 2024-25 School Year School Immunization Policy
The School Immunization Policy for the 2024-25 school year is now live on the OSSE immunization website. Updates to the School Immunization Policy for the 2024-25 school year include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Key dates for school immunization activities in the 2024-25 school year, including District-wide notification (Oct. 28, 2024) and exclusion dates (Dec. 9, 2024); and
- New guidance on appointment cards.
Aligned resources will continue to be posted on the OSSE immunization website in the coming weeks. Remember to communicate with families to ensure students are up to date on their immunizations before the start of the school year. Here are some revised immunization resources available on the OSSE immunization website:
Student Immunization-Only Appointments at School Based Health Centers
The best place to get immunizations is with your family healthcare provider, but also see DC Health’s website for additional immunization opportunities. Families with students ages 3 to 21 are able to visit any school-based health center this summer, regardless of where the student is enrolled, for a vaccination-only appointment. Please call ahead to schedule as days and times vary by location. Find a list of school-based health centers at dchealth.dc.gov/service/school-based-health-centers.
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Start of School Priority Highlight: Special Education Guidance
 OSSE remains focused on providing resources to support effective implementation by schools and LEAs for identifying, transporting and educating students with disabilities. This year, OSSE has issued new and updated special education policies and non-regulatory guidance to support LEAs in carrying out Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) obligations.
Three Things to Know:
- Special education leaders are encouraged to attend the Special Education Institute at the Kellogg Center on Thursday, Aug. 15 from 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
- A list of new and updated special education policy and guidance on the start of school for the 2024-25 school year is available on the special education guidance website.
- Please sign up for the Special Education Hub newsletter to receive the most current happenings in the DC special education environment.
For more information on OSSE’s start of school Special Education Guidance efforts, please visit the Start of School website. With questions, contact Victoria.Glick@dc.gov.
2024-25 School Year LEA Course Data Qlik Dashboard Launched
The Integrated Data System (IDS) platform is now open for LEAs to submit their Course Catalog Collection data. LEAs should download the template in IDS, fill in the 2024-25 school year data, and resubmit through IDS. Course Catalog Collection data is due Aug. 23, and LEA Heads of School will certify the data on Sept. 6.
LEAs can now review their data on the 2024-25 School Year LEA Course Data Qlik Dashboard in OSSE’s Qlik application.
If your LEA offers dual enrollment or career and technical education (CTE) courses, including participating in the Advanced Technical Center (ATC), please also visit the Course Data Collection Guidance for Local Education Agencies (LEAs) website to access the crosswalks that have been created to assist LEAs in mapping these courses to OSSE’s Course Catalog.
To prepare LEAs to complete this process in a timely and accurate way, OSSE will host a series of trainings and office hours:
The recording and slides of the 2024-25 School Year Course Catalog Collection Training can be accessed by registering for the training in OSSE’s Learning Management System.
For additional information or questions, please email Whitney Meagher at Whitney.Meagher@dc.gov.
Coming Soon: Opportunity to partner with High-Impact Tutoring Providers for the 2024-25 School Year
OSSE is excited to share that LEAs will soon have an opportunity to partner with contracted high-impact tutoring (HIT) providers for the 2024-25 school year at no cost to LEAs. OSSE is entering into contracts with HIT providers this summer to work with students in DC public and public charter schools. Once OSSE has confirmed the contracts, the HIT program team will send an email to LEA leaders with full details on how LEAs can request, formalize, and launch partnerships with the contracted HIT providers.
New Portal for Distance Learning for Students Threatened by Violence
In preparation for the 2024-25 school year, OSSE released a new form where schools must submit the requisite information to request situational distance learning in response to threats of violence.
Access the form here.
Full guidance on distance learning can be found linked here in “SY2024-25 Distance Learning Guidance.”
For questions, please email Joseph Hood, policy analyst, at osse.calendarwaivers@dc.gov. For emergency situations, your first call should always be law enforcement.
2024 Survey of Educator Wellness Organizations
OSSE champions a Comprehensive Approach to Educator Wellness to support DC public and public charter schools in developing and implementing practices that support the whole educator. As part of these supports, OSSE is creating a resource list of organizations that are currently available to District schools to support educator wellness.
If you are an organization, or know an organization, that provides educator wellness resources or supports to DC public and public charter schools, please complete or share the 2024 Survey of Educator Wellness Organizations. Organizations that complete the form will be considered for inclusion in the resource list. Once complete the resource will be posted on OSSE's website and promoted with LEAs and schools.
If interested, please complete the form by Friday, Aug. 30. For questions, please email OSSE.HYDT@dc.gov.
Parent/Guardian Truancy Mailings for the 2023-24 School Year (Part 2) (reminder)
DC law requires educational institutions and OSSE to communicate regarding student attendance status. In the event of a truant student (at least 10 unexcused absences of any minor student within one school year), OSSE is required to provide the truant student’s parent/guardian with a Truancy Prevention Resource Guide.
In the coming weeks, OSSE will send Truancy Prevention Resource Guides to the parents/guardians of any student who was truant in the second semester of the 2023-24 school year. A copy of the truancy packet is available on OSSE’s website and further information can be found on the OSSE Attendance and Truancy Resources Website.
For questions or additional information, contact Cameron Martin at Cameron.Martin@dc.gov.
2023 DC Youth Risk Behavior Survey Results Released (reminder)
This May, OSSE received results from the 2023 DC Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We are currently analyzing the data and writing the 2023 DC YRBS report, which you can expect in late-fall 2024. In the meantime, in an effort to provide timely, actionable data to LEAs and community partners working to improve youth health and wellness, we are releasing these initial CDC summary files to the public.
You can find and download these files here. The files contain tabulations, graphs, and technical documentation to understand the survey results, create new materials, and conduct secondary data analyses. Please contact Norah.Khalil@dc.gov with any questions.
New Special Education Transportation Guidance (reminder)
OSSE is pleased to provide new guidance to support LEAs and individualized education program (IEP) teams in making decisions regarding special education transportation services:
The documents are available on OSSE’s Special Education Guidance page. For questions about the content of the guidance, please contact Christie Weaver-Harris at Christie.Weaver-Harris@dc.gov.
FY24 Special Education Performance Report Release (reminder)
During the week of Aug. 4, OSSE will issue each LEA its fiscal year 2024 (FY24) Special Education Performance Report (SEPR) in the SEPR Quickbase Application. Additionally, OSSE will email directions to all LEA leaders and special education points of contact with the following information:
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Instructions for navigating the SEPR application in Quickbase;
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Dates and times your LEA can attend optional office hours to review your SEPR with OSSE representatives;
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Options and timelines to appeal your LEA’s SEPR results; and
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Timelines for the public posting of all SEPRs.
Underscoring the Importance of Meal Access through Survey Data (reminder)
When school is out for summer, kids lose access to school meals, putting them at higher risk of hunger and making it harder to get the nutrition they need to learn and grow. But there are flexible strategies for providing children with food and nutrition support in the summertime:
- The DC Youth Meals Program, provides reimbursement for no-cost nutritious meals and snacks served to children 18 and younger.
- SUN Bucks, also known as Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), helps families with students buy food during the summer. Each eligible student will receive $120 for the summer, and funds will come pre-loaded on a card.
Learn more about these programs and the impact of meal access on student achievement according to findings from the 2021 DC Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) Nutritional Fact Sheet.
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Join the DC Title I Committee of Practitioners (COP)
OSSE is seeking members of the DC community to support children from low-income families in receiving a high-quality education by serving on the Title I COP. Members of this committee engage with OSSE to create effective and responsive policies that impact DC schools receiving Title I-A funds.
Over the past three years, this committee’s feedback has impacted updates to the DC School Report Card, the State School Climate Survey and the strategic plan for the DC ReEngagement Center.
The Title I COP is seeking thoughtful and engaged education community members to serve a three-year COP term from September 2024 to June 2027. Committee members attend four quarterly meetings each school year, which are held in the evening from 4:30-6 p.m.
To join the Title I COP, you must serve a DC school community in one or more of the following roles:
- Public charter school leader (principal, assistant principal, or other);
- Public charter school-level administrator (Title I-A program implementation);
- DCPS teacher;
- Public charter school teacher;
- DCPS paraprofessional;
- Public charter school paraprofessional; and
- Parent of DCPS student(s)
If you are interested in joining us and representing your community’s needs, please share your interest by submitting a completed application and resume to OSSE.COP@dc.gov by Sept. 18, 2024. If you know someone whose perspective and expertise would benefit our COP, please share this application opportunity with them.
For questions or additional information about the Title I Committee of Practitioners, please contact Bonnie Bacon at Bonnie.Bacon@dc.gov.
Advancing the Recruitment and Retention of Our Workforce: 2024-25 Cohort
OSSE's Advancing the Recruitment and Retention of Our Workforce (ARROW) is announcing the launch of the 2024-25 cohort of the First Year Cadre for school-based behavioral health providers, i.e., school social workers, school psychologists and counselors (school counselors and licensed counselors), who began working in a school-based setting during the 2023-24 school year or after! The First Year Cadre is an opportunity for providers in their first year working in a school-based setting to build foundational skills necessary to be successful in the school environment. The cohort will run from October 2024 to June 2025. Please see this one-pager for more information and the eligibility criteria. Applications open Friday, Aug. 9 and close Wednesday, Sept. 11.
Participants who successfully complete the cadre will be eligible for a $1000 stipend.
Questions? Reach out to OSSE.HYDT@dc.gov.
September LEA Special Education Points of Contact Webinar
On Wednesday, Sept.18, from 10-11 a.m., OSSE will host the monthly webinar training for all LEA Special Education POCs (LEA SPED POCs). During this training, OSSE will provide important information relevant to your role as the LEA SPED POC. The agenda will include the following:
- Policy reminders and updates;
- IDEA monitoring reminders and updates;
- Teaching and Learning reminders and updates;
- Special Programs reminders and updates;
- Nonpublic reminders and updates;
- Transportation updates; and
- Reminders and announcements.
All LEA SPED POCs should plan to participate in each month’s webinar, as well as share the content, updates, and announcements with relevant staff within your LEA. If you have not already signed up for the 2024-25 webinar series, please register here.
If you have any questions about this webinar, please contact LaShonda Wilson Carter at LaShonda.Wilson@dc.gov.
Getting Ready to Support a Positive School Climate: Upcoming Professional Development (reminder)
Understanding Trauma in Children and How to Develop Healing-Centered Practices
This 2-hour introductory session provides an overview of trauma theory and strategies germane to educators in the current climate.
Audience: Educators, support providers, and administrators serving pre-K through grade 12.
This virtual session will take place at 10 a.m.–12 p.m. Please register for one of the following dates: Aug. 20 or Sept. 2.
Student Engagement Strategies for Social and Emotional Learning and Student Success
This two-part training series explores how active and cooperative drama strategies can support academic achievement for high school, middle school and elementary school students. These scientific research-based strategies are proven with grades 1-12 and are revolutionizing how we teach and learn. The interactive and engaging approach empowers the students to engage, retain and transfer information. The activities will help educators engage their students more effectively with tools they can use in their curricula or modules that make learning more fun and act as a strong vehicle for social and emotional learning and academic enrichment.
Participants will be offered three professional learning units (PLUs) for full participation in each session. Participants are encouraged, but not required, to attend both parts of the session. Both sessions will take place in person at OSSE, 1050 First St. NE, Room 108 at 9 a.m.–12 p.m. Please register below.
Part 1: Sept. 20 at 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Part 2: Sept. 27 at 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Addressing Dyslexia Legislation (reminder)
The dyslexia awareness modules are available in the Learning Management System (LMS). The dyslexia awareness modules are an annual requirement for all educators employed by an LEA. This year, the modules have been differentiated to include specific content for:
- Pre-K serving educators;
- K-5 serving educators; and
- Adolescent to adult serving educators.
The required training on reading difficulties for K-2 general educators, “Screener Data Analysis and Response,” is now available on the LMS. The training focuses on how screener data can be leveraged to support students at risk for reading difficulties. A “K-2 General Educator” is defined as “any professional directly involved in the regular creation of learning environments that foster students' development in grades K-2.”
All K-5 LEAs are required to adopt a science-based literacy program. Resources are available on the Dyslexia Legislation landing page to support LEAs in the adoption process. This includes a list of literacy programs aligned with High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM), a guidance document and rubrics for identifying HQIM.
The deadline for completing these requirements is Oct. 31. Please direct questions to Dyslexia Specialist Dustin Tamsen at Dustin.Tamsen@dc.gov.
2024-25 Start of the School Year Training for EL Points of Contact (POCs) (reminder)
OSSE invites LEA English learner (EL) coordinators to participate in a virtual EL Point of Contact (POC) training on Wednesday, Aug. 28, from 9-11:30 a.m. This training will focus on policy and practice topics that are key to supporting ELs effectively through discussions on best practices, problem-solving, and providing input to inform OSSE’s EL programmatic supports. Specifically, participants will engage with:
- Statewide EL identification procedures.
- OSSE-approved English language proficiency (ELP) screeners.
- Placement guidelines for identified ELs including transfer and parental waiver of services.
- Policy information and guidance on screening and placement within Delivering Education Services to English Learners.
- Updated statewide exit criteria for students who take the Alt-ACCESS assessment.
- Addressing errors in students’ EL status.
- Accessing and using data on ELs in the SY23-24 Early Access to EL Data Qlik application.
Register here
For questions, contact Lucia Cuomo at Lucia.Cuomo@dc.gov
Subscribe to the Teaching and Learning PD Bulletin by clicking here.
Visit the OSSE English Learner Policy and Programs page.
New Literacy Coaching and Training Resources (reminder)
OSSE is thrilled to announce the release of a new literacy coaching resource and literacy training resource.
Literacy Coaching Resource
Developed by OSSE's literacy team with valuable input from District teachers, coaches and leaders, the Structured Literacy Instructional Walkthrough Tool is a comprehensive, research-based addition to existing systems of continuous teacher support. The walkthrough tool will assist LEAs in analyzing and providing targeted feedback on structured literacy instruction, helping all students develop as confident, skilled and enthusiastic readers. The walkthrough tool along with a guidance document on its optimal use, is available on OSSE's literacy website. OSSE will provide additional information on upcoming training and norming opportunities soon. Stay tuned for details!
Literacy Training Resource
Developed by OSSE's literacy team with valuable input and review from District teachers, coaches, and leaders, the Structured Literacy Recommended Training List provides LEAs with a list of recommended, research-aligned structured literacy training. By ensuring all educators show competency in structured literacy instruction, students will receive evidence-based reading instruction needed to become confident, skilled and enthusiastic readers. The structured literacy training list is available on OSSE's literacy website.
Discipline Data Collection Training (reminder)
OSSE is pleased to announce that the Division of Data, Assessment, and Research (DAR) will host two training sessions focused on our annual discipline collection for those who are new to the discipline collection or would just like a refresher. These sessions are ideal for new LEA Data Managers, school leaders, and discipline points of contact. However, anyone who works with the OSSE discipline collection is welcome to attend. The same content will be presented both in-person and virtually so you can choose the format that works best for you. Topics covered will include background information, key dates, collection requirements, data entry overview, and data review and certification. The following sessions will be offered:
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Wednesday, Aug. 14 | 10–11:30 a.m.
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Wednesday, Aug. 21 | 1–2:30 p.m.
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ARP-ESSER Tydings Waiver Application to USED – Public Comment Opportunity
OSSE intends to apply for a Tydings waiver to the US Department of Education (USED) to extend the period for spending American Rescue Plan-Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP-ESSER) administrative funds beyond fiscal year 2024 (FY24). This will allow OSSE to use a consolidated pool of administrative ARP ESSER and Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title funds for ARP-ESSER closeout activities and continued state coordination of supports for academic recovery efforts in the District of Columbia. OSSE is inviting the public and LEAs to comment on the waiver request, posted on OSSE’s Post-ESSER Sustainability Planning Supports website and on the District of Columbia Register. Please submit all comments to OSSE.PublicComment@dc.gov by Sept. 9 at 3 p.m. EST.
American Rescue Plan and McKinney-Vento Education Grant Extensions
USED recently announced that liquidation extension is available for the American Rescue Plan – Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-Homeless) grant. USED also announced that the period of availability on McKinney-Vento Education of Homeless Children and Youth (MKV EHCY) grant has been extended.
OSSE is now accepting applications from LEAs for liquidation extension of ARP-Homeless funds. The application form is available on our sustainability planning supports website. If approved for extension, LEAs may use ARP-Homeless funds on eligible expenditures through the end of FY25, provided those expenditures are properly obligated by Sept. 30, 2024. USED has encouraged states and LEAs to fully expend ARP-Homeless one-time funds prior to tapping into EHCY funds. To support LEAs’ efforts to spend down ARP-Homeless funds first, OSSE will waive the 15 percent annual carryover cap and allow up to 100 percent of your FY24 MKV EHCY funds to carry over into FY25. These funds would then remain available for your use through the end of FY26.
For more information on these opportunities, please see OSSE’s ARP-Homeless liquidation extension guidance letter.
If you have questions, please email Danielle.Rollins@dc.gov.
High-Impact Tutoring (HIT) LEA Grant - Notice of Intent to Apply Deadline is Aug. 16 (reminder)
OSSE released a funding opportunity for approximately five to 15 grants to DC LEAs to launch, strengthen and expand evidence-based tutoring programs in schools for DC students, with a focus on those who are designated as economically disadvantaged. The deadline to submit a Notice of Intent to Apply form, which can be found in the RFA, is Friday, Aug. 16. The Notice of Intent to Apply form is required for interested applicants and can be found in Appendix A of the request for application and on the OSSE HIT webpage.
The deadline to submit an application is Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024 at 3 p.m. EST. Applications are accepted only through OSSE’s Enterprise Grants Management System (EGMS) at grants.osse.dc.gov. The funding period will run from the date the grants are awarded, estimated to be in late October 2024 through Sept. 30, 2025. Please see OSSE’s HIT webpage or the 2024-25 grants forecast for more detailed information on the award opportunity and applicant eligibility.
If you have any questions about the grant, please email the HIT grants team at HIT.Grants@dc.gov
FY25 ESEA Titles I-IV-A Consolidated Application Open (reminder)
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Consolidated Application (ConApp) for Titles I-A, II-A, III-A and IV-A will be available on July 26, 2024 in EGMS. Allocations for the ESEA Title grants are available here. The deadline for submission is Sept. 30, 2024 at 3 p.m. EST.
LEA grant managers responsible for the ESEA Title I-A, II-A, III-A, and IV-A grant applications in the ConApp should register to attend an FY25 ConApp Workshop. The workshops are a small-group training to provide LEA grant managers a deeper understanding of grant requirements, application expectations, and any updates to the ConApp in FY25. Below are the dates of that the workshop will be offered along with the corresponding registration links.
Resources to support LEAs with the design of their Title grant programs and the grant application process are available on the OSSE website here.
If you have any questions about completing the FY25 ConApp, please contact your ESEA grants specialist.
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August 2024
September 2024
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