Councilmember Grosso and the Committee on Education invite your feedback on the DCPS Capital Improvement Plan priorities in the FY2016 budget.
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By Michael Alison Chandler, Washington Post, April 23, 2015
A marathon school budget hearing kicked off Thursday morning with a group of elementary school students from Orr Elementary. Third-grader Rontay Hall told the Education Committee that the D.C. Council made a promise when he was in first grade that he would have a new school.
Across 111 schools, DCPS currently serves over 47,500 public school students. Next year, the system is projecting enrollment increases and after a couple of rounds of school closures will be opening new campuses. However, as many of you already know, for the most part, budgets across the District of Columbia government this year remained flat or experienced cuts.
The schedule for upcoming budget hearings for the Committee on Education of the D.C. Council.
On March 17, Councilmember Grosso sent a letter to the D.C. Department of Health asking about HIV/AIDS and STDs, sexual health education in schools, student health certificates, medical marijuana, and other topics. On April 2, we received the agency's response.
Here is the the capital budget for the education sector as proposed by Mayor Bowser today. We find this format to be easier to read and comprehend--we hope you do to. Happy budget digging.
Financial oversight of public charter schools has significantly improved in recent years, but agencies monitoring the schools need to continue improving how they track contracts and enrollment verification, according to a D.C. auditor report released Tuesday.
Councilmember David Grosso announces the scheduling of a public hearing of the Committee on Education on B21-5, Access to Emergency Epinephrine in Schools Act of 2015 and B21-31, Title IX Athletic Equity Act of 2015. The hearing will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday March 25, 2015 in Hearing Room 123 of the John A. Wilson Building.
Councilmember David Grosso announces the scheduling of a public hearing of the Committee on Education on B21-34, the Books from Birth Establishment Amendment Act of 2015 and early education literacy. The hearing will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 19, 2015 in Hearing Room 412 of the John A. Wilson Building.
It is performance oversight season again at the D.C. Council, with each committee hearing from the public and the agencies under its purview about the agencies' performance. After a hearing, Councilmembers often send letters to agencies with further questions. Here is Councilmember Grosso's letter to the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency
The Council of the District of Columbia passed two bills sponsored by Committee on Education Chairperson David Grosso (I-At-Large) to ensure public school students of the District of Columbia are in the best position to succeed.
The D.C. Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a 3 percent pay raise for Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson, increasing her salary to $284,000, the first increase Henderson has received since she took the job in 2011.
Today, the Committee on Education unanimously passed the “Pre-K Student Discipline Amendment Act of 2015.”
In December, Councilmember Grosso sent a letter to the D.C. Department of Human Services requesting on update on funds allocated by the Council in its FY15 budget for homeless services. After an oversight hearing on the issue of homelessness at the end of January with the new administration, Grosso sent a new letter with the same questions as well as some additional questions regarding homeless students, homeless youth, and homeless LGBTQ youth.
For Immediate Release
February 19, 2015
Contact: Dionne Johnson Calhoun
(202) 724-8105
Grosso Supports Deputy Mayor’s Plan for Community Academy Public Charter School Closure
Councilmember Grosso (I-At Large), Chairman of the Committee on Education released the following statement regarding the vote today by the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board (PCSB) to revoke the charter for Community Academy Public Charter School (CAPCS):
This morning, the PCSB voted to revoke the charter of CAPCS. The Deputy Mayor for Education announced a collaborative plan for school year 2016-2017 that includes Friendship Public Charter Schools, D.C. Bilingual Public Charter School, and the Chancellor of D.C. Public Schools that will ensure continuity of education services for all students enrolled at CAPCS campuses or the online program. The CAPCS charter will remain effective until June 30, 2015.
I have been fully briefed by Deputy Mayor Niles on the future plans for the CAPCS campuses and the steps that will be taken to move the process forward to meet the needs of each student. I will work closely with the Deputy Mayor and the Public Charter School Board to ensure that all of the necessary systems are in place for the successful implementation of this plan.
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Councilmember Grosso (I-At Large) released the following statement to reiterate his support for DCPS’ Empowering Males of Color (EMOC) initiative that was announced by Mayor Bowser and DCPS last month.
By Michael Alison Chandler, February 4, 2015, Washington Post
D.C. Council member David Grosso’s first bill as Education Committee chairman — seeking a partial ban on suspensions and expulsions of preschool students in public programs — got a strong response from advocates who urged him to push for more sweeping reforms of student discipline practices.
I first introduced the Pre-K Student Discipline Amendment Act last year after the Office of the State Superintendent of Education released a report on out-of-school suspensions and expulsions in the District, which I had required in the Attendance Accountability Amendment Act of 2013. The report found that during the 2012-2013 school year, over 10,000 of the District’s public school students were suspended at least once.
The D.C. Council Committee on Education researched policies across the country that limit or ban early childhood suspensions as part of consideration of the Pre-K Student Discipline Amendment Act of 2015.
The Attendance Accountability Amendment Act of 2013 required the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) to issue a report including findings and recommendations to aid each educational institution in eliminating out-of-suspension and expulsions, except for those students who pose a reasonable threat of death or serious bodily harm to themselves or other or violate the Expulsion of Students Who Bring Weapons Into Public Schools Act of 1996, effective April 9, 1997 (D.C. Law 11-174; D.C. Official Code § 38-231 et seq.). In June 2014, OSSE released the report "Reducing Out-of-School Suspensions and Expulsions in District of Columbia Public Schools and Public Charter Schools."