Make Your Voice Heard on the #ESSA School Report Card

Make Your Voice Heard on the #ESSA School Report Card

Washington, DC- The DC State Board of Education (SBOE) will hold its monthly public meeting on Wednesday, January 17, 2018, at 5:30 p.m. in the Old Council Chambers at 441 4th Street NW. The SBOE wants to hear the community’s thoughts on the proposed content of a new school report card that will provide the same information about every public and public charter school in the District. The school report card will contain two kinds of data: information that is required by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and information that is important to the residents of the District. The public may sign up online to testify at this month’s SBOE Public meeting about the school report card. The deadline to sign up is 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 16, 2017. Residents who testify will have three minutes to provide their input and recommendations to the SBOE.

At Tuesday night’s SBOE ESSA Task Force meeting, representatives from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) outlined updates to their content and format proposal for the new report card. Task force members reviewed the proposal and provided comments and recommendations. This proposal was based on feedback from State Board members, community members, and the members of the ESSA Task Force. Over the next few weeks, OSSE will work with the SBOE to finalize the content proposal with the intention that the State Board will vote on the proposal at its February public meeting.

At this month’s public meeting, the State Board will also honor the recently named District Tier 1 public charter schools and organizers of National School Choice Week with ceremonial resolutions.

Individuals and representatives of organizations who wish to comment at a public meeting may also submit testimony via email at sboe@dc.gov. Individuals should furnish their names, addresses, telephone numbers, and organizational affiliation.

The draft agenda of the meeting is below. Please note that the agenda may be altered, modified or updated without notice.

  1. Call to Order
  2. Announcement of a Quorum
  3. Leadership Election
  4. Approval of the Agenda
  5. Approval of Minutes
  6. Comments from the President of the DC State Board of Education
  7. Comments from the State Superintendent of Education
  8. Public Comment
  9. 2017 Tier 1 Public Charter School Ceremonial Resolution (VOTE)
  10. National School Choice Week Recognition Ceremonial Resolution (VOTE)
  11. 2018 Committees Resolution (VOTE)
  12. ESSA Report Card Recommendations
  13. Adjournment

The DC State Board of Education is an independent agency within the executive branch of the Government of the District of Columbia that works to advise the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), which is the District’s state education agency. The Board is comprised of nine elected representatives, each representing their respective wards, with one member representing DC at large, in addition to two student representatives. While OSSE oversees education within the District and manages federal education funding, the Board approves education policies, sets academic standards, and determines teacher qualifications. The State Board views its role in the achievement of this mission as one of shared responsibility, whereby it engages families, students, educators, community members, elected officials and business leaders to play a vital role in preparing every child for college and/or career success. More information about the SBOE can be found at sboe.dc.gov.