Ready.

Recording in progress.

Great.

Well, good afternoon, everyone.

I would like to call this meeting of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety to order.

I'm Councilmember Brooke Pinto, Ward 2, representing Ward 2 and Chairwoman of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety.

Today is Thursday, April 9th, and the time is 4.19 p.m.

We're conducting the hearing virtually via Zoom and streaming on the DC Council's website and YouTube and ex at CM Brook Pinto.

We have a quorum today with the presence of Ward 7 Councilmember Wendell Felder and at large Councilmember Anita Bonds.

We have two items on today's agenda: Bill 26-526, leading education access for re-entry and necessary success or learns amendment act of 2026, and Bill 26-461, the Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act of 2026.

First on the agenda, we will discuss the Learns Amendment Act.

When a young person becomes justice involved, it can disrupt many facets of their lives, including classroom instruction and their learning environments.

Additionally, when a person with learning disabilities becomes justice involved, the disruption to education can be especially impactful when trying to regain classroom instruction.

It is important to acknowledge every person, regardless of their circumstance, deserves access to a free quality education.

That's why I introduced the first version of this bill, the leading education access for re-entry and necessary success amendment act back in 2023.

Since then, the council has passed several iterations of the Learns Act on an emergency basis, with the most recent temporary legislation set to this year.

Although the responsibility to provide special education services at the DC jail formally shifted to the Department of Corrections under the emergency legislation, the council must enact this permanent legislation to effectuate those changes.

I'm proud of how far this bill has come and am pleased that we have now reached a point with the Department of Corrections and the mayor on maintaining this responsibility permanently.

This legislation seeks to bridge the educational gaps for young people that we've seen in our corrections facilities in the past by ensuring that everyone maintains and can gain access to educational opportunities.

The bill has four main components.

First, it requires the Department of Corrections to be the oversight body which will be responsible for choosing a qualified education contractor to provide a free and appropriate public education or FAP to students who are eligible for one.

As I mentioned, this is now happening, but is on an emergency basis.

With the LERNS Act, the Department of Corrections will be required to continually maintain a contract with an education provider on a permanent basis to avoid lapses in quality educational services provided to students when they're in custody.

Second, the Learns Act requires the Department of Corrections provide evaluations for students who were not previously evaluated for special education services before their arrival at the facilities.

Currently, the district is mandated to evaluate students for special education services if they are enrolled in public school.

However, the standard does not consistently apply to students in custody of the Department of Corrections.

This legislation will help ensure that eligible students in custody of the Department of Corrections have access to education.

Third, the legislation seeks to strengthen the grievance process at the Department of Corrections by requiring the agency to establish an online grievance portal where residents and staff can easily submit and track grievances and complaints in real time.

This portal will have two layers.

One where staff and residents can find contact information for agency leadership and a list of rights for residents in DOC custody and a public facing element that will allow for an individual's families or legal representative to track the status of said requests in real time without being able to edit or per view personally identifiable sensitive information.

And last, the bill incorporates several important non-germane technical amendments, perm making permanent emergency and temporary legislation that council had moved to correct and clarify prior past legislation concerning mandatory reporting requirements, probate proceedings, and CJCC report deadlines.

I also want to note that since circulating the draft, the dais print was updated to add a subject to appropriations applicability clause in light of the FIS that was circulated this afternoon, and to clarify that the non-dermane technical amendments are not subject to funding.

Education is a powerful tool for rehabilitation.

By focusing on educational services within our correctional facilities, we can help prepare our young people to successfully reintegrate into our communities, pursue employment opportunities, and contribute positively to our society.

This is especially crucial for young people in correctional facilities who may face unique challenges.

Customized individual education plans can address learning disabilities, mental health issues, or other factors that might hinder a student's educational progress.

The Learns Act is not only about education, it's about investing in the future of our young people who I know have bright promise.

With that, I now move the print and report of Bill 26-526 with leave for staff to make technical editorial and conforming changes.

Is there any discussion on the Learns Act?

Okay.

Hearing none, all in favor, please signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Great.

Thank you.

The ayes have it unanimously.

Second, today we're discussing Bill 26-461, the Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act of 2026, previously the Juvenile Curfew Amendment Act of 2025, which was introduced by Chairman Mendelson at the request of the mayor.

This bill is a permanent version of the emergency and temporary bills that have recently passed the council.

We must ensure our kids are engaged in positive activities to support their development while also working to prevent any dangerous situations that put our young people in harm's way.

The juvenile curfew is just one effective and preventative tool to protect youth from finding themselves endangered by or involved in juvenile crime without increasing any arrests, and it must, of course, also be coupled with meaningful expansions of youth programming and investments in our young people by the district government and by our community.

Since 2023, the district has seen a rise in endangering situations involving unaccompanied youth, such as self-described teen takeovers, unsupervised by adults or planned fights that have in large part be dot been documented on and driven by social media.

The district has had numerous instances of large groups of unaccompanied youth involved in these harmful endangering and at times criminal conduct in multiple areas around the city, and we've seen this especially prevalent in places like the wharf, Navy Yard, and U Street.

Multiple fights have broken out and robberies, assaults, and shootings have occurred.

According to the Metropolitan Police Department, these types of gatherings have become increasingly predictable because of social and other media with young people passing out flyers physically and online, indicating that there'll be a large gathering or even a takeover on a particular day or night of the week.

This is a relatively due problem with the ease of disseminating information across social media, so new solutions were needed to address the juvenile curfew hours to 11 p.m.

every day, including during the summer months and on weekends, and extends the city wide curfew to 17-year-olds.

Second, it gives the chief of police the ongoing authority to establish extended at 8 p.m.

and remain in effect for up to four consecutive days, applying only to groups of eight or more under the age of 18 who are gathering without an adult.

And finally, the bill establishes a process for the mayor to authorize an emergency curfew for juveniles.

The first emergency version of this bill passed the council unanimously on July 1st, 2025, after the council adopted an amendment introduced by the things.

Okay, so let me start with here.

The first emergency version of this bill passed the council unanimously on July 1st, 2025, after the council adopted an amendment introduced by myself and Councilmember Parker that made several common sense changes, such as the start time of the curfew zones, the number of young people large enough to violate the curfew, and how long those curfews would be in place.

After the amendment was accepted, the language was incorporated into all subsequent versions of the juvenile curfew bills that we have passed over the last several months, including the permanent version before us today.

Over the last eight months, the tool to allow MPD to declare specified curfew zones and extend the applicability to 17-year-olds has proven to be very effective in keeping young people, residents, visitors, and property safe and preventing harm.

These so-called unsupervised teen takeovers are a novel problem that have sprung up around the nation with the rise of social media.

MPD, therefore, must have new tools to use to respond to this novel occurrence.

Curfew violations themselves in the district do not and have not resulted in any arrests.

Let me say that again.

All of these curfew zones, there have been zero violating someone else's rights or assaulting them.

I want to make it really clear also that the curfew zones themselves apply only to groups of eight or more unsupervised kids under the age of 18.

Importantly, these zones also reduce police contact with youth by preventing endangering situations in the first place.

Young people in our city are still free to enjoy all that the city has to offer on evenings and weekends, and even where the zones are declared earlier or in smaller groups.

I will continue to emphasize that a conversation about these curfew zones should also be had in conjunction with a conversation about more positive youth programming.

Youth programming is critical to ensuring young people feel supported and have entertaining educational and fun activities as an alternative to potentially harmful gatherings.

Input from young people themselves is vital to understanding exactly what types of activities are of most interest.

We've had summer late night hypes and the spring teen jam put on by the Department of Parks and Iraq.

These are just some of the examples of youth programming that have drawn great interest from kids.

These events incorporate what youth want to do, including providing music and dancing in a safe environment to have fun.

As a government and as a council, we must continue to ensure that these programs get the needed funding and that we continually innovate to support our youth.

We also know that government cannot do it alone, and we need to support the community in providing additional activations and support for our young people as well as our families.

The curfew zones are just one tool in the broader conversation about how we as a city can ensure that our young people are safe and engaging in productive behavior.

Included in the committee report are recommendations to MPD for ensuring maximum effectiveness and safety for all implementing this legislation.

MPD should continue to build on its youth advisory council and youth advisory board so that young people can have positive interactions with police officers, as well as voice their concerns and perspectives with the police.

Officers should also be aware of the varying impacts of police interaction between black and white youth while also prioritizing community trust.

Finally, MPD should prioritize continuing education for their police officers to ensure that we know how to that they know how to properly engage with young people, especially those who grew up during the COVID-19 pandemic and are now operating in the age of widespread social media use.

I also want to note that currently we have a placeholder for the RIA for this bill, but we anticipate that the RIA will be done and prepared before the April 21st legislative meeting, at which time the first vote on this bill will occur with the full council.

This is due to time constraints, and we appreciate CORE's collaboration, scholarship, and work to provide to this council.

This bill provides a limited but effective preventative tool for protecting young people from potentially endangering situations while reducing the chances of police contact.

Given that, one, the data reported from MPD that curfews have prevented harm and danger to young people.

Two, that no youth have been arrested as a result of this curfew, and three, that the number of curfew violations in the zones has been so small, the committee views the juvenile curfew zones as an effective, targeted and time-limited preventative tool that reduces police contact with youth and protects young people from finding themselves in endangering situations, including violence and destruction of property.

This is an important part of the larger effort to focus on prevention and programming and accountability to provide positive and expansive opportunities and supports for young people in the district.

With that, I now move the print and report of Bill 26-461 with lead for staff to make technical editorial and conforming changes.

I did one yes, my hands up.

Go ahead, Council Rebonds.

Thank you very much, Chairwoman.

And I just want to reiterate the points that you've made that this refers to unsupervised groups of eight or more youth that are 17 years of age and below.

And I think that that's so important.

And what we're saying is that we're authorizing MPD chief to establish specific zones, areas that are off limits.

Um and this is just specific areas within the District of Columbia.

And of course, the re it refers to eleven PM as a start time instead of midnight on certain dates.

It's not every day.

It's not every every month, but it refers to specific time and um uh earlier start time than midnight.

And it refers to specific dates, and it's designed to declare uh for the public safety of our young people collectively.

So I want to thank you for this.

I know it's a tough um it's a tough opportunity.

We'll still call it an opportunity to um assist um with our um growing uh uh community uh of young people, but I think it's a direction that we must look to if we are very concerned about the public safety of all of our young people.

Young people will gather, we want them to gather, but we want them to also be safe, and um this is one way of making it very clear.

This is how we'd like for them to be safe, and we hope that their parents will um help them to understand what this uh piece of legislation is designed to do um to protect them and to protect all of our communities as well.

So thank you again.

Thank you very much, Councillor Bonds.

Councillor Felder.

Uh well, uh first and foremost, thank you, uh, Chair Person Pinto uh for your leadership on this issue.

I know it's been a very um challenging conversation.

Uh but the reality is we must keep our young folks safe at all costs.

Uh and while um tools like this is a step in the right direction.

I think the reality is there needs to be more conversations about parental accountability.

Uh we must make sure that as a government, a government plays its role.

Uh, but in addition to the government stepping up, parents have to step up uh and take responsibility for the whereabouts of their children.

I think uh there also needs to be more conversations about uh maybe even expanding the curfew citywide instead of focusing specifically on designated uh locations.

So once again, I do appreciate you uh elevating this conversation and um uh continue to um think that there needs to be a holistic approach, uh, but this is a step in the right direction.

Great.

Well, thank you so much, Councilor Felder, and thank you, Councilor Bonds, both of you for your partnership um on a challenging issue, and I think for the community to know that this committee stands at your side if people have other ideas or areas of support or partnership that you want to explore.

Um, this is just one preventative tool, and it certainly should not foreclose collaboration for lots of other things that we can be doing for kids in the city.

So really appreciate both of your partnership um and support.

So with that, we will move the bill.

Um all in favor, please signify by saying aye.

Aye, aye.

Right, Councilor Bonds, I didn't hear you.

Can you hear me?

Yes, no, I can thank you.

Okay, are you sorry?

Wonderful.

Just only three of us are just making sure.

Um, okay, the ayes have it unanimously.

The motion is disapproved.

Um, and thank you all very much.

That concludes our markup for this afternoon, and there is no