am
[4:45:13] asking for us to suggest that uh
Representative Williams and former
[4:45:18] Representative Olri in particular have
valuable experience. Um and that they be
[4:45:26] members of that task force. Um in
addition to the person we get to uh vote
[4:45:33] yes uh for uh which is on this
resolution which is Representative
[4:45:38] Coulson. Right. Um I literally had this
idea real time in the meeting because I
[4:45:45] was like oh you know we actually we have
a a very privileged problem to have when
[4:45:52] we have folks who have an abundance of
experience and I know this is something
[4:45:56] that has been important to the board for
a very long time and so I was very
[4:46:01] sincere when I said hey could we do this
um and what do people think about this
[4:46:07] and offering that up as an idea a that I
had spoke to no one before this meeting.
[4:46:14] So um that is my proposal. Um and the
route that I initially proposed to take
[4:46:22] that was an amendment. If there are
other routes um because I have not put
[4:46:26] forth an amendment and we are saying
that we can send an email and we're
[4:46:30] willing to send an email. I am
comfortable with that because I I trust
[4:46:34] everyone as colleagues. But I had not um
thought further and we had not had a
[4:46:40] more robust discussion about all the
possibilities at the working session.
[4:46:44] I'm not saying there was no discussion.
I I just don't think at least at that
[4:46:48] time there was space uh to fully
consider like what all the possibilities
[4:46:54] were.
>> Okay. Thank you for the clarity. Doc,
[4:46:57] Representative Thompson, about to call
you Dr. Thompson. Um, what I will say is
[4:47:03] is two things and then I'm going to call
for the vote. Um, first and foremost,
[4:47:08] I'm glad that you mentioned that Hannah
had reached out to you because I know
[4:47:10] that they're going to start the process
with community schools sooner than
[4:47:14] they're starting with the other uh
working group. Um, I believe they start
[4:47:20] like maybe a month later or something to
that extent. Yours starts before that
[4:47:24] the one you're being pointed to. So
there is time to put forth as if we
[4:47:29] choose an email or a letter and I
believe that those things can be decided
[4:47:34] definitively in our working meeting that
we're going to do that. So that's what I
[4:47:38] would like to suggest. And with that
being said, I would like to move to the
[4:47:41] vote. If there's no other discussion,
the motion is to adopt SR26-14.
[4:47:46] Executive Director Butler, will you call
the role?
[4:47:51] » Representative Bestess.
>> I.
[4:47:53] » Representative Chang. Hi,
>> Representative Coulson.
[4:47:57] » I
>> Representative Henderson.
[4:47:59] » I
>> Representative Johnson Law.
[4:48:02] » I,
>> Representative Thompson.
[4:48:04] » I,
>> Representative Williams.
[4:48:06] » I,
>> Representative Goule.
[4:48:08] » I,
>> President Patterson.
[4:48:10] » I,
>> SR26-14,
[4:48:14] appointing representatives to the DC
Council's Community Schools Task Force
[4:48:17] and DCPS educator evaluation and
performance working groups has passed
[4:48:22] unanimously. Thank you so much,
director. Now, we are at that point
[4:48:26] where I believe all of us are kind of
happy that we've arrived. It's kind of
[4:48:29] late in the night. U members, are there
any announcements or members or comments
[4:48:34] you would like to make before we
adjourn? Representative Johnson Law.
[4:48:39] » Um just to all the folks in W 8, we're
having a back to school bash this
[4:48:43] Saturday, August 22nd, from 100 p.m. to
400 p.m. um at Sycamore and Oak. So,
[4:48:50] please come out, get your school
supplies. We already have over a
[4:48:53] thousand backpacks with supplies in
them. So, please come out. Please share.
[4:48:57] You can find more information on
Sycamorn Oak's um Instagram. Thank you
[4:49:01] so much.
>> All right. I'm looking
[4:49:04] Representative Williams.
>> I I would just echo the same thing with
[4:49:07] the Ward One and uh also include Raymond
uh elementary school. Any W four
[4:49:12] families are happy to attend as well. Um
it's uh the flyers have been being
[4:49:16] passed out at all of the schools. It
will be on social media. the 1451 uh
[4:49:21] Mittwood Place Northwest.
>> All right. Um I'm looking this way.
[4:49:25] Representative Thompson and
Representative Henderson after Thompson.
[4:49:28] » So we have already had our back to
school event. Um and I do want to thank
[4:49:32] everyone uh who supported that. I will
not do the listing because it is too
[4:49:35] late at night. However, uh I will say uh
that this Saturday is Chuck Brown Day uh
[4:49:40] in board 7 at Fort DuPont Park. Uh gates
open at 11:00, music starts at 2. Um,
[4:49:46] and so if you are looking for something
uh happy, safe, all the things away uh
[4:49:53] from the Grand Prix, uh W 7 is the place
to be. Thank you,
[4:49:57] » Representative Anderson.
>> And W 5 backpack giveaway is this
[4:50:00] Saturday at Bunker Hill Elementary
School, 10:00 a.m. to 1 p.m.
[4:50:05] » All right. Thank you. I'll end our
comments with saying this. I believe
[4:50:08] most of us should have received an email
that they talked about a clap-in for
[4:50:12] most of the first day of school. I would
hope that our members would find a
[4:50:16] school in their ward or wherever they
choose to. I will not be doing one in my
[4:50:20] particular ward. I am Ward 8, but since
I have a senior who has returned, this
[4:50:24] is a senior year, I will be at his
school at Duke Ellington um doing a clap
[4:50:27] in there. But I would hope because it
was um put out to us that you will
[4:50:31] choose a school and do and meet some
students. I do know that we have
[4:50:34] educators who actually have to be at
their respective school. So, I I get it.
[4:50:38] But those who can make it and do a clap
in for that morning of the first day of
[4:50:43] school, I definitely um encourage you to
do so. And on the charter side, if there
[4:50:49] are schools that are doing some because
I want to be fair on both side, please,
[4:50:52] you know, do something with some of your
charter schools. I had the opportunity
[4:50:55] in my home ward to do the gauntlet, um
which was great for statesmen to be
[4:51:01] there and to watch so many people and to
welcome their young men into the school
[4:51:06] was an amazing feeling. I think it
probably did more for me than it did the
[4:51:09] actual students who ran the gauntlet and
had so many men, you know, cheering them
[4:51:13] on, telling them they would be there.
But our students need to see that. They
[4:51:16] need to see us that we are going to
encourage them throughout this year. So,
[4:51:20] I would hope you would do that. With
that being said, um, with no further
[4:51:24] business before the state board, I will
now entertain a motion to
[4:51:28] » move.
>> It has been moved by Representative
[4:51:30] Johnson, seconded by Representative
Williams. All in favor?
[4:51:34] » I.
>> Any naysay?
[4:51:37] The eyes have it. And the this public
meeting of the state board of education
[4:51:40] is adjourned at 10:31.
[4:51:54] I'll make