CHAIRMAN PHIL MENDELSON

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

&

COUNCILMEMBER DAVID GROSSO

COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

ANNOUNCE A JOINT PUBLIC HEARING

on

B23-0046, the “At-Risk School Funding Transparency Amendment Act of 2019” 

And 

B23-0239, the “School Based Budgeting and Transparency Amendment Act of 2019”

on

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

10:00 A.M., Hearing Room 412, John A. Wilson Building

1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20004

            Chairman Phil Mendelson and Councilmember David Grosso announce the scheduling of a joint public hearing of the Committee of the Whole and the Committee on Education on B23-0046, the “At-Risk School Funding Transparency Amendment Act of 2019,” and B23-0239, the “School Based Budgeting and Transparency Amendment Act of 2019.” The hearing will be held on Wednesday, June 26, 2019 at 10:00 A.M in room 412 of the John A. Wilson Building.

            The stated purpose of B23-0046 is to require District of Columbia Public Schools to include in its budget submission to the Council detailed information for each school's funding, a separate line-item for at-risk funding for each school, and a narrative description of programs and services funded by at-risk funds retained by the Chancellor. It also requires that Public Charter Schools make publicly available a report that delineates all programs or services supported by funds allocated during the previous fiscal year. The Public Charter School Board may withhold funds allocated pursuant to this section from a Public Charter School that fails to timely publish the report required.   

The stated purpose of B23-0239 is to establish an electronic reporting system for all Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and public school budget expenditures to collect comparable data from schools and LEAs. It creates a line-item for at-risk funding for each school and delineates how DCPS and the Public Charter School Board shall delineate costs and expenditures in their budgets. It requires that public charter schools comply with the District of Columbia Administrative Procedures Act and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education is required to create an electronic reporting system for public school expenditures for the public.

Those who wish to testify may sign-up online at http://bit.do/educationhearings or call the Committee on Education at (202) 724-8061 by 5:00pm on Monday June 24, 2019. Persons wishing to testify are encouraged, but not required, to submit 10-15 copies of written testimony. Witnesses appearing on his or her own behalf should limit their testimony to three minutes; witnesses representing organizations should limit their testimony to five minutes. 

If you are unable to testify at the hearing, written statements are encouraged and will be made a part of the official record. Statements should be submitted by email to Ashley Strange, Committee Assistant, at astrange@dccouncil.us, or by post to the Committee on Education, Council of the District of Columbia, Suite 116 of the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20004. The record will close at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday July 10, 2019.