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Table of Contents
Take our survey on education governance today!
 Have you heard? The State Board wants to hear from you! We invite all residents—students, parents, guardians, and community members—to fill out a brief survey sharing their experiences with the current education system in D.C. as we consider recommendations for what education governance should look like for D.C. residents.
We’ve extended the deadline to 5pm on Saturday, July 30!
Survey link: bit.ly/3zwF4ZU
¿Has oído? ¡Queremos escuchar de ti! La Junta Estatal de Educación del D.C. (SBOE) invita a todos los residentes (estudiantes, padres, tutores y miembros de la comunidad) a completar una breve encuesta compartiendo sus experiencias con el sistema educativo actual en D.C. mientras consideramos recomendaciones sobre cómo debería ser la gobernanza educativa para los residentes de D.C.
¡Hemos extendido el plazo hasta las 5 p. m. del sábado 30 de julio!
Enlace de la encuesta: bit.ly/3xhzW9n
Thank you to our former Executive Director, John-Paul Hayworth!
After seven years of service, John-Paul Hayworth announced that he would be stepping down from his role as Executive Director of the D.C. State Board of Education. We wish him the best of luck in his new endeavors!
Visit to the DC History Center (6/8)
On June 8, members and staff of the State Board were invited to tour the facilities and learn more about the D.C. History Center! They have a wealth of resources for teachers, students, researchers, and all who want to dive deeper into local history.
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Working Session (6/1)
At the June working session, the State Board heard from staff of the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) about the work on a proposed amendment to the District’s statewide accountability plan and proposed attendance regulations. Members also discussed drafting a tentative resolution on sexual assaults in schools, shared committee reports, and held a closed session to discuss the process of hiring an Executive Director.
Read the full set of minutes here. Watch the full committee meeting here.
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Comments from the State Superintendent of Education
At the June public meeting, the State Board first heard comments from State Superintendent, Dr. Christina Grant, who gave updates on the following:
- Attendance regulations: Proposed regulatory changes would shift the definition of a present day of school from an 80/20 present definition to a 60/40 definition. The shift ensures those marked as absent are those who are missing most of the school day.
- Proposed ESSA state plan amendments: The ESSA amendment will shift away from using a summative, school quality rating, and instead focus more on growth. Next steps for OSSE are to return to the July 6th SBOE Working Session to continue conversation on the amendment, and if the State Board votes in favor of the amendment at the July public meeting, OSSE will then submit the plan to the U.S. Department of Education (USED) for their approval. OSSE will then move onto the second phase that includes revising the D.C. School Report card.
- Social studies standards revision: OSSE began working with their Technical Writing Committee in June. The next steps are to gather more social studies content expertise through OSSE and their consultants. They are making more investments into the work of standards revision than originally expected.
Featured Panel: COVID-19 Protocols & Testing in DC Schools
The State Board then heard from a panel of experts on COVID-19 Protocols and Testing in D.C. Schools. The featured panelists were:
- Dr. Anil Mangla, D.C. State Epidemiologist, DC Health
- Aliesha Maye, Chief of Schools Operations, DC Prep
- Katrina Owens, Executive Director, DC SCORES
- Jamie Miles, Chief of Schools, AppleTree Early Learning Institute
 Panelists shared the effectiveness of utilizing layered mitigation strategies to reduce COVID-19 spread. These layered methods include encouraging hand-washing, requiring face coverings, conducting 20 percent asymptomatic surveillance testing, implementing test-to-return testing after high-travel long weekends and school breaks, requiring adult staff to be vaccinated, ensuring isolation and quarantine timelines are followed, implementing enhanced sanitation and cleaning protocols, making personal protective equipment (PPE) widely available, distributing rapid tests to students and families, and using contact tracing to minimize outbreaks.
Public Comment
During the public comment section of the meeting, State Board members heard from members of the public on ways to present data on school growth, removing the summative rating for schools in the ESSA amendment, and items they would have liked to see in the ESSA amendment, such as metrics on school climate, well-rounded education, and teacher experience and diversity.
Administrative Items (Votes)
Afterwards, the State Board passed the following ceremonial resolutions:
- CR22-22 Recognizing Spring Sports Championships
- CR22-23 Celebrating Juneteenth Independence Day
- CR22-24 Honoring Pride Month
- CR22-25 Honoring Garfield Elementary School as a Special Olympics Unified Sports Banner School
- CR22-26 Honoring the Service of John-Paul C. Hayworth
Find all of the State Board’s signed resolutions on our website here.
Watch the public meeting (with timestamps in the description of the video) on our YouTube channel here.
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In June, the following committees met: Administrative, Accountability and Assessment, Student Advisory, Outreach and Advocacy, Education Standards, and Board Governance.
Administrative Committee (6/8)
The Administrative Committee heard updates from the Office of the Ombudsman for Public Education and Office of the Student Advocate, such as the progress on the soft launch of the Special Education Hub and the search for a physical space for both sister offices. The Committee also discussed the meeting with Councilmember Trayon White on attendance regulations and the process for hiring the next Executive Director.
Accountability and Assessment Committee (6/10)
The Accountability and Assessment Committee shared updates from the OSSE June presentation on the ESSA Accountability Amendment and discussed next steps leading up to the July vote, which included connecting with all members on a review of the full amendment prior to the July 6 Working Session. The Committee discussed plans for public engagement on reviewing the D.C. School Report Card revisions. The Committee also announced the pre-research stage for well-rounded education, with a literature review led by a State Board policy fellow.
Read the full set of minutes here. Watch the full committee meeting here.
Student Advisory Committee (6/13 and 6/27)
The Student Advisory Committee (SAC) met twice in June to discuss and work on their Annual Report, which will be ready by the July public meeting. They also heard from Ward 8 Representative Carlene Reid on sexual harassment in schools, and OSSE on vaccines and their proposed revisions to the D.C.’s attendance policies.
Outreach and Advocacy Committee (6/17)
The Outreach and Advocacy Committee discussed outreach steps regarding ESSA standards on family and local education agency (LEA) engagement, aiming to gather data on family engagement through a memo and a presentation to be shared with stakeholders at various summer events. The Committee also discussed next steps for the roundtable on sexual assault.
Watch the full committee meeting here.
Education Standards Committee (6/22)
The Education Standards Committee shared updates on the social studies standards revision process, including that OSSE wishes to expand the Technical Writing Committee (TWC). The Committee discussed establishing a statewide process for reviewing and revising standards, including recommendations from the May 25 student-focused panel that the State Board should work closely with the SAC during the review process. The Committee decided to reach out to various Departments of Education and State Boards that have been identified as models to guide the District’s codification of a review and revision process. The Committee also shared updates from the American University ProSeminar student project on developing a crosswalk of literacy professional development across school districts in various states.
Read the full set of minutes here. Watch the full committee meeting here.
Board Governance Committee (6/30)
The Board Governance Committee discussed progress on the Education Governance Survey, including sharing preliminary findings since the survey launch, ongoing community engagement and outreach efforts, and next steps. The Committee planned for the upcoming focus group, discussing questions, analytical approach, and how to incorporate focus group results into the final set of recommendations. The Committee then heard from the Office of Racial Equity (ORE) on best practices for meaningful and equitable community engagement.
Read the full set of minutes here. Watch the full committee meeting here.
Other Meetings and Testimonies
Meeting with Councilmember Trayon White on Attendance Regulations (6/24)
On June 24, the State Board met with Councilmember Trayon White and his staff to discuss the upcoming revisions to the District’s attendance regulations. Topics discussed during this meeting include impacts of transportation on tardiness, how tardiness impacts academics, and how to best address the punitive nature of the current attendance policies.
Watch the full meeting here.
Committee of the Whole’s Public Oversight Roundtable on “‘No Shots, No School’ for School Year 2022–2023” (6/29)
On Wednesday, June 29, 2022, President and Ward 6 Representative, Jessica Sutter, and Student Representative, Liv Birnstad, testified before the Council on the challenges and urgency of getting students vaccinated with the full-primary series of COVID-19 vaccines.
Representative Sutter shared that D.C. Health reports that only 75 percent of D.C. residents ages 16–17 have completed a full-primary series of COVID vaccination, but all students aged 16 and up are required to receive the primary series.
Representative Birnstad shared that many students do not have enough contextual knowledge about the vaccine, and the biggest barriers to student vaccination include misinformation, distrust, and scheduling issues.
Read their full testimony here.
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Here are our scheduled meetings for July
- Wednesday, July 6 at 5pm - Working Session
- Tuesday, July 12 at 5pm - Teacher Practice and School Support Committee Meeting
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Wednesday, July 20 at 5:30pm - Public Meeting
- Thursday, July 21 at 4:30pm - Accountability and Assessment Committee Meeting
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Friday, July 22 at 10am - Outreach and Advocacy Committee Meeting
- Wednesday, July 27 at 5pm - Education Standards Committee Meeting
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Thursday, July 28 at 3pm - Board Governance Committee Meeting
Be sure to check out our meeting calendar for the most up-to-date information about our meetings and each meeting's Zoom link.
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Where can I find the State Board's meeting materials?
Agendas, meeting documents, testimony, reports and resolutions to be considered for all working sessions and public meetings after April 1, 2015 can be on our information sharing website, Simbli.
We publish our official documents, like adopted resolutions and reports, letters, and statements, on our website here.
How do I sign up for a public meeting?
There are 3 ways you can sign up:
We ask that you provide us with your name, email address, and subject of your testimony. You must sign up no later than 48 hours in advance of the meeting. Written testimony may be submitted at any time to sboe@dc.gov.
Learn more about our meetings here.
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Who is my representative and how do I get in contact with them?
Your representative is based on the ward you live in. If you are unsure which ward you live in, you can use this tool from the Office of Planning to find out!
We list each representative and their contact information on our website. Click on your representative's bio to find their email, phone number, and Twitter handle.
How do I join the Student Advisory Committee (SAC)?
If you are a rising sophomore, junior, or senior and are interested in joining the Student Advisory Committee, contact us today at sboe@dc.gov!
You can learn more about the SAC's work here.
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The D.C. State Board of Education is an independent agency within the Government of the District of Columbia that advises the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), the District’s state education agency. The State Board is made up of nine elected representatives, each representing their respective wards, with one member representing DC at large, and four appointed student representatives. The State Board approves statewide education policies and sets academic standards, while OSSE oversees education within the District and manages federal education funding. More information about the State Board can be found at sboe.dc.gov.
The Office of the Ombudsman for Public Education serves as an external, impartial resource for current and prospective public-school students and their parents or guardians in the resolution of complaints and concerns regarding public education in a way that furthers the students’ best interest. The Ombudsman’s Office uses conflict resolution strategies, including coaching, facilitation, and mediation, to assist families and schools experiencing disagreement or conflict. More information about the Office of the Ombudsman can be found at educationombudsman.dc.gov.
The Office of the Student Advocate supports students, parents, and families in their advocacy through parent education, one-on-one coaching, resource supports, and trainings in order to amplify the voices of families and communities in processes and decision-making; to provide avenues for access to resources and understanding systems; and to support power families and communities already possess. Contact the Office of the Student Advocate Monday through Friday at (202) 741-4692 for questions or support with charter and neighborhood schools. More information about the Office of the Student Advocate can be found at studentadvocate.dc.gov.
For the latest information on the District Government’s response to COVID-19, please visit coronavirus.dc.gov.
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