Comprehensive model, not just a single service service with a community schools label.

Build the systems our students, families, educators, and communities deserve.

So I'm still stuck on the um text messages in your statement.

So you texted.

Hello, Monroe has missed 12 days.

Yes.

And you don't judge me for letting my daughter miss 12 days.

I didn't hear that.

I said please don't judge me for letting my daughter miss 12 days, but yes.

Well, I didn't assume that.

And you got back an answer, which was It says text support, so I texted support, and then it says please call this number dash.

And then you didn't get there was no phone number to call.

Other times that I've texted for support up to those automated text messages, I've gotten like a website with like a broken link.

And this is DCPS.

And you're a teacher.

I'm a teacher and a parent.

Well, it's good that they're being helpful.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Um Anthony Vernon's not here.

Mitch Castleman is online, I believe.

Yes, I'm here.

Uh well, thank you, Chairman Mendelson, for the opportunity to testify today.

Um, my name is Mitchell Castlman.

I'm a ward one resident of almost 10 years.

I'm a new dad uh and the CEO of a small software company here in DC.

Uh now my 10-month-old son attends a child care center in Adams, Morgan, and I'm here today to talk about why fully funding the pay equity fund and the child care subsidy program matters and some of the impact if we don't.

Now, before my son was born, my wife and I decided to stay in DC instead of moving to the suburbs, and a big reason was DC's child care system.

Specifically, programs here pay their educators well enough to support their own families and stay in the classroom.

And that mattered a lot to us after hearing about instability from parents in other states.

And we know demand for child care and is high in this city and space is limited.

We experienced that firsthand.

When my wife got pregnant, we immediately got on wait lists and we were lucky to get a spot at a center near our home.

And since enrolling our son, I've actually rented office space.

I'm here now, uh, nearby for myself and my team, bringing jobs and spending into the neighborhood.

You know, once our son started, we quickly saw the pay equity fund work firsthand.

With two high quality educators in his classroom as a consistent presence, our son became attached to them and his development took off.

Every week he'd come home with something new and still does, which we love.

Now, meanwhile, his teachers were committed to making themselves better educators, which is amazing, working towards higher credentials.

Then about six weeks ago, a teacher left.

The center director, who's incredible, is now holding things together with duct tape and glue as she focuses on recruiting and running a classroom short stout.

And as a business business owner myself, I know what happens when you get pulled into recruiting mode.

Well, you don't run your core business, and it takes your time and energy away from the thing you're supposed to be doing, and in her case, that's creating a safe and nurturing environment for our kids.

Now my son has had a rotation of substitutes coming through the classroom, and it's taken a toll on him, his classmates, and the assistant teacher who's also holding it all together.

And stability matters a lot.

Uh the director just told me last week that they still haven't found a permanent replacement.

And honestly, how could they?

How could you recruit someone when you can't tell them what the salary is?

When I'm actually recruiting candidates for my business, there are often laws in place that require me to disclose a salary prior to an interview.

And I can't imagine telling someone it might be 50,000, it might be 30,000, but take the job and we'll see.

If that was the case, Mr.

Chairman, I'd have no employees and I'd be out of business.

So that uncertainty causes damage to the existing workforce along with anyone trying to join it.

I've also seen the child care subsidy program work for families in my son's class and for the educators themselves.

Several teachers at our center use the subsidy to afford care for their own children.

The people we trust to educate our kids depend on the same public program to care for theirs.

That's how interconnected the system is.

And here's what keeps me up at night.

If the pay equity fund is not fully funded in fiscal year 2027, our assistant teacher, the one now running the classroom, could face a pay cut.

And if she leaves too, I honestly don't know what happens to our classroom.

And without care, my wife and I will have to leave the workforce as we don't have other options.

This puts a real strain on our family.

So last thing I'll say is I'd be glad to do my part to pay more taxes, and I'm asking the council to fully fund the child care subsidy program and restore the salary component of the pay equity fund.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Chairman Mendelssohn and members of the committee on the whole.

My name is Lisesta Johnson and I'm the CEO of Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

For more than 40 years, Academy of Hope has provided high quality adult education and workforce training to district residents.

Today we serve more than 1,000 adult learners annually across all eight wards.

Our learners are overwhelmingly low-income, 96%, and many are parents balancing work, family, and school.

And some many are also struggling with low basic skills.

Last year, and when the given the opportunity, they succeed.

Last school year, 85% of learners attempting the GED or National External Diploma Program earn their high school credential.

Graduates across our IT and health care pathways are earning credentials and entering careers with real futures.

Healthcare programs have a 100% job placement rate.

High school diploma graduates earn an additional 10,400 a year, while workforce graduates earn over 54,000 a year.

AOH's outcomes represent real lives change and families gaining stability, building savings, and seeing real returns on their investment and education.

Our outcomes are the result of a comprehensive model that integrates academics, workforce training, and wraparound supports, including transportation assistance, food access, and individualized student support.

But this model depends on stable and sufficient public funding.

And right now that investment is at risk.

Academy of Hope exceeded its enrollment ceiling of 1,000 learners this year.

Students are experiencing greater financial instability, making supports such as transportation and public benefits even more essential.

To meet this moment, we urge council to take five critical actions this budget season.

First, increase the adult learner transit subsidy from 70 to 100 per month.

Transportation is one of the immediate barriers to attendance.

Second, restore the 2.5 million in adult and family education funding cuts since FY25.

These funds are essential to sustaining workforce programs.

Third, maintain a strong social safety net for DC families, including DC Healthcare Alliance, SNAP, and TANA.

Fourth, increase the adult learner weight and the UPSFF from 1.0 to 1.3.

Adult learners have significant needs, often comparable to those in K-12 students who receive additional weights, but current formula does not affect that, uh reflect that reality.

Finally, fund charter schools equitably by ensuring that all school costs, including staff compensation, fixed costs like utilities are fully funded through the UPSF, one-time instead of a one-time uh inconsistent funding.

Adult education is not a second chance.

It is an essential strategy for economic mobility, workforce development, and family stability in the district.

Thank you for your leadership and your continued support of adult learners.

Thank you.

Leslie Chafkin is not here.

Nora Weiss is virtual.

Yes.

Can you hear me?

Please proceed.

Good evening, Chairman Mendelssohn and Council members.

My name is Nora Weiss, and I'm the recruitment specialist at EduCare DC, an early childhood education center in Ward 7.

I'm here today to urge you to fully fund the child care subsidy program.

I am completely appalled by the mayor's proposal to freeze enrollment for child care subsidies.

If this change goes into effect, it will be a true catastrophe for families across DC, particularly for black and brown low-income families.

As a staff member on the recruitment team at EduCare DC, I can attest firsthand to how devastating this would be.

Without access to subsidy, families in need will not be able to access a full day of child care, prohibiting them from returning to work or sustaining employment.

This proposal would effectively gatekeep low-income families from accessing high-quality early childhood education.

Although the budget proposal is not yet in effect, we are already seeing its destructive impact.

Every day I speak to families who are seeking child care.

In each of these conversations, I have to tell families that we cannot guarantee full-time child care next school year, the one thing that they're almost universally seeking.

Families are deeply confused and scared, and they have every right to be.

They don't know whether they're going to be able to return to work, they're afraid of seeking out employment just to be faced with a caregiving crisis in the coming months.

We have soon-to-be parents in our prenatal programs who are planning their lives around having full-time child care starting in August.

I now have to tell them that they can no longer rely on us.

In the last few weeks, I have had several families turn down enrollment offers.

In real time, I'm seeing families sacrifice their careers and financial security rather than be faced with this ambiguity, stress, and uncertainty.

I want to be very clear.

80% of brain development happens before age three.

Over one million neural connections are forming every second.

Access to high quality early childhood education is one of the single most important factors determining not only kindergarten readiness, but long-term academic success, higher graduation rates, increased lifetime earnings, lower substance abuse, and reduced risk of criminal involvement.

The subsidy freeze is taking all of this and more away from families.

Chairman and Council members, the choice to fully fund and restore subsidy is yours to make.

But if you don't, the profound long-lasting burden will be families to carry.

So what will it be?

Will you choose to shatter our early childhood education system, withdraw resources, and abandon families, or will you choose to invest in our child care infrastructure and uphold our commitment as a district to supporting, uplifting, and empowering our children and families.

I urge you to choose the latter.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms.

Weiss.

Diane Schulder.

Yes, thank you so much for the opportunity.

Um, Chairman Mendelson and members of the council.

Um, my name is Diane Schulder.

I am a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, and I'm speaking on behalf of myself and my colleague Justin Doraman, who is a senior research associate at the Urban Institute with me.

Uh, the views we share are our own and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

For the past five years, we have been conducting research on the child care subsidy system in the District of Columbia.

We provided a very, very detailed written testimony, and today I'm providing excerpts.

Our research findings are consistent with the remarks made by many before me today.

Specifically, through our research, we have found that child care subsidies are essential for affordable care for families and for stabilizing child care markets.

A few unique perspectives that others have not yet mentioned, are that in the last five years, DC has made real progress in supporting innovations in child care subsidy policies and practices that have improved affordability and access.

Others have mentioned the growth in the number of families who are participating, and some of our research suggests that some of these changes and practices are making access easier.

Separately, we found that the current wait list that is designed to go into effect shortly is affecting child care providers' willingness to participate in the subsidy system.

We recently concluded a survey, and a portion of providers reported that they're very uncertain about whether or not they'll continue to participate in the subsidy system.

Along these lines, our own analysis of administrative data that Justin Dormal led shows that the wait list will disproportionately impact facilities in higher poverty neighborhoods.

And for facilities that serve mostly children whose care is paid for with a voucher.

In addition, a recent study I conducted with my colleague Erica Greenberg, who testified earlier, suggests that the impact for new parents with infants and toddlers will be especially high.

We appreciate where the council stands on the pay equity fund and want to note that about 90% of subsidy participating providers rely on this funding.

Based on the evidence we've collected and the recommendations of others who have already testified, we recommend that the council prioritize full funding for early childhood programs and increase the subsidy budget so that families, especially those with infants and toddlers, can access care.

In closing, I want to thank the council for using evidence to inform budget decisions.

And we recommend that you consider maintaining and strengthening the child care subsidy program.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms.

Schulder.

Lindsay Lieberman, I believe, is not here, Elizabeth Mitchell.

Do I get brownie points for being in person?

It's a gold star.

Gold star, I'll take it.

I wrote testimony, but I'm gonna deviate because of the questions that came up today this morning.

Um in regard to the $400 subsidy that Aussie families are allowed to receive to trans self-transport.

I do want to highlight a couple of things from my written testimony.

Um still not meeting meeting in a meaningful way.

You know what?

I want to start by acknowledging Hannah and Nora and all of their work that they have done with families trying to get SAPSI back online.

Um, and I just want to thank you.

Your staffers have been incredible.

So thank you for that.

Um, so appsy's still not meeting in a meeting meeting in a meaningful way.

Um, the budget, the links have been dead.

Um, you have experienced this yourself.

It is not, um, I think they've managed to pull off a quorum, but barely.

Um, so it's not, it's not happening.

They haven't added new members.

That's still a really pressing going concern because that means that we're not in federal compliance.

Um, second, it's also, you know, the reason that so many, it's the only avenue that many families who have children who have extra needs, special needs, supports are able to speak publicly about the things that we're seeing.

Um, second, I don't see in this budget that it's addressing the immediacy of the report that the US Department of Education released.

They have several suggestions.

I don't see any of that in this report, and in this budget reflected that we really need to get to work on these things.

And um the Department of Education is no longer investigating claims, which is a huge issue.

They are dismissing them outright.

They are not being at all transparent.

They took down the public list as soon as Trump took office.

That means that these things are not happening at the federal level.

What are we doing on the local level to make sure that families have access and can file claims and actually see justice served for our children?

Okay, um, on to the fallacy of choice when it comes to transportation in Aussie.

Um, so the 400 subsidies seems like a great deal.

The problem is most of our families do not have cars.

They do not have access to this avenue.

They cannot self-transport for a myriad of reasons.

Um, number one being lacking a car.

Number two, many of the children um have medical needs that far exceed what you could do in a sedan.

Um they have wheelchairs, sometimes they need aid, so that's also off the table for them.

Um, third, it's ours.

It's um income.

It's for my child, I self-transported for over a year.

My husband and I were able to do this because we had a number of other adults in our family who were able to sub in for us when we were doing other things.

I had to pass up a full-time job.

That was a hundred thousand dollars of worth of income that my family couldn't take in because I needed to self-transport.

On the flip side of that coin, I've talked to families who are not able to show up to their hourly jobs because they're transporting, which means that they're facing eviction.

So it's also an hours number, it's an impact on our personal lives.

It's not just gas money, which is also going to go up.

So the $400 rate often doesn't reflect what we're actually paying, not just in hours, but even in gas.

Um, again, it was like about three hours for us to transport back and forth for my child.

And that's not even when he was in school in Baltimore.

Um, that was just when he was out in Maryland and suburban Maryland.

I'm out of time, but I just I also want to say that this also has a deep impact on our immigrant families who were using self-transport a lot and they no longer can because ice has been posted up outside of our schools.

It's no longer safe for them.

Their older siblings are having to transport their younger siblings, which means that they are also late to school.

I may come back to you.

Yesenia Stevens.

Chair Phil Mendelssohn and council members, thank you for the opportunity to be here today.

My name is Dr.

Yesenia Stevens.

I am a physician, a former teacher, a first-generation college student, and most importantly, the mother of a child with disabilities.

I live and I work here in DC.

The hat that I wear today is that of a mother.

I had my daughter while I was in medical school.

As she grew, my husband and I noticed that she was experiencing developmental delays.

Like many parents, I was worried about her future and about whether I could give her the support she needed while trying to finish my education.

We were fortunate to access quality child care and early intervention services.

Having access to child care allowed my daughter to engage with same-age peers to explore, to communicate, and to grow in confidence.

She found her voice in those early learning settings.

As a medical student and a new mother, that support also gave me the chance to continue pursuing my own dreams.

I can say without hesitation, I would not have made it through medical school without early education and early intervention support for my daughter.

Every family deserves that same opportunity.

In my years as a physician and a former teacher, I've seen firsthand what happens when that support isn't there.

Children fall behind, not because they lack potential, but because we as a society didn't invest early enough.

These consequences follow them into adolescence, adulthood, and across generations.

That's why I'm here today to urge the council to support our children and their families by fully funding our early education system.

Specifically, I call on the council to fund the child care subsidy program at 177.1 million and fully restore the salary component of the pay equity fund.

These investments are not abstract numbers.

They are the difference between a child finding her voice or losing years of potential.

They are the difference between a parent staying in the workforce or falling into financial hardship.

Thank you for your time and your commitment to making sure every child in the district has a chance to thrive.

Thank you, Ms.

Stevens.

Uh India Hivesmith, I believe, is not here.

I am here.

I am here, sir.

Please proceed.

All righty.

Good afternoon, council members, colleagues, and guests here.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide my testimony today.

This is my second year participating in this public hearing forum.

And today, much like last year, the concerns and requests remain the same.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with who I am, I am an alumni member of the Educare DC parent ambassadors and now a current cohort for the uh under-three DC parent ambassador program.

My son Columbus and I are residents in the seventh ward.

Columbus is three years old and has been a recipient of the child care subsidy program.

From age zero to one, Columbus was not able to attend school.

Thus, I was forced to stay home and forego working.

As you can imagine, this was challenging, not having income, raising a newborn.

As the bills raised and my income was stifled, I suffered housing instability and had to enter into a temporary shelter.

Shortly before entering the shelter, I was approved for the child care subsidy, which allowed me to return to work and allowed Columbus to enter into school.

As many of you have already known, learning starts from age zero and not three when public school offers free admission.

Children acquire 90% of their brain development by age five.

This means that children who do not have access to school before age three will fall behind and not perform in the same manner in comparison to their counterparts who have been receiving education from birth.

This also means that families who do not have access to affordable high quality education for their children will have to stay home and forfeit the opportunity to work or attend school.

Subsequently, if teachers lose the pay equity fund, they will be forced to leave the business because of their need to provide an adequate living for themselves and their own families.

Today I am urging the council to fully fund the child care subsidy program at 177.1 million dollars.

This means adding an additional 63.2 million to the proposed budget and to fully fund the teacher pay equity at 94.2 million while also adding an additional 82.2 million to the mayor's proposed budget.

Some of the concerns or questions you all may pose are how can we add additional funds when we are already constrained budget rise?

To that question, I will say that this program, unlike any other, funds itself and is a program that costs upfront but generates revenue for the city in the long run.

If teachers are paid appropriately, has been shown statistically, an increase in earning higher credentials, as well as parents being able to reintegrate into the work field and also earn higher credentials themselves.

This in return further stimulates the economy.

So to answer that question, the program funds itself.

You may also say how long can you how can we how long can we continue to commit to such a program?

To that, I will say men lie, women lie, but numbers don't lie.

Many of you, many of you are hearing our personal and real world testimonies for the first time, and it gives you a sheer insight into a glimpse of our lives, and this helps you all connect to us emotionally to the people you serve.

But at the core, this is a business, and in business, numbers come to be the determining factor.

Our numbers support themselves.

There's an 11% growth rate in just four years of the program being in status since 2022.

I'm gonna have to cut you off.

You're over your time, but I appreciate your testing.

Thank you for allowing me to speak.

Thank you.

Uh Kate Mitchell.

I believe you're online.

Yes, hi.

This is Alison Lorenz.

I'm standing in for Kate Mitchell today as her colleague on the board at the Triangle TAS Trial Development Center.

Okay.

Good evening, Chairman Mendelson and members of the council.

My name's Allie Lorenz, and I'm testifying today to urge the council to fully reverse Mayor Bowser's devastating cuts to the pay equity fund.

I'm testifying in my personal capacity, but I'm a member of the board of directors for Triangle Tots, which is a Bright Horizons child care center located just next to the Wilson Building in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.

Triangle Tots is a GSA affiliated center that primarily serves children of federal employees, with the founding agencies being the Environmental Protection Agency, Customs and Border Protection, and what was USAID.

There are also children of non-federal government families that attend, like my own.

My daughters Kit and Chloe, who are now ages four and one and a half, attended Triangle Tots starting when they were six months old.

They receive excellent care, and my oldest transitioned smoothly to DC public schools last year.

Triangle TOTS teachers are experts in early childhood education.

Almost all have been with Bright Horizons for many years, some for a couple of decades even, and I've been so impressed with their knowledge, kindness, empathy, and professionalism.

We first enrolled at Triangle TOTS when I was a federal employee, and the central location of the center allowed me to continue working and living in DC after having kids.

Our center's enrollment, like many others in DC, and especially those serving primarily federal employees, has been deeply impacted by COVID remote work and changes to the federal workforce.

The budgetary pressures low enrollment creates combined with mandatory low student teacher ratios mean that the pay equity fund is absolutely critical to keeping our center afloat and keeping our teachers paid salaries that allow them to stay with us and also provide for their own families.

Any loss of funding would immediately put our budget at risk, either needing to be absorbed by Bright Horizons by parents through significant increases in tuition or teachers by significant pay cuts.

Child care in DC is unaffordable for almost anyone.

Every month my family budget centers around paying the daycare bill and an increase of hundreds of dollars per month would have an impact on my family.

Our fellow Triangle Tots parents simply would not be able to absorb that kind of tuition increase, especially those who are still out of work after federal layoffs.

It's likely our center could face closure due to parents leaving for lower tuition elsewhere, teachers being let go or seeking other jobs, or bright Horizons closing the center.

In fact, Bright Horizons operated eight locations in DC in 2020, but has closed all but three as of today.

If a corporate child care provider is facing these headwinds, the impact is magnified for our community child care centers and parents without the financial means of our center.

In closing, I urge the council to fully reverse the devastating cuts of the pay equity fund.

Anything less than full restoration will mean thousands of dollars more each year pushed onto child care workers and families and further destabilize the child care industry in DC.

Thank you.

Uh thank you, Miss Lorenz.

Uh Jacob Edelman, who I believe is online.

Yes, hello.

Um, Chairman Mendelson and council members, thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony today.

Um, my name is Dr.

Jacob Edelman.

I'm a pediatrician in Washington, D.C.

I'm a resident of Ward 6, and I'm testifying today as a member of the DC chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics for the DCAAP.

Specifically, I'm testifying in strong support of the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund and the Child Care Subsidy Program, both of which face drastic cuts in Mayor Bowser's proposed budget for FY27.

Um I'm just not sure what else I can do.

This is a refrain I often hear from families struggling to find child care in my job as a pediatrician serving families in Southeast DC.

In this instance, it comes during a well child check for two-year-old girl.

She gleefully bounced around the room, pink hair beads clinking together.

Her mother, a parent of three young children, tells me how she just lost her job and could no longer consistently afford food for her family.

The reason too many days missed from work, spent at home after her child care center shut down.

Unfortunately, it's been a struggle finding one that's both available and affordable.

As pediatricians, we're trained to support families in keeping their children safe and healthy, especially when it comes to their development.

Child care centers provide safe environment for children to strengthen foundational cognitive language and social emotional skills during a time of rapid brain development.

Sustained enrollment in high quality early childhood education programs is predictive of improved academic achievement, fewer behavioral problems, and lower long-term risk of chronic diseases.

Hundreds of families rely upon DC child care centers to ensure their families, their children receive nutritious foods critical to support healthy growth.

Early childhood educators serve as great partners for pediatrician to ensure children are safe and developing appropriately.

And the role is mandated reporters, teachers are critically important in recognizing signs of abuse and neglect between medical visits.

Child care centers are key referral sources for early intervention, can even serve as sites where infants and toddlers with developmental delays can receive services.

Yet families in the district face a staggering financial burden to access child care, with average annual tuition approaching 24,000 for one child.

A factor widening the gap in reliable accessible child care stems from the gross underpayment of their educators.

Without competitive salaries, high staff turnovers destabilize programs and raise costs for families.

For young children, this disrupts attachment regulation and learning, all core drivers of early childhood development.

The early childhood educator pay equity fund and the child care subsidy program directly address these problems, yet the mayor's proposed budget would eliminate or sharply reduce, sharply reduce these programs.

Together, they strengthen the child care workforce by improving compensation, reducing turnover while serving as a lifeline for families who would otherwise be unable to afford care.

Cutting funding for these programs and freezing enrollment risks weakening childcare centers across the district and forcing families into impossible choices.

As we've heard many times today and is detailed in my written testimony, the pay equity fund and the child care subsidy program are proven cost-effective policies that would allow young young children to thrive, support healthy families, and bolster the district's workforce.

We urge the DC council to fully fund the child care subsidy program with an additional 62.3 million on top of the mayor's proposed budget and to fully restore the salary component of the pay equity fund with an additional 82.2 million on top of her proposed budget.

Both of these programs are essential for maintaining high quality and financially stable early education systems in DC.

Thank you for your time and this opportunity to testify.

The DCAP stands by as a resource for promoting child health into the district, and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

So you were explaining some of the problems with um it's not self-care but self-transforming.

Self-transport.

I get that.

It seems to me though, that both systems can exist side by side.

That is uh Aussie DOT buses, and if a parent wants to self-transport, that they could self-transport.

Uh, uh the challenge is that Aussie DOT is not good enough.

I think in a perfect world, Aussie DOT would be servicing all of our children on time in a way that meets their needs.

Um, and I just want to elevate that the the other thing is supposed to be an emergency answer to a problem that's ongoing.

And we're thrilled that Aussie has made that available to put to pretend that these are equitable or in any way, shape, or form able to be used by everyone whose children need to be transported is just a lie.

Um there are so many families that cannot take advantage of this.

There are so many, there's a significant number of DCPS teachers who have children that are relying on Aussie dot that cannot take advantage of this.

Um it comes at a cost of parents with end caregivers and the community with hours of our lives having to transport our children because they're often it's a it's an echo of a bigger problem.

Um so many of our students are not able to go to their neighborhood by rights schools because those schools don't offer the services that our children need.

That's why we need transportation.

That's why being able to drive them ourselves is also not an option.

We would love, I think, for most of us to be able to take our children to school every day, but most of our jobs, most of our lives don't look work that way.

So that's what I'm trying to elevate, but I also really need you to hear that specifically for the families that are being targeted by ice.

This is a huge issue right now.

Um a lot of those families I work with closely with a bunch of different groups that are in this room.

Um they have previously been self-transporting, they have found people within their communities to self-transport.

My understanding is that we've had 20,000 people who have been removed from our communities.

Um we now have federal agents that are posted up outside of our schools.

So those families who are trans self-transporting can no longer do that.

Because they are having to rely on Aussie Dot now.

Older siblings who they feel are more safe to be, you know, navigating the community or being called upon to transport their younger siblings who have disabilities.

Many of these families are here because they have medical necessities that mean that they have to be in this country in order to get medical services.

Um, so it's a really difficult situation to navigate for these families in particular, and I see no easy solutions coming down the pike other than Aussie doing, not gonna use an expletive, but Aussie finally doing their job and fixing our transportation system.

And also creating more opportunities for our students who have special needs to be going to school in their own communities.

I think that's a huge issue that we don't put enough light on.

It was highlighted in the US Department of Education's report and their investigation, which found that we are absolutely out of compliance, we are out of pocket, and we are not doing nearly enough for our children.

We're actually discriminating against our children who have special needs.

So that that was found, and I absolutely fully believe with my whole soul and body that we are not going to get funding from the US Department of Education based on this report.

And it was done in good faith, it was done during under Biden, but I think the results of this mean that we are not going to get federal funding.

And I think to ignore that reality is not just a detriment to our own students, but to the greater community because these students represent pieces of our family, and when those pieces are not served, the rest of us have to make up the difference.

And I would call upon this government, these budgets, which are moral documents, to really help us out right now in ways that you have failed us in the past.

Thank you.

I'm gonna thank all the witnesses.

I don't have any questions any other questions.

Uh, I'm gonna take a second before I call the next group.

Um so bear with me for a second.

I think that's a good thing.

No, no, no, no.

Sorry about that.

Um, so continuing with the list at number one sixty two, Hugh Beschers, ESL teacher, Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School.

Irene Jacobs, Policy Manager, Black Swan Academy.

Josh Boots, who is executive director in power K Twelve Stephanie Maltz, who I know is a parent.

Todd Glockman, partner, Terris Pravlik and McMill and Million.

Sound like a name I called earlier.

Zane Sharif.

Speaker off or mute yourself for the moment.

Terry Romero Shapiro.

Blanca Huizo.

Program director, multicultural Spanish speaking providers association.

Jodi Havka with the Access Youth.

Verna Artiz, Executive Director D A D C A E Y Conn Gatewood, Senior Vice President, Chief Workforce Development Officer, so others might eat.

Anita Guza.

G-U-Z-E-H.

Is that you?

All right, I'm gonna stop there.

We have about it looks like about eight people online and two people to table.

Um, Mr.

Beschers.

Uh good morning, Chairperson and uh members of the council.

My name is Hugh Bashears.

I am award-one resident and a DC native.

Uh, I have been a teacher at Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School since December of 2000.

Over the past 25 years, I've had the great and everlasting privilege of teaching English to adult learners from all over the world, Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe, uh, all over Asia and beyond.

Each uh student has their own unique story.

They are presented with challenges and ask for and they have their own aspirations.

Every semester brings new faces and new perspectives, and even after all these years, the work has never become routine or boring in any manner.

It continues, or rather, the students continue to surprise me, inspire me, challenge me, and motivate me to uh be a better teacher and in many ways be a better human.

I started at Carl Sorsaria when the school was still finding its footing.

We were working at church basements and borrowed spaces.

Thank you, Bell Multicultural, for sharing space with us.

We were constantly fighting for survival today.

Thankfully, we are a stable and thriving public charge school and the largest one serving only adult learners.

That transformation did not happen by accident.

It happened because this city, my city chose to invest in adult education in the people we serve.

And I see the impact every day.

My students are not just coming to learn English, they are building new lives.

Many are working, raising kids, and navigating a new country all at once.

What makes their success possible is what happens in the classroom and the broader support system that surrounds them at my school.

For example, the adult learner transit subsidy is essential.

The smart trip cards our students receive are not a luxury.

They are a necessity.

They allow students to get to school consistently and just as importantly, they send the message that the city values their education.

I strongly urge council to increase the subsidy from $70 to $100 per month so that it can keep pace with the real cost of transportation.

I also want to emphasize the importance of maintaining strong social safety net.

Programs like DC Healthcare Alliance, SNAP, and TANF are critical for our students and our families.

When a parent knows their child can see her doctor or get basic needs, they are able to focus on learning and they thrive.

I hear from students all the time how grateful they are for the school and for all the support they receive from the city.

Finally, I support the effort to increase the adult learner weight of the uniform per student funding formula from 1.0 to 1.3.

Adult learners face many of the same challenges as K-12 students, language barriers, economic hardship, and in some cases trauma.

But our schools are not funded at the same level.

Aligning funding with need is simply the right thing to do.

And I would like to close by thanking very much Alison Cookoris for all of her efforts and leadership to keep our school thriving.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Bashears.

Um Irene Jacobs is not here.

Josh Boots is online.

Yep.

Thank you, Chairman.

Um, appreciate the opportunity to testify.

My name is Josh Boots, and I serve as executive director of Empire K12, which operates the DC Math Hub in partnership with the broader capital math collective initiative.

I served on Aussie's Math Task Force, and I come before you with a straightforward concern about the funding equivalency between our city's investment in literacy and numeracy supports for educators and students.

In the FY26 budget and proposed fiscal year 27 budget, the district has committed zero new dollars in local funds to advance the math task force recommendations, which stands in start, sharp contrast to the city's immediate 2.6 million dollar investment in the early literacy intervention initiative shortly after the early literacy task force released its recommendations in 2023.

Since 2021, the district has spent or received grants totaling 72.7 million for literacy, including 20.3 million in fiscal year 2022 federal grant for teacher development, a 50 million dollar comprehensive literacy state development grant this past year.

While math investments since 2021 have totaled just 20 million, all from a single private philanthropic grant that supports the Capital Math Collective.

The local government contribute contribution stands at zero.

To be clear, literacy investments have produced real gains, and the council deserves credit for that leadership.

The question is why should math receive a fundamentally different response following a task force process that mirrored literacy effort and produced clear actionable recommendations, especially um sorry, especially when there's evidence that suggests that we should be um investing in math.

The Urban Institute's recent research demonstrates clear advantage for strong math skills on lifetime earnings, especially for Black and Brown students.

Addressing the educational needs of students in math early on is critical in that early gaps in math only widen over the course of schooling.

And there are lots of research and large scale evidence that suggests that investments in math coaching for teachers, opportunities for students to engage in targeted interventions and tools that support improved achievement in grades K-3 can both strengthen the engagement in school writ large and translate to also better literacy outcomes and independent studies.

I respectfully ask that the council identify local funding in the fiscal year 27 budget that advances the math task force's recommendations, and my written testimony includes both a recommendation scorecard that highlights the progress or lack thereof, uh, that the city is making towards the math task force recommendations as long as well as a couple of investment options at different funding levels.

Should you be able to find those sources of funding?

Thank you for time, and I welcome any questions you might have.

Uh so I'm gonna ask questions now.

Uh, looking at the attachments, so if we were to follow the recommendations of the math task force, that would be 250,000 educator capacity and diagnostic infrastructure, plus 500,000 for content knowledge and HQIM that's high quality instructional materials implementation supports, plus 2.9 million evidence-based math instructional coaching intervention, tool access, and integrated algebra one and two readiness.

Is that what we're looking at as a price tag for the recommendations?

Uh well, those are different levels, and that are inclusive.

So 500,000 would include both the stuff that I had listed under the 250,000 and the stuff I lifted under 500,000 and 2.9 million would get the both of the so they're not adding up all three, it's just the two point nine million is inclusive of the things above it.

I didn't hear all that.

2.9 includes the content knowledge and HQIM, and the 500 includes the 250 educator capacity.

Yep, that's correct.

So, in a sense, it one is the first one is two point is 250,000, the second group of things are 250,000, and the third group of things are roughly 2 million.

Does that mean more?

I like your math.

You were on the math task force, 2.9 less 500 equals two.

I mean, it's less the 500,000 and less than 250,000, so it's 2.15 million.

Thank you.

Um I should know better than the best with witnesses.

Um Stephanie Malls.

Hi, I'm ready.

Thank you.

My name is Stephanie Moss, and I have been a D.C.

resident since 2020 and currently resigned for three.

My child has relied upon Aussie Doc transportation to attend school each day since kindergarten starting in October 2021.

Aussie DOT has historically struggled to deliver appropriate required transportation services for students with special needs.

Aussie DAT's special education transportation services were court supervised from 1995 to 2012 under a consent order in Petites versus District of Columbia.

The court order performance standard for ASIDAT was that students arrive on time for school 94% of the time.

Based on the performance oversight responses from ASIDAT for the 2025-2026 school year, the agency has hit failed to meet the 94% on time standard for each of the months that the data is provided.

My testimony is going to focus on the status of the parent tracking app.

I've been testifying before this committee about this issue since February of 2023.

And in fact, my child is part of one of the more recent pilot programs in the fall of 2023.

The parent tracking app is important because it will provide parents with direct access to data about the bus status in real time in the morning, and parents will be able to know when the bus leaves the station and prepare their child to be waiting outside when the bus arrives.

For afternoon drop-offs, parents will be able to track the bus movement and will have information about delays on the return from school.

This will be much much more efficient than the current multi-step process, requiring the bus staff to notify the terminal that the bus has left and the terminal has to send out robocalls and text messages about the departure time.

There will be also be a return on investment for Aussie.

Right now, 705% of the parents calling the parent resource center are seeking the status of this bus.

Once the parent tracking app is available, the parent resource center customer service representatives will be able to spend the majority of their time focusing on actual bus issues like accidents.

And fortunately, making this parent tracking app a reality has been years in the making.

Back at the committee of the whole hearing on April 11th, 2024, then Superintendent Grant stated we come back from winter break and it would be available.

January 2025 was almost a year and a half ago, and yet parents are still waiting.

Based on the prior commitments made at ACI DOT that have long since passed, it's hard to believe that the response providing that performance oversight questions that Aussie's on track for the implementation of the new GPS system and parent application for the 2026-2027 year will actually come to fruition.

Aussie DOT has had a lengthy procurement process for securing a vendor for the track parent tracking app.

The initial request for information routing was open on July in July of 2024 and closed in August 20, August 2024.

Aussie DOT did not order a letter of contract until more than 16 months later, November 2025, and it took another several months for the contract to be fully executed on February 6, 2026.

We know this was in large part to your committee holding them accountable, and we would appreciate you continuing to do that to make sure that this is a reality starting in 2026-2027 school year.

Something I also want to say about the parent stipend program is for somebody like me, it would c when we transport my child to school on days when Aussie doesn't provide transportation like Emancipation Day and Veterans Day, we would get a hundred, we get 120 round trip.

It's about three both ways, it's about three hours.

So if we were to do the parent stipend program in self-transport, the 400 cost would only cover less than a week of travel.

It's also given for parents like my like myself, we have a two parent working household.

We both work in off in person in the office.

It wouldn't be feasible for us to both work and be able to transport our child at the same time to keep our full-time jobs and transport our child there and back.

Thank you.

I appreciate the extra time.

Thank you, Miss Mules.

And I don't have a written copy of your statement.

If you could provide that.

We'll do.

Thanks.

Todd Gluckman, who's online.

You're muted.

Mr.

Gluckman, you're muted.

I apologize.

Thanks.

I'm a partner at Terrace Provic and Million, and we represent the plaintiff class of three to five-year-olds with disabilities in DL versus District of Columbia regarding the failure to timely provide required special education and related services in violation of the IDEA.

As we've explained in prior testimony, we work regularly with Aussie and DCPS as part of our role in monitoring their performance in the 2016 injunction and DL.

The district's required to provide special education related services to all three to five-year-old children who need it at a minimum 8.5% of the population, and also provide timely special education eligibility determinations to 95% of children and smooth and effective transitions from part C to Part B services at age three to 95% of children going through that process.

The DL injunction requires the district to meet these levels for several years in order to demonstrate its ability to sustain compliance with these requirements.

On December 10, 2025, I testified about serious problems, including the district's performance.

The fact that that performance had substantially weakened with respect to the two 95% timeliness requirements, and that large numbers of children have been waitlisted to receive education in self-contained classrooms.

Later that day, during the testimony of the agencies, Mr.

Chairman, you echoed our concerns about the amount of time that had passed since the injunction issued, that the district is not near compliance, and stated that the council would consider how it might impose more urgency regarding special education improvements.

Now, approximately six months later, the DL injunction, which issued in May 2016, has reached its 10-year mark.

We don't have any further data for the council about the district's performance under these three central benchmarks in DL.

Aussie is going to report on that to us in August.

And while we understand from Aussie that results have improved, we do not expect the district to be close to compliance on either of the two timeliness metrics.

And the district has never achieved compliance with all three metrics in any single year, let alone for the multi-year period required to demonstrate sustained compliance.

I'm testifying today to convey our hope that the mayor and the council will provide Aussie and DCPS any funds that they need to finally come into compliance with the DL injunction.

This includes any funds needed to ensure that there are sufficient special education teachers, related services providers, and classrooms.

There have been problems related to the sufficiency of all of these critical components to the timely delivery of special education instruction and related services in recent years.

Thank you for your attention to these matters.

Thank you, Mr.

Gluck.

Is virtual.

Yes, good afternoon.

Thanks for seeing.

Thank you, thank you for the opportunity, and thank you for your commitment to public testimony on this long, long day.

My name is Zan Sharif.

I am a history teacher and the high school history department chair at DC International School.

I'm also the chair of the DCI staff union.

And I come before this body today to amplify the voices of my colleagues and the community members who continue to raise concerns about the crisis of oversight and accountability at DCI.

Our concerns are myriad, but one central concern relevant to this body is about how taxpayer money is being used to bolster leadership salaries and pay consultants and contractors, while money for staff and resources that have the most direct impact on student outcomes is being denied.

All of this comes down to one key budgetary point.

Who should benefit from taxpayer money?

School executives and consultants or the staff and students.

The budget priorities of executive director Michael Roscam under the purported supervision of board chair Alexander Pardot play into the hands of charter school's most vocal critics, a lack of transparency that allows taxpayer money to be drawn to the top of the organization and sent outside of it to consultants and contractors while squeezing the folks who actually support student success.

Nowhere is this more clearly illustrated than at a single data point.

Last fiscal year, teacher salaries increased by only 124,000, while leadership salaries increased by over 1.25 million.

If that weren't telling enough, student support salaries shrank by 94,000.

Every year as department chair, I've advocated to hire at least one more teacher in my department.

Every year, I've been denied.

This has led to classes that hit or even exceed the room capacity cap.

Teachers with massive rosters who then have to deliver a rigorous IB curriculum to every single student, including many students with formal supports.

Teacher burnout is a significant problem.

Last year, our department lost two teachers, but DCI only chose to replace one, further straining the department to the point where we now have multiple teachers teaching overloads and a math teacher covering sections of ninth grade world history.

Next year I have enough uncovered sections to justify two hires, but was just told by my principal that Mr.

Rothcam will make me fight for even one.

I can't help but wonder how many educational challenges could be solved if that 1.2 million, 1.25 million went to hiring teachers and student support professionals instead of two-year salads.

This year, leadership immediately took advantage of our new contract to unexpectedly switch the pay structure for non-exempt employees, and particularly hard hit were dedicated aides who and instructional aides who lost a half hour of pay as a result of that shift.

Last year, more than sixty thousand dollars in bonuses were paid out to two of our five most highly compensated employees, yet Mr.

Roscam and Ms.

Pardot refused to concede even the $49,000 total it would have taken to make some of our most vulnerable and lowest paid employees whole.

Mr.

Rothcam loves to count DCI's improving scores, but let me be very clear.

Those gains were made despite Mr.

Rothcam's leadership, not because of it.

These are the successes of the teachers, counselors, aides, custodians, APs, principals who come in and fight through the resource constraints that are the result of Mr.

Roscamp's budget priorities.

My colleagues and I therefore urge this body to exercise any and all oversight mechanisms at your disposal to ensure that the funds intended to support students do not instead line the pockets of executive leaders and outside consultants.

Thank you for your time.

I'm open to answering any questions as many staff members have expressed fear of retaliation if they can afford to testify.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Sharif.

I think Maya McIntyre is not here.

Derek Ford is virtual.

Mr.

Ford.

I am here.

Please proceed.

I'm yes, sir.

I'm sorry, I haven't run.

All right.

Good evening, uh, Chairperson Middlesense and members of the community of the whole.

My name is Derek Ford.

I'm here to advocate for the continued and robust funding of the full service community school initiative under the Office of the State Superintendent of Education.

I currently serve as a community school coordinator at Minor Elementary School through Edgewood Brooklyn Family Support Collaborative, an organization that has effectively managed RC community school grants since 2014.

An organization that believes in my presence here today to share the direct tangible impact this funding has on our students and their families.

The community school coordinator is a vital feature of minor at operating the full integration of the faculty member while maintaining the objective clarity of an external partner.

This present on campus every day allows the coordinator to bridge the gap between school and home, building a city net of support that ensures no students' needs go unnoticed or unmet.

For the school year 2025-26, the coordinated efforts has been focused on removing the non-academic barriers that often hinder academic success in ensuring long-term institutional stability.

The key strategic initiatives for the school year of 2025-26 is the enrollment stabilization, a primary focus that this year has been monitoring of enrollment retention rates.

The community school coordinator, in close collaboration with minor elementary school leadership team, has successfully leveraged strategic partnerships and provided direct resources to families, which encouraged and facilitated the reenrollment of students, ensuring that our school community remains consistent and strong.

Active social learning, the coordinated funded and lunch bunch initiative with the select students.

This program moves beyond traditional supervision.

It provides students with a structured environment to practice conflict resolution and interpersonal skills, which directly results in fewer behavior disruption during instructional time.

Targeted attendance outreach working in lockstep with the wellness team.

The coordinator has been informational instrumental in tackling uh tackling chronic ascetism rather than taking on primary primary approach.

The coordinator reaches out to families to conduct needs assessments by identify the root cause of asceteism and also to the basic needs.

The coordinator has established a uniform bank and organized a school laundry room for family use by monitoring student needs and making discrete connections with parents.

The coordinator ensures that every child has access to clean uniforms.

And lastly, the food security.

In closing, I emphasize that these achievements ranging from student stabilization to successful management of the laundry room and food pantry are not accidental, they are direct result of having directed having dedicated staff members with necessary time and resources to execute this work.

Also, community school coordinator service the school's central hub for resource.

So I ask that in this year, going moving forward that Aussie restore the comparative grant from 200.4 million dollars in restore the DCPS central funding for connected schools.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Ford.

Uh Dr.

Antoinette C.

Grace Burger.

Good afternoon, Chairperson Mendelssohn and fellow council members.

My name is Dr.

Antoinette Umbarga, and I serve as a community school coordinator with Edgewood Brooklyn Farmers Support Collaborative at NOIS Educational Campus.

Every day I witness the transformative power of community-driven education.

Our schools are not just places of learning, they are herbs of hope, stability, and opportunities for children and families.

At noise, we support the child by supporting the whole family.

We provide case management, connect families through medical and dental care, coordinate weekly food distributions, and I serve as the primary point of contact for our Spanish-speaking families.

We operate a baby supplies pantry, led family engagement workshops and maintain in-school laundry units so students can come to school clean, confident, and ready to learn.

One of the services that we also offer is a safe sleep program.

This program equips families with the knowledge to keep their babies safe during their most vulnerable moments at the conclusion of the workshop.

Families leave with a crevet and essential big supplies.

Community school funding also makes joyful enrichment learning possible.

Our funds sponsor off-site treats that build confidence, curiosity, and a sense of belonging.

We fund, for example, the student of the month program and PBIS incentives, which rewards positive behavior, strong attendance, and academic achievement.

Initiatives that will not exist without community school support.

TBIS serves all students in grade K-5.

And we were successful with supplying brand new Charity uniforms, ensuring that every student felt proud, included as member of the CHIR team.

These supports are not extras, they are essentials, and the data approves it.

A noise or in-seek attendance is now 89.59%, an improvement of 1.88% from last year.

Chronic absenteeism has dropped to 39.94%, a decrease of 8.20% points, surpassing our six-point reduction goal.

Moreover, our tree on C has fallen to 29.41%, an extraordinary improvement of 19.47 percentage points.

So noise, we are also consistently needing DCPS enrollment benchmarks.

These gains are related to our community school funding when families have access to food, health care, transportation, baby supplies, legal support, and trusted relationships.

Students show up, they learn, they thrive.

Today I respectfully urge to restore the 4 million in funding for community schools, including OC community schools grants and DCPS Connected School Central Funding.

This investment is not just in programs, it is for children, their families, and the future of our city.

Thank you very much.

Hi, Chairman Mendelson.

Good afternoon.

Hello, members of the committee, and thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

My name is Jody Affa, founder and executive director of Access Youth.

As you now know, in the 2024-25 school year, 39.5% of DC public school students were actually absent, with rates reaching as high as 80% in the highest need schools.

For more than 17 years, Access Youth has worked inside DC public schools, serving more than 800 students annually and over 10,000 students to date.

Students at the highest risk of school disengagement.

Access Youth Embeds full-time on-site staff in DC public schools working one-on-one with students most at risk of chronic absenteeism, removing barriers, building relationships, and keeping them engaged and on track to graduate.

And it works.

Students in our program have 20% fewer unexcused absences, 10% higher in seat attendance, and more than 90% are promoted or graduate each year.

Chairman, we appreciate your leadership on this issue.

It's not a problem of effort, it's a problem of alignment.

Programs are operating at different points in the system, funded differently and measured differently without a shared strategy tying them together.

Current attendance work spans multiple agencies of Aussie, DCPS, Department of Human Services, OAG, CFSA, and again, we still have no coordinated framework.

As a result, the district is investing across programs and not aligning those investments to scale what works.

ASI has taken an important step with the launch of the partnerships for school attendance for the PSA initiative through a recent RFP.

The PSA reflects what we know works, full-time on site staff engaging students early and consistently.

As PSA is implemented, it will be critical to ensure it builds on existing school-based partnerships and does not disrupt experienced providers.

Attendance work is relationship-based.

When continuity is disrupted, students lose support.

School-based programs funded through ASI serve more students earlier and more consistently.

This year, Access Youth 6 Aussie funded sites alone served approximately 360 students through ongoing in school support.

By contrast, the DHS Pass Truency Reduction Pilot has delivered sustained services to only 161 students with uneven outcomes at a cost of approximately 300 million dollars last year.

The district is investing more to serve fewer students later and less to serve more students earlier.

Instead, we need increased and sustained funding for early school-based intervention.

Intensive case management should support, not replace these efforts.

This is ultimately a question of scale.

At the current level, we are not reaching enough students to move the needle on a crisis affecting nearly 40% of DCPS students.

Current Aussie PSA funding, approximately $2 million, supports just seven to 10 schools.

By comparison, the district is investing approximately $6.9 million in FY27 to DHS to serve a similar number of schools at roughly $200,000 per school under the PSA model, reaching even 40 schools who require $8 million, making a moderate $4 million investment.

Serving a few thousand students across disconnected programs is not enough.

We must have a district wide analysis of programs and funding, shared metrics and data across agencies, and a unified district-wide Aussie-led strategy.

We don't need to start from scratch.

We need to align strategy, funding, and implementation to scale.

Aussie is uniquely positioned to lead this work and must be resourced to do so.

The decisions made in this budget will determine whether we continue to operate a set of programs or build a coordinated system that reaches students at scale.

Thank you and sorry for being over time.

Yes, I did let you go over, and I don't have a copy of your statement, and you had a lot of that in there.

You expect me to remember all that?

Of course you can, but I'll send it.

So you'll send it shortly.

Yeah, I'll send it to Bijan right now.

Great.

Thank you.

Got it.

Don Gatewood.

Greetings, Chairman Mendelson and members of the committee.

My name is Don Gateworth, and I am the Chief Workforce Development Officer at SUM, so others might eat Center for Employment and Training Program.

And we are very proud provider of a free life quality adult education and workforce training program serving DC residents.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

Some is both an Aussie grantee and a SNAP employment and training provider.

We also provide with DC's American Job Center to deliver adult education, workforce training, and supportive services that help residents move into stable living wage careers.

Today we urge the committee to restore and fund adult education at the FY26 level.

This investment is especially critical right now as federal work requirements expand for programs like SNAP and Medicaid.

And as the broader safety net continues to shrink, more residents will be required to work, but without the tools, training, or support to access jobs that pay enough to live on.

Programs like ours are how we close the gap.

As expectations increase, access to opportunity must increase alongside them.

For more than 50 years, some has worked to break cycles of poverty and homelessness in the district.

Our Center for Employment Training, located in Ward 7, provides free hands-on training in healthcare and boarding trades along with adult education and career readiness.

During program year 2024 through 2025, 95 trainees earned 205 industry recognized certifications.

56 trainees graduated and 38 were employed in their target industries six months after exit because of our integrated education and training approach, allowing students to build academic skills while learning a trade.

These outcomes reflect a model that's working.

We also provide wraparound supports like case management and job placement assistance because we know that training alone is not enough.

We also serve residents who are often left out of other workforce systems, individuals with lower assessment scores, unstable housing, and other barriers to employment.

Without programs like some CET, many of these residents would not have the access to workforce pathways at all.

The district has made meaningful progress in workforce development and partnerships like ours with Aussie and DHS are key part of that success.

At a time when more residents are expected to participate in workforce, sustained investment in adult education will allow us and other providers to continue serving residents, expand opportunity, and meet the moment we are in.

Thank you for your continued partnership and for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you, Mr.

Gaywood.

And that's correct.

Please.

Greetings, Chairman Mendelssohn and members of the committee of the whole.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify regarding the FY2027 2027 budget for Aussie.

My name is Anita Guza.

I'm an immigrant to this country.

My family and I are originally from Monrovia, Liberia in West Africa.

I've lived in Ward 1 for over 30 years.

So I guess it's safe to say I consider myself a Washingtonian.

I currently attend some Center for Employment Training and expect to graduate in October 2026 with my certified medical administrative assistant certification.

My time at CET has been filled with growth, maturity, and how to navigate the world around me.

I was at the point of almost giving up right before entering CET.

I was frustrated after being wrongfully terminated, and I knew I had to navigate my way back into the workforce.

CET provided those opportunities for me.

And for a lot of reasons, that's what drove me in here today.

I like most Washingtonians rely on city funded programs as a reset button to build myself back up again after a huge setback.

And resources made available to me through CT's workforce training program have allowed me to do that.

These resources included transportation assistance that helped me get to and from school every day, as well as child care subsidies that make it possible for me to even have the opportunity to attend a workforce training program or to be present here today.

There are so many other resources that the funding provides that allows us to succeed.

CT provides nutritional food for those dealing with food insufficiencies.

Professional hygiene kits are given for anyone who was in need of it, and access to professional clothing for interviews.

The resources provided by city funding might seem small to some, but it makes a huge difference between stagnant with no opportunity or being supported and set up for economic stability for people like me and my daughter.

CT not only provides tangible resources, but its staff helps create a positive environment for anyone looking to change their lives for the better, regardless of age.

The guidance from staff on workplace behavior, confidence building in real life lessons is something that I'll hold with me forever.

Ms.

Amora, my goal um setting instructor likes to say only the living can do great things.

So if you have any empathy or compassion in seeing adult learners secede and make significant contributions to the district and its economy, then you will please restore the 432,000 cut to adult family education.

I'm going to cut you off.

You're half a half a minute over your time.

But I think your statement here.

Thank you for a little time.

Sure, thank you.

Um I had just a couple of questions.

Um Mr.

Sharif, are you still here?

Zane Sharif.

Sorry, yes, sir.

Uh so we got testimony at the last hearing, uh, I think it was the oversight hearing about DCI.

And I brought it up with the public charter school board.

Uh-huh.

I don't think there's much that the committee can do.

Uh that would involve us getting into the internal dynamics of an individual school.

And I pressed the public charter school board or the executive director that I think when we hear complaints of the magnitude that we heard that the uh public charter school board has a duty to um look into it.

So I don't know that you've reached out to them, but I would encourage that, and then the issue for us would be if the public charter school board is not responsive.

Uh we have reached out to the public charter school board.

Um, to my knowledge, we have not heard anything back yet, uh, but we are continuing to press that body as well as our board of trustees as well.

Okay, um, and then um, so that was the only thing I wanted to bring up with you.

Sure.

Um, and then I wanted to um, Mr.

Umman.

In your testimony, you urged that we added we provide adequate resources for ASE and DCPS to comply with the injunction.

I don't know what that means.

Well, that that's a good question.

I don't know what that means precisely either, because I don't uh see the details of their um of of where all the different money goes in one way or another, but I guess we just would want assurances from Aussie and DCPS that they have adequate funds in order to comply promptly with the injunction and actually get them to get this thing resolved.

So I can tell you how this goes.

If I asked the superintendent, do you have adequate funds to comply with the injunction?

The answer will probably be yes.

And next year you'll be testifying that they're still not in compliance.

Um, I'm kind of thinking we usually do a hearing in the fall on special education.

Uh, this year the fall will be very crowded because it's the end of the council period.

Uh, but uh I would suggest that um maybe when we have our next hearing scheduled that you reach out to us or yeah, reach out to us so that somehow we get more of a focus at the hearing on how they're gonna comply with the injunction and what it requires in terms of resources.

So I mean, I'm I certainly am interested in compliance.

The um, but there's a cost for that, and I feel like we're too far into the budget process for us to be able to figure that out and make sure that it's funded.

That's a little bit unfortunate.

But um, you know, um, how do I want to put this?

Um, if we can't get it done today, that doesn't mean we can't try to get it done tomorrow.

So I'm thinking that um the next hearing might be where we get more focused on what the resources are.

Um, have you worked with my staff at all?

Yeah, I've been in touch with your staff, and I can be in touch with them either now or as we get closer to the fall, whatever you whatever would be most efficient for you.

I would say maybe both.

We're pretty preoccupied with budget, but uh that doesn't mean um don't reach out and have some conversation about when the next step would be.

Okay, I will do that.

Thank you for your attention.

Thank you.

Uh, I have no other questions for y'all.

Three of you, thank you for being here in person.

And I'm gonna move to the next uh group.

Kamani Quander Robert Allen Shantel Thompson Tanisha Holder, who's in power ed.

Are you Chantel?

That's okay.

Um Tanisha Holders Online, Ava Millstone.

Let me I'm gonna keep calling until I get another live person and then I'll stop, right?

Richard Mira, Maria, M-A-R-E-A.

I have four people there.

You are um Kelly Custer, Justin Palmer.

Oh, I saw him walk.

Oh, there you are.

Okay, so I uh gonna stop.

He'll be the next panel.

Uh Mr.

Quander.

So I'm gonna cut this short for the sake of the uh three-minute time limit, but I am aware that you have my uh testimony.

Uh greetings, Chairman Mendoza and member of the committee of the whole.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify regarding the FY27 budget for the Aussie.

My name is Kamani Quander.

I'm a resident of Washington, DC, and I live in Wool 7.

I currently attend some center for employment training and role in the building maintenance service tech program.

I first want to begin by saying that life is all about options.

Sometimes too many options, sometimes not enough.

CET's workforce training programs gives opportunities to people who may have not known about the options and opportunities out there for them.

For example, when people have children like myself, we tend to go into the survival mode and pick the first option we see because of the lack of helpful resources and knowledge about certain programs, and not all options are the best options.

Since coming to CAT's program, I've been exposed to several options and opportunities that would make me bet make me a better person.

I've had many options.

For example, I had the opportunity to join the inside wireman apprenticeship to further my career in the electrical field.

But at time went on over a couple weeks of me finding myself and what I really like to want to do in life.

I found an interest in welding, and I'm now looking more into that.

I wouldn't have known about the welding field and all the job opportunities that come with it if I had not been introduced to it while attending my classes at CET.

The options are sometimes limited depending on your environment.

Fortunately for me, I had the opportunity to pick the option CET workforce program, which is the right one for me, where they have many resources.

They all work in your favor and help you succeed in life and your career.

I've learned that sometimes you just need to be in the right environment to pick the right option for you.

And CET is a perfect example of that.

CET has this days where people come from construction, HVAC, and other trades, come into the school and share their experience in the workplace and give students a better understanding of the work field and what they expect.

They also say the things that they've been through, and the second chance they had.

Some of the people who even speak are even graduates from the CET program, which gives us extra motivation as we get to see first handed how beneficial training programs are.

Here at CET, I learned a lot.

I chose to join the CET program because I've been working with Trees since 2020 when I graduated high school.

CET has helped me be willing to learn everything I can, arriving on time and being the best I could be.

And because of that, I had my OSHA 30, my EPO 608 Universal, and CPR certifications.

These are all things that no one could take from me.

They will also help me as I enter the workforce.

I no longer have to deal with not being hired because I don't have the right credentials, no matter how much knowledge and experience I have.

CET has supported me in this position so that I can now support myself and my son.

CET as a family, admins care about their students, are willing to go the extra mile for students who are dedicated and determined to start their career.

Everyone needs help in some type of way or form and with programs like CET and their willingness to help and go above and beyond for those people they see that want to better themselves and sacrifice and put the effort in.

That's why continue funding is important.

I'm asking that you restore the funding to adult family and education so that everyone in DC who wants to better themselves and it's more people than you think can have access to work for programs.

Remember, a city's future is shaped by what it chooses to invest in.

By investing in students like me, you are not only supporting the education, but strengthening the future of the community itself.

Thank you, Mr.

Carnegie.

Um Robert Allen.

Greetings, Chairman Mendelssohn and members of the committee of the whole.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify regarding the FY27 budget for Aussie.

My name is Robert Allen.

I'm an HVAC trainee at SUM Center for Employment Training.

I'm a native Washingtonian and a resident of Ward 1.

I'm here to share with you a continued funding for workforce development programs in the district is essential.

I want to begin by saying that not everyone can or should follow a traditional four-year college path.

That said, workforce development programs like some CET offer a more direct, affordable route into careers, equipping people with real in-demand skills in fields like construction, health care, and technology.

What I've personally found is that learning doesn't stop after high school, especially for my generation Gen Z.

We need access to structure, high quality education as young adults, and workforce development programs provide that opportunity, helping us obtain skills, gain a sense of direction, and commonly move forward into adulthood.

My path has led me to some CET where I'm currently involved in the HVAC program.

I chose this career path because of my interest in thermodynamics and physics behind the trade, along with the generous pay I'll be receiving once I'm fully certified.

I'm well on my way.

So far, I've obtained my OSHA 30, EPA 608, CPR certifications, and soon I'll take my preventative maintenance certification.

All of this was made possible by the support I received from some CET.

There are so many opportunities and resources that I learned about and been connected to that I would not have been able to access without some CET, such as the Free Drivers' Air Program, which is which helps me obtain my driver's license, which is a key requirement for HVAC and building trades positions.

CET has opened doors to direct communications to apprenticeships in HVAC that I would have never otherwise known.

Also, CET helps with securing exertionship assignments so that we can gain additional real life experience in our trade of choice, as well as full support to assist with permanent job placement.

Lastly, CET has professional development Wednesdays where I learned what was never taught in any school, and that was how to grow and use soft skills in a professional environment, all taught by CET staff and expert volunteers from various different industries.

After COVID, a lot of our dreams died.

And my generation had to figure it out.

And not all of us receive the assistance and support we so desperately needed.

Workforce development programs allow us to get back on track and become contributing members to our community as a whole.

I know it has for me.

I couldn't have done it without general support of workforce training programs like CET.

With that being said, I ask that you please restore any cuts and continue funding to adult education so that not just my generation of young adults, but everyone can access the benefit from adult education and workforce programs.

Chairman, members of the committee, I will leave you with this.

Workforce development programs are an expense that should not be easily written off.

They are an investment in the people of this district and businesses and in our future.

So I respectfully urge you to continue supporting and funding these programs.

Thank you for your time speaking with you.

Thank you, Mr.

Allen.

You are because you're not Sean Tell Thompson.

Sir, I'm uh Chairman, I'm Ronald Williams.

I am uh Sean Taylor Thompson's uh instructor at some Center for Employment Training.

Uh please proceed.

Greetings, Chairman Middlesense and members of the committee of the whole.

My name is Chantel Thompson, and I am a resident of Ward 7.

I spoke before you in November 2025, and I'm back before you today to share with you why workforce training and career pathways programs are important to the district, how it has transformed my life and by restoring funding cuts of over 432,000 is necessary.

I came to workforce training as some Center for Employment Training because they offer training in a high demand career field that I'm interested in.

I chose to attend CET's workforce training program to become a certified medical assistant.

The education and hands-on training that's offered and being able to have an externship and receive job placement are a few of the reasons I knew this was the right program for me, and also because it's free.

Workforce programs like CET provide additional support for people with other barriers, such as transportation and child care.

This type of support is a huge factor in having more trainees successfully complete the training, especially child care.

And by ensuring the budget fully supports all families currently enrolled in the child care subsidy program, makes it possible for them to finish their program.

Programs like CET should should be expanded andor replicated because of the opportunities, assistance, resources, and networking you can receive, all of which helps create a strong workforce.

CET is a way to help me, CET is a way to help more people gain employment and work towards financial stability.

Also, many people in DC rely on programs like CET because of the financial barriers to quality workforce education.

And having these types of adult education programs and continuously funding them is important and really do have impact on people's lives.

I know because it's had an impact on my life.

Many people can't afford college, and through CET, I've been placed in a position to go to college not to have and not to have to go into uh tremendous debt to do so.

I'm a couple of steps away from receiving a four scholarship to attend Trinity University here in DC for my Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

If it had not been for me attending some CET and being able to connect with people who are genuinely interested in my education and employment goals, I wouldn't be starting classes on May 26th, nor receiving a college education this fall.

All of this was made possible through CET and the immensely, and I'm immensely grateful to everyone involved.

I am proof that workforce and career pathways programs are effective.

So I ask you to restore funding to adult family and education so that everyone who wants to change their lives and their families' lives can have access to quality workforce training and adult education, like I have.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Mr.

Williams.

Tanisha Holder, who's online.

Hi, yes, I'm here.

Good afternoon, Chairperson and members of the council.

My name is Tanisha Holder, a member of Empower Ed, and I'm here today to urge the restoration and expansion of funding for community schools and Aussie competitive grants in the fiscal year 27 budget.

The proposed elimination of the $2 per student per school subsidy under the Healthy Schools Act, a total cut of 168,000 will directly undermine schools' ability to implement proven alternative breakfast models such as breakfast in the classroom and grab and go that boost attendance, behavior, and academic performance.

Schools need to leverage funding with as many flexibilities to continue serving meals that establish pathways to operative alternative breakfast models.

Defunding this critical investment moves the district in the wrong direction and risks leaving students without a pivotal start to their day.

At a time of rising inflation, growing youth mental concerns, chronic absenteeism, and shrinking federal safety net protections, this is not the time to reduce stabilizing supports for children and families.

This is the time to strengthen them.

The reduction of community schools funding during a period of inflation, youth instability, and declining federal supports raises a fundamental question about governmental responsibility.

If public institutions will not preserve access to the basic conditions necessary for educational equity, safety, and family stability, then how are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness meaningfully protected for vulnerable communities?

Community schools are not auxiliary programs.

They are critical public infrastructure that allows students to access education in a meaningful and sustainable way.

Community schools provide proactive preventative support that addresses the realities students face beyond the classroom.

They connect families to food assistance, health care, transportation support, clothing resources, laundry access, mental health services, and language access support for immigrant and Spanish speaking families.

They also directly impact educational outcomes through the provision of an actual holistic approach.

Community schools have been shown to reduce chronic absenteeism through coordinated case management and family engagement.

They improve academic outcomes for black students, English language learners, and economically disadvantaged students while creating safer and more connected school communities.

If we are serious about food safety, educational equity, and long-term economic mobility, then these supports cannot continue to be treated as optional or temporary.

The urgency becomes even clearer when we compare DC to surrounding districts.

Approximately 70% of schools in Prince George's County operate as community schools.

Baltimore has expanded the model to nearly all schools.

Cincinnati has fully integrated the model district-wide.

Meanwhile, if the proposed budget passes unchanged, Washington, D.C.

risks reducing community school access to less than 1% of schools.

That is not expansion.

That is systemic retreat.

The question before us is not whether these supports matter.

Families and educators already know they do.

The question is whether our budget will reflect will reflect these realities students are living through.

At its core, this conversation is about governmental responsibility.

In a city that speaks often about equity, safety, and opportunity, we must ask whether we are willing to preserve the conditions necessary for children and families to actually access those promises.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Excuse me.

Good afternoon, Chairman Mendelssohn and members of the committee.

My name's Ava Millstone.

I'm a Ward 6 resident and a DCPS parent with children at Amadon Bowen Elementary and Jefferson Academy Middle School, both Title I schools in Southwest DC.

Chairman Mendelssohn, at the DCPS budget hearing, you responded to my testimony by saying this budget challenge is not only about revenue.

You said it's also about agency overspending, budget gimmicks, and whether the district is pretending future years are balanced when they're not.

You named future reductions in education areas like child care subsidy and out-of-school time.

I agree, this is not about how much money we have.

It is about how honestly we budget and how effectively we spend.

And that's exactly what I'm asking council to protect and expand community schools.

Community schools are not extra programming.

They're infrastructure for making public dollars work better.

The research is clear.

Brookings describes community schools as a way to integrate rather than silo, health, mental health, expanded learning, social services, family engagement, and collaborative leadership.

Learning policy institutes review of 143 studies found that well-implemented community schools are linked to improved attendance, academic outcomes, school climate, and reduced chronic absenteeism.

So if we're worried about inefficient spending, fragmentation, and long-term structural problems, community schools should be part of the solution.

This is personal to me, as is to many here.

At Jefferson, Ms.

Fitzgerald's Connected Schools position was cut in our community for next school year.

She's not an abstract program manager.

She's connective tissue.

The person who knows families, knows partners, and helps resources actually reach students and families.

That role is exactly the kind of role the research says makes community schools work.

Someone with dedicated time to build relationships, coordinate partners, communicate across the school commun across the school community, and turn scattered resources into a coherent system.

When we cut that position, we're not saving money, we're weakening the infrastructure that helps schools use money well.

Empowered and Aussie Community School Coalition asking for four dollars in FY27 to restore Aussie community school competitive grants and DCPS central funding for connected schools managers.

We also call for policy shifts to ensure every community or connected school has a full-time coordinator, create coherence across programs, set evaluation targets, and use a transparent equity-driven process for school selection.

Aussie's role should not be limited to compliance.

ASIS should help build system coherence, shared outcomes, transparent data, cross-agency alignment, and continuous improvement.

As our state education agency, ASI must be able to report transparently on what's working across sectors.

As a parent for an educator, I also support Empower Ed's broader Aussie budget priorities, including early childhood educator pay equity, educator wellness and retention grants, experiential learning, and multilingual family support, as well as expanding Aussie's apprenticeship and teaching program.

If we want a budget that works not just on paper, but for the people who live here, this is one of the smartest investments we can make.

Thank you.

I've included an addendum and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thank you, Ms.

Millstone.

Kelly Custer, who's online.

I am a teacher at the District of Columbia International School and like many of my colleagues, Mr.

Sharif, whom you just heard for parents and students.

I am here due to the growing concerns and crisis this school continues to face.

I am here to speak more specifically about the impact of funding and decisions from executive leadership pertaining to special education.

As a school since 2023, we have seen 37 special education staff leave.

The issues are larger than compliance and directly impact the school's ability to fulfill its mission, but more solidly equip students receiving specialized supports to pursue a life of their choosing upon graduation.

Under current executive leadership, we have seen full special education teachers positions cut from the budget while the number of students receiving formalized support continues to grow.

We continue to operate without a transitions coordinator, despite the obvious need.

Special education coordinators continue to be understaffed with continual turnover even mid-year, disrupting the services our students are guaranteed and deserve.

Special education teachers who are charged with case management, in addition to co-teaching rigorous IB courses, have continually asked for more support in receiving IB specific training for the courses they teach in order to provide quality differentiated education our students deserve, and this has gone on Met.

Rather, special education teachers are spread thin due to a lack of staffing across multiple grade levels, and teachers are left unequipped to fully support the students in their care.

Give them the volume of students receiving specialized supports and the number of students requiring dedicated aids, the turnover has significant impact.

We have continually been met with non-responsiveness from PCSB, and we are trying to elevate our collective voice to receive some sort of oversight to address this issue around special education and the other glaring issues around transparency and funding at our school.

We are continually trying to find somewhere that we are heard to address these issues and will continue to ask for this committee's oversight to address these concerns.

Thank you for your time.

That's my recollection, and that um so I'm wondering whether the loss of your connected school's position at Jefferson was because Central put pressure on them, or whether it's because the school leader Jefferson chose to go elsewhere.

Um I'm finding that increasingly, which in a sense is a good thing, because it means that there's a little bit more autonomy on the part of the schools, but then that means that the schools are the ones who are responsible.

So I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing that the uh school leader may have had something to do with this decision to for Jefferson not to continue as a connected school.

And that's a that's a question that I will ask her, but this is also part of a broader budgetary issue throughout DC.

Uh well, the community schools funding in Aussie is zeroed out.

The connected schools funding in DCPS as I recall is reduced.

But my recollection was because the chancellor said there was less interest next year.

Hold on.

So at any rate, to be continued.

Uh, thank you.

Thank you all for your testimony.

I'm gonna keep moving here.

Justin Palmer, who's vice president of public policy and external affairs of the DC Hospital Association, Michelle Yan, who is Chief Strategy and Operating Officer, City Schools Collaborative, Caroline Hutchins.

Don't know what she does.

Zachary Diamond is online, is online.

Kelly Crawford, Ariel Bethun, Kayla Primus or Primus from L E Y C, Jordan Hopper from L A Y C.

Russ Williams, CEO Center City Public Charter School.

Don't see them, but I see.

Ashley Wilson.

All mine.

Ibrahim Bannister.

Uh will Berta Smith Bynum.

I don't see that.

Brooke Baker.

And Schlegel Milk or Schlegel Milch.

Elba Maria Lopez.

Michelle Harberg.

Jen Kaufman, Chair of ENC 4D.

Dario Pertusi.

Jen Mendelssohn.

No relation.

I don't see them.

Katherine Prokope, who's executive director, Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science.

Ronelle Fields.

Myisha Tolson.

Dr.

Joshua Jackson.

Jeffrey Young.

Yes.

Tears of coats.

I'm going to stop there.

I'll call the names again.

Justin Palmer.

Looks lonely there.

But you're up.

Good afternoon, Chairman Mendelssohn and members of the committee of the whole.

My name is Justin Palmer.

I'm the vice president for public policy and external affairs for the District of Columbia Hospital Association and a resident of Ward 7.

I appreciate the opportunity to present testimony at the FY27 budget hearing for the Office of the State Superintendent.

DCHA is a unifying force advancing hospitals and health systems in the District of Columbia.

We are committed to promoting policies and initiatives that strengthen our system of care, preserve access, eliminate disparities, and promote better health outcomes for patients in our community.

Our driving vision is to achieve an efficient and effective health care delivery system that supports a healthy, equitable, and vibrant community.

Today I hear today I'm here to express our support for the additional funding, additional and dedicated funding included in this budget for the advanced technical centers now in Ward 5 and Ward 8.

These centers are critical components to building the next generation of healthcare workers and cybersecurity experts.

The opportunities opened by these two facilities are immense and a great example of what can happen when federal, local, and private funds are braided to create a new delivery model.

Through the ATC, we have created a model that gives students across the district the same access to programs, equipment, and opportunities, regardless of their ward or zip code.

Moreover, the opportunities are expanding each year, especially now that healthcare providers and employers are being co-located at the ATC.

The ward 8 ATC is co-located with Women Walker Health, allowing students to have learning opportunities at their health center and Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center, which is right down the road.

In the Ward 5 ATC Children's National and MedSar Health are opening urgent and primary care facilities, providing essential learning opportunities for those students.

DCHA has been working closely with Aussie and the DME to ensure that the opportunities offered in Ward 5 and Ward 8 are in high-demand entry-level occupations that allow these students the opportunity to go directly into the workforce with recognized credentials and start their career journey.

Others choose to go directly to college and put the credits they have earned at the ATC immediately to work for them.

At the association through our 501c3, we have started the District of Columbia Health Care Employment and Opportunity Link, or DC Heel, which seeks to connect ATC and CTE graduates to one-year apprenticeships immediately after graduation.

This provides the participants with a full-time job with benefits and their first career advancement after the year apprenticeship.

Importantly, these two centers are growing in popularity with enrollment and interests going above expectations.

Thank you for allowing me to testify, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

But thank you.

Michelle Yan.

Good afternoon, Chairman Mendelssohn and members of the committee.

CSC leads efforts to expand high impact tutoring and strategic staffing models across DC schools, helping thousands of students accelerate learning and improve academic performance every year.

I'm here today to commend Aussie for its commitment to scaling and strengthening high impact tutoring in the district.

Five years ago, in the early days of the pandemic, DC and CSC originally pledged to serve 10,000 students with HET.

Now we've reached more than 36,000 students, including 10,700 students this year alone.

With Aussie's leadership and a coalition of dedicated tutoring providers, HIT is embedded in more than 100 DC public and public charter schools.

DC is a national example for high impact tutoring, and this year's proposed budget is yet another example of why, with $3 million to double down on the district's investment in HIT.

In a year of tough choices, this exemplifies DC's commitment to follow the evidence and invest in what works for students.

And as you've heard today, an overwhelming percentage of DC families, 92% in the most recent 50 CAN survey, support in favor of free tutoring.

In our own surveying of caregivers, we consistently hear about the positive impacts of tutoring on children.

One caregiver this past winter said, my daughter's confidence has grown, along with her ability to problem solve and clearly explain her problems in math.

Her phonics level has grown tremendously, and she's become more independent with a stronger willingness and excitement to learn.

And our academic results confirm what we hear from families.

Research by Empower K 12 has also shown that students who completed the recommended amount of math tutoring gained the equivalent of 59 instructional days of learning compared to their peers.

This means that at Aussie's rate of $1,000 per student for HID, which is less than one fourth of the per student at risk dollars, students receive nearly 40% more progress than expected.

At a time when our students have so much ground to recapture and resources are so scarce, investments that see a true return in academic achievement are critical.

Private tutoring is surging in wealthier communities while the gaps persist for public schools serving students furthest from opportunity.

In DC, high impact tutoring has helped close learning gaps and deliver consistent relationship-based academic support where it's needed the most.

This type of impact is systemic change, and systemic change is not easy.

It has required sustained commitment from every education leader across the district, from Aussie and DME to our DCPS and our charter leaders to council.

I urge council to continue to do its part to sustain and protect this investment.

Thank you for your dedication to DC students, and I welcome your questions.

Hello, my name is Caroline Hutchins.

I am a senior, graduating senior at DC International School, and I'm asking for assistance from the council to compel PCSB and the Board of Trustees to take these issues that are being brought up seriously.

From a student perspective, DCI has had unstable leadership ever since Mr.

Roscam has stepped into his role as executive director.

My family has been with DCI ever since its founding, with my brother graduating in 2021.

Over the past few years, the feeling of community and support that my family was drawn to when we chose DCI has been diminishing.

Teachers are leaving mid-year, leaving us with substitutes who don't know the material.

Middle level leaders are not supported enough to do the amount of work and organization they are expected to do.

As a part of the IB Middle Years program, 10th graders are expected to complete a personal project.

At the beginning of the year, I was never put into the instructional personal project class, was overlooked, never given proper instruction, and had to complete this year-long project in under two weeks all by myself.

I am an honorable student.

I'm a National Honor Society member and board member.

I've been accepted into universities like NYU, Syracuse, and Oberlin with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of scholarship.

I've received perfect scores on regional standardized testing such as CAPE and STIMP.

All of these are successes that Mr.

Roscam likes to brag about and take credit for.

They are not his successes.

All of my accomplishments have been made possible by my teachers, such as Mr.

Custer, Mr.

Sharif, and Mr.

Diamond at DCI throughout my seven years here.

Students are worried about the stability and turnover of our teachers, as that directly impacts our education.

Students need stability and consistency throughout high school to prepare us for rigorous college courses, and that is not assured by the current turnover that ROSCAM's administration induces.

My classmates and I were frustrated and asked for a meeting with our administration.

We were looked down upon when we expressed our opinions, being told that we care too much, are too positional, and are making a lot of assumptions.

When we are told that we don't know what we're talking about, and yet they will not tell us what they base their decisions on, or why they make the choices that they make.

When our demands were ignored, we decided to hold a walkout with almost the entirety of the high school, 800 students participating.

We were ignored once again.

The lack of transparency and ignoring the importance of student input and advocacy goes against the values that DCI was founded on.

I'm worried for my teachers.

I fear that they aren't getting the compensation that they deserve.

They aren't getting the support that they deserve.

Mr.

Roscam has taken the community that amplifies the voices of those that it serves and has used it to his own benefit.

Thank you for your time, and I'm open to any questions.

Zachary Diamond.

Yes, good afternoon.

Thank you, Chairman Mendelson.

My name is Zach Diamond.

I've been a music and Spanish and media production teacher at DCI for 10 years, five of which I had the privilege to teach Caroline and her brother.

Clearly, DCI is experiencing a leadership crisis in which our executive director, Mike Roskam, is refusing to acknowledge the harm that his leadership has wrought on our community.

The crisis is succinctly summed up in our recent 94% vote of no confidence in Mr.

Roskam.

Of 232 non-supervisory staff, 80% participated in an anonymous vote to either remove or keep him, with only 11 voting to keep him.

For years, Mr.

Roscam has solicited feedback and proclaimed a posture of openness to dialogue, yet in not one instance has a new policy reflected adequate consideration of that feedback.

Rather, Mr.

Roskam and his senior leadership team have opted to run the school by top-down directives that elie to the substance of our feedback and in many cases directly oppose the demands of the staff.

This was on display on March 19th at a meeting of the Board of Trustees, wherein dozens of staff and families pleaded with the board to address the situation and presented the vote of no confidence during public comment.

Despite the outcry, the president of the board, Alexandra Pardo, attempted to forcibly close public comment.

Not a single word was uttered in acknowledgement of the concerns raised.

No questions were asked by the board.

So staff, students, and families are here testifying because we have exhausted all other avenues, including PCSB.

I'd like to talk about the implementation of our IB program, which is one of the defining features of DCI enshrined in our charter.

Our students' IB experience is guided by our three IB coordinators, who are middle managers who work closely with students and staff.

But this year, our MYP coordinator resigned in February under an excessive workload, and our DP coordinator who raised concerns about that workload was informed that his contract would not be renewed next year.

Despite multiple IB guides recommending a team of teacher coordinators for a variety of program components, DCI leadership is remarkably reluctant to hire or appoint teacher leaders that would allow the IB coordinators to delegate any of their important work.

The DP coordinators non-renewal is particularly appalling, given the propensity of SLT to herald our IB program, using data that specifically highlight the strength and quality of his work, to say nothing of the fact that his contributions and value to the community led students to develop a petition to retain him that gardened over 850 signatures.

Letting him go is yet another instance of leadership denying the value of input from staff, students, and families, and instead making decisions for the school from the top down.

Given that our pleas seem to be floating off into a void, we're asking this body to exercise oversight over the operations of one of the largest schools in the city.

The staff at DCI are united and firm in our conviction that we need a new executive director who is willing to work with all stakeholders and implement policies in partnership with them rather than from the top down, and who won't treat widespread dissent as a minor annoyance to brush aside.

Like my colleagues, Mr.

Sharif and Mr.

Custer, I reiterate that our community will continue to reach out for support so that together we can return DCI to its proper status as a beacon of rigorous and accessible IV education in DC.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

Thank you, Mr.

Diamond.

Ashley Wilson.

Hello, sorry.

Please proceed.

Um good evening.

My name is Ashley Wilson, and I am an academic specialist at DC Prep's Edgewood Middle Campus, located in Ward 5.

Um, I am, I have been a part of the community for 14 years, and thank you for the opportunity to testify this evening.

I'm grateful to return next year with the same special education leaders at my campus for the third year in a row at EMC strong leader in teacher retention shows through our academic and social emotional data points.

As a SPED leader team, myself alongside our behavior specialist, licensed clinician, and special education coordinator support our teachers and dedicated aides to make EMC the best learning environment for students with learning differences.

On a recent staff survey, EMC grew 17 percentage points on the question.

I am proud of the impact that DC Prep is making in the community.

We also saw gains in student responses about feeling safe and encouraged at schools.

EMC has reduced chronic absenteeism the most across our network from 43% to 24% across the school year.

Of the 20 schools making the greatest reduction in chronic absenteeism last year, 19 were public charter schools.

Charter schools are committed partners on all of it, but every item carries real implementation costs, and those costs fall disproportionately on schools already operating with less.

When funding runs short, schools are faced to choose between impactful implementation of new initiatives to and to keep the lights on.

The result is checkbox compliance instead of real improvement in student outcomes that Aussie is trying to drive.

I asked the council to reject the mayor's budget proposals that would direct $2,000 less per student to charter schools and restore the structural integrity of the UPSF so that it equitably funds all public school students, including DC preppies like mine.

Thank you for your time.

Ibrahim Bannister.

It doesn't say you're muted, but we can't hear you.

What you may have to do is log off and log back on.

And if you do that right away, we'll let you back in.

Uh Elba Maria Lopez.

Hello.

Thank you.

Good morning, good afternoon, and thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

My name is Elva Lopez, and I'm the director of a child development center in Washington, DC.

I am here today because our early childhood education workforce is in crisis and without long-term commitment for a pay equity fund.

We will continue losing educators' classrooms and the entire center across the city.

The pay equity fund showed us that was what was possible when early childhood educators were treated like professionals instead of plunder valued workers.

At our center, we achieved an 88% staff retention rate because educators finally had wages that allowed them to survive in one of the most expensive cities in the country.

Children have stability.

Families had consistency.

Teachers finally had hope.

One of our teachers, Ms.

Carlise Coleman, was able to secure stable housing for herself and able to purchase reliable transportation to get the Metro, allowing her to consistently arrive for it despite the many transportation disruptions and care.

But today that progress is slowly slipping away.

Our educators have not received meaningful increases since 2023.

Instead, they continue receiving notices of reduced wages and uncertainty about what happens next year.

Imagine asking highly educated professionals to continue investing in this field while not knowing if they will be able to pay rent next year.

And educators are responding by leaving.

We already lost talented educators like Ashley and Rika.

Professionals with higher education credentials who love this field but could no longer afford to stay in it.

They left for careers outside of education because passion alone does not pay bills.

We also have educators questioning whether continuing their education is even worth it anymore.

Why would someone take on student loans that for bachelor's or master's degree in early child education if there is no guarantee of livable wage or long-term stability?

And now I find myself in the same uncertainty as a parent who with a center closing, and I am currently searching for care for my own one-year-old song and preparing to transition him into what I hope will continue to be quality care.

Yet many of the educators caring for children across the city continue facing pay cuts and uncertainty themselves.

As both the director and as a mother, it is heartbreaking to know that people we trust in with our youngest children are still struggling to survive financially.

This uncertainty is not only impacting individual educators, it's impacting entire programs.

Multiple cities across DC, including my own are closing due to financial instability, workforce shortages, and uncertainty surrounding these funds.

Providers cannot sustain sustainably operate programs without when staffing costs fluctuate year after year without stability or long-term commitment.

When center close, families lose child care, parents lose the stability to work.

Children lose trusted educators during the most critical years of development, and our city loses experienced professionals we will never receive back.

The pay equity fund is because I'm gonna have to cut you off.

You're a little bit over.

Thank you for your time.

I do have your statements.

Um Catherine Prokope.

Catherine Procope.

Um let's go back to Mr.

Bannister and then we'll do uh Ms.

Cope.

All right, hold on.

Mr.

Bannister, let's see if we can hear you.

No.

I don't know what to suggest.

Um logged off, you came back on.

You're not muted.

But I can't hear you.

We do have your written statement.

So sorry about that.

Um Catherine Prokope.

Yes, sir.

Good evening.

And I said I'm Catherine Prokop.

I'm the executive director of the Howard University Middle School of Math and Science, located in Ward 1, and I'm also a proud board six resident.

I'm here to just one thank Aussie for its partnership and to be direct about what is at risk in this particular budget.

Under Dr.

Mitchell's leadership, ASI invested in high impact tutoring, and that investment has transformed learning at our school.

Our tutors are Howard University undergrad and graduate students who sit with our kids at least three times a week and refuse to let them fall behind.

Research says hit tutoring delivers an equivalent of 59 extra days of math instruction, and RNWA map and DC Kate results confirm it.

Steady, measurable growth for the students who need it the most.

And those relationships are real, that growth is real, and that funding must continue.

ASI is asking every school, every school in the city to implement DC Cape, invest in structured literacy, strengthened math instruction, and meet new graduation requirements that we're committed partners on all of it.

But this mayor's budget would send charter schools approximately $2,000 less per student, which is money that our school just does not have.

When funding runs short, you don't get real implementation.

You get checkbox compliance, the appearance of improvement without the substance.

And that is not what Aussia is working to achieve, and it's not what our students deserve.

Charter schools have delivered results with less.

Of the 20, for example, of the 20 DC schools with the greatest reduction in chronic absenteeism last year, 19 were public charter schools.

When DC Kate results come before this council, will you acknowledge the schools operating on $2,000 less per student cannot reasonably be expected to produce identical outcomes?

You cannot demand equity and accountability without delivering equity and resources.

Reject the mayor's proposed budget disparity and restore structural equity in the UPSFF.

So all DC public school students are funded equitably.

And please protect high impact tutoring and Aussie's other program investments.

Charter schools need sufficient per-pupil funding to implement these initiatives with real fidelity, not just on paper.

Our students are DC public school students too, and they deserve the same resources as every other child in the city.

Thank you.

And I am more than available to answer any questions you have.

Thank you very much.

Jeffrey Young.

You just muted yourself.

About that.

Good evening.

Good evening, Mr.

Chairman and members of the committee.

My name, as you know, is Jeffrey Young Senior, and I'm a native Washingtonian and an elementary assistant at Lee Montessori Public Charter School in Ward 5.

I've been working with children of all ages for almost 40 years, and for the last four years, I've been a proud member of the Lee community.

Prior to joining the staff at Lee, I worked as a non-public school special education at a non-public special education day school that serves children from ages five to 21.

And I want to thank you for this opportunity to speak with you.

I'd like to advocate today for the continuation of Aussie's efforts to support social emotional learning, SEL, programming for our students.

At Lee, we exist to create a more just, liberated world, and SCL instruction is woven into the fabric of how we work to accomplish those goals.

Equity, bravery, grace, joy, and growth.

Those are the cornerstone ideals we strive to impart to our students.

And it's with the help of our students, and it is to help our students grow academically, emotionally, hopefully establishing habits that will lead to their long-term well-being.

With that in mind, I'd like to share just one example of how our students practice these tenants in their daily activities at least.

I work in an up in elementary school classroom, and as such, I'm tasked with monitoring the kids' activities during their recess time.

Recently, we were having some issues with fair play and safe conduct during some of their games.

In an effort to rectify the situation and to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone, we brought the kids together.

Excuse me, I'm turning my page.

We brought the kids together and tasked them with developing a set of rules that would govern how they would participate in what they were actually doing with soccer matches and how we would resolve disputes peacefully and equitably.

With our sixth graders taking the lead, the kids met on a couple of occasions and agreed on a list of six rules that would govern how they played.

It was gratifying to see them working together to address everyone's concerns and agree on a set of rules.

And since adopting those rules, we've had no major incidents during the daily matches and any disagreements have been settled peacefully and in keeping with the rules.

This is just one example of the daily application of the tenets of SEL that help us maintain a welcoming and nurturing learning environment.

I think I speak for all of my colleagues when I say that we are very proud of what we do at Lee using SEL framework, but it's hard to keep it up when we receive $2,000 less per student than our colleagues in the DC public school system.

As someone who has experienced different schools, I've noticed a marked difference in the commitment to creating an environment built upon the core tenants of SEL and as opposed to one where SEL is just lesson presented on a periodic basis.

This matters because our students uh feel comfortable in their school environment, and the opportunity for positive learning outcomes is greatly increased.

I see my time is about up.

So I want to thank you for this opportunity, and you can read the rest of my statement a little later.

Yes, which I have in my left hand.

Thank you, Mr.

Young.

Thank you.

Tercer Coates.

Good afternoon, good evening, Chairman Mendelssohn and members of the committee of the whole.

My name is Tirsa Coates, and I serve as the Chief External Affairs Officer at DC Prep.

I'm also a former DC Prep parent.

I became an adoptive parent to two children from DC's foster care system, and DC Prep gave them exactly what they needed a strong education, wraparound supports, a community that held them to high standards for the kind of citizens they would become.

That experience is why I care so deeply about what is happening now.

The investments made in my children's education truly changed the trajectory of their lives.

Nearly half of DC's public school students attend charter schools, and they deserve the same level of investment that my own children received.

I want to start by acknowledging that ASI under Dr.

Mitchell's leadership has made lots of things possible for our students.

DC Prep has been a proud partner in high impact tutoring, and we have seen its impact firsthand on our students and in our classrooms.

The HIT grant it funds our junior teacher program.

So that's where early career educators are bringing intentional, high leverage instructional practices directly to students.

And that includes building conceptual understanding, using repetition to reinforce learning, incorporating read alouds and encouraging informed estimation.

At Benning Elementary Campus, investments like these are showing up in our data.

Students made phenomenal growth in DC K ELA scores, and that earned Benning Elementary Campus this distinction of being the only school in Ward 7 to win the Empower K 12 Bowl Performance School Award this year.

That does not happen without intentional investment and strong partnership.

ASI, as many of my colleagues have stated here, has set some very um ambitious goals, and DC Prep is committed to partner and executing it.

But when charter schools receive approximately $2,000 less per student than their DCPS peers, schools are forced to make really tough choices and compromises.

We can't ask charter schools to be full partners in ASI's agenda when we fund them as second-tier schools.

It's not equitable, it's not fair to our students.

Short-changing charter school students directly diminishes what ASI is working so hard to drive in terms of outcomes.

You reject the mayor's budget proposals that will redirect $2,000 less for student to charter schools.

I ask that we restore the structural integrity of UPSFF so it funds all public school students equitably, and I hope that we'll protect the investments that ASI has made in high impact tutoring, which is working so well.

Thank you very much for your time and for your commitment to DC's students.

So I just kind of want to go.

I appreciate the testimony.

I'm looking at Caroline Hutchins, your testimony, but let me ask Mr.

Diamond.

So my understanding from your testimony and other testimony that I've heard today and a couple weeks ago, there's been excessive turnover by faculty the last several years at DCI.

That's um I heard today that a large number of special education um faculty, whether that's AIDS or teachers, that there's been turnover there.

A 94% vote of no confidence on the part of the staff.

Uh yeah, so I can tell you the numbers of 232 eligible staff members to be able to vote.

175 voted to remove Mr.

Roskam, and 11 voted to keep him.

Okay, and then I think I heard you say, but maybe um Ms.

Hutchins can confirm this that a large number of students participated in some sort of protest, a petition or something.

Yes, we had over 800 students sign a petition to bring back our uh diploma program coordinator, Mr.

Miller, and then we had most of high school, so almost 800 students participate in a walkout protest against the decisions that the administration has made.

You said walked out, over 800 walked out.

And then there was a board meeting recently.

That's right.

It took, I don't remember, but it was five to ten minutes of very intense public outcry before the president of the board allowed an additional ten minutes of public uh comment.

Um, but basically cut the public comment short.

Yeah, and there's videos of this.

You can see how she, despite people, you know, raising their voices and being quite heated.

She says this this meeting will proceed to the whatever the next section of the meeting was.

Like she very forcibly tried to shut it down and move the meeting along from public comment.

It was very disheartening.

Well, I after the last uh hearing we had, which I think was performance oversight where this came up.

I asked the uh, or maybe it was the budget meeting a couple weeks, a week ago with um the public charter school board.

I asked it to Dr.

Walker Davis, look into this.

Um there's a lot of autonomy with charter schools at the same time when there's this level of I'll characterize it as turmoil.

Um I have not seen this since Eagle Academy closed, and that was a very different type of turmoil.

Um it's very concerning, and I think that the public charter school board or the executive director or the staff should be looking into this to um assess what's going on and to try to get some stability to the school.

Would it be unfair for me to characterize it as a degree of instability right now?

Not at all unfair, I think that's absolutely accurate.

All right, I'll leave it there.

Thank you for your testimony.

Um given what I'm hearing, maybe it's a little harder for you, Mr.

Diamond, as a member of the faculty to be speaking out.

I don't think it's so easy to fire a student, but hopefully you're okay.

Um, I'm who's graduating.

Um, thank I want to thank all the rest of the witnesses as well.

I'm gonna move on.

Um, so you all are excused.

Atreyu or atrayu Lee, Elizabeth Antunez, Jordan Doherty, Sharice Seaver, Brand Brandon White, Chief Executive with Spark the Journey, Molly McShere, Becky Coombe, Tiffany Brown, Monique Riley, Lori Butler, Angela Das.

Oh, um, I said Angela Des, right?

Nicole Summers, Kayuna Ballantine, Laura Taylor.

Erica Harrell.

Anastasia Fitz.

Virginet Muborn.

Sharf Sharfa Hussain.

Sierra Berry.

Aaron Fisher.

Latifa Bukhari.

Rafia Mohammed.

These were folks with spaces in action.

Erlen Fletcher.

Yesine Bukari.

There's a yesim and knee.

Bukari, that may be the same person.

Edem Abba.

I'm going to keep going on.

I'll go over all these names again.

Annie Pankry?

Panky.

Georgia Walker.

Sharon Lemons.

Victoria Franklin.

Marcia Hughes.

These are all spaces in action folks.

Wanda Edwards.

That's you.

Julie Williams.

Simone Cross, S Y M O N E.

Eunice Fletcher.

I'll let him in.

We have a Eunice with a different last name than Fletcher.

Umela Okoa Ochoa.

Viva Milton.

Tiana Lehman Lamans, who's with Pave is here.

Khalid Balgun.

Janatoul Reisa.

Kevin Williams.

Yes, good afternoon.

Yes.

You've not been called yet.

You'll be in order, but just hang in.

Hang in where you are.

I think I have you.

Yes, I have you.

I had called a Treyu Lee.

I don't think they're here.

I can look that up.

Elizabeth Antunez, you are first.

Okay, thank you.

Hi, my name is Beth Antunes.

I am a Ward Six resident, a parent of two DCPS students, and a professional at the American Federation of Teachers, where I manage projects around career and technical education.

I'm here today to urge the council to preserve funding for the advanced technical centers.

As a parent raising children in the city, I spent a lot of time thinking about equity.

What pathways exist to a good education?

Which ones are actually accessible to whom, and which ones lead somewhere real?

The ATCs are one of the most concrete solutions I see.

They offer high school students throughout the city a reliable on-ramp to careers in health care and cybersecurity, including dual enrollment, college credits, paid internships, and industry recognized credentials, all before a student leaves high school.

In this city struggling with student engagement and attendance, that is vitally important.

From my perspective at the AFT, I also want to speak to what it took to build this.

The ATCs did not materialize out of thin air.

They are the product of years of deliberate relationship building between the district, labor, philanthropic partners, health systems, and higher education.

The AFT was proud to be part of that work, and I want to share what made that partnership possible.

In 2024, Bloomberg Philanthropies made a nine point five million dollar investment to expand the ATC model, to open the new Ward 8 Center at Whitman Walker Max Robinson, and to launch the DC Healthcare Employment and Apprenticeship Link Program, DC Health.

That's not a grant you win by luck.

That's a grant you earn by building a program that serious funders believe in.

Bloomberg made this investment because DC's ATC model works.

And because partners at the national and local level, including the AFT, made the case for it.

Cutting local funding for the ATCs would be a signal to those partners that the district is walking away from its own investment.

It would jeopardize the credibility we have built with Bloomberg and other funders who have committed dollars based on DC's own commitment.

Philanthropy does not sustain investments and programs that their governments abandon.

That 9.5 million did not come to us by accident, and it will not be replaced easily if the city sends the message that the ATCs are on the chopping clock.

The Ward 88 ATC is not just an education program.

It's inside a healthcare anchor in a community that has been identified as a healthcare desert.

The partnerships with Children's National, Med Star, and others give students clinical experience and create pipelines into jobs that pay good salaries in their own neighborhoods.

That's exactly the kind of investment the city should be protecting and not cutting, especially at the moment when our region has lost jobs and young DC natives face unemployment rates far higher than their non-native peers.

I do understand that this budget moment is genuinely hard, but I asked the council to consider what it took to get here.

Years of organizing, coalition building, union advocacy, philanthropic negotiation, and community trust.

The ATCs represent what it looks like when a city gets it right.

When partners align around something that serves youth who are most often left out.

As a parent, I don't want to let to tell my child or anyone else's child that we built something great and then walked away from it.

As someone who works every day to make CTE programs like this possible nationally, I don't want to tell our partners of Bloomberg and elsewhere that DC is no longer a reliable steward of the investment.

I know you're almost done, but I'm going to cut you off because you're over your time.

You have two questions.

You mentioned labor was involved, and you are with the American Federation of Teachers.

But I don't recall hearing anything about this from the local um Washington Teachers Union.

Uh WT was supportive.

Um, and they were there from the beginning in the beginning of the meetings and the negotiations.

Interesting, because as I said, I've not heard a word from them.

You also said in your statement it will not be replaced easily.

But uh, isn't the um Bloomberg money done?

And it's now all local money in the budget.

Bloomberg committed their money.

It's over uh it's either a three or a five-year period.

So it and it was contingent on um funding in the local budget also.

So um it's unclear, frankly, right now, like what happens if you know the local budget doesn't continue to come along as well.

Well, you keep talking about the local budget being an issue.

I don't know that it is, but uh my question to you is I thought the Bloomberg um grant was over.

No, no, no.

It was uh it was it offered, it was given in 2024, and it's a multi-year grant.

Okay, thank you for your testimony.

Thank you.

Um Jordan Doherty, I think is not here.

Sharee Seaver's not here.

Brandon White.

Good evening, Chairman Mendelssohn and members of the council.

My name is Brandon White, and I serve as the chief executive officer of Spark the Journey, formerly known as Capital Partners for Education.

For over 30 years, Spark has provided mentorship and a community of support to help more than 1700 young people in this city succeed in school, persist through post-secondary education, and prepare for meaningful careers.

We currently partner with public and public charter schools across the district and serve students who are overwhelmingly from low-income communities, primarily students of color, and many of whom are the first in their families to pursue a post-secondary education.

Our work is rooted in a simple belief.

Talent is everywhere, but access to relationships, networks, and career connected opportunities is not.

Mentoring helps to close that gap.

Through Spark, students build the confidence, skills, experiences, and trusted adult relationships they will need to navigate the transition from high school to whatever comes next.

That is why I'm here today to express strong support for continued funding for the district's advanced technical centers.

The ATCs are exactly the kind of investment our city should be protecting.

They give DC high school students hands-on career preparation, dual enrollment opportunities, industry recognized credentials, paid internships, and exposure to high demand fields like healthcare and cybersecurity.

In the first three years, the ATC has enrolled 400 students who earn more than 4,700 college credits, more than 250 industry-recognized credentials.

CTE program completers, including those at the ATC have a graduation rate of 97%.

Just as importantly, the ATCs expand access.

They serve students from DCPS and public charter schools, including many students whose homeschools do not offer these particular pathways.

A majority of ATC students are considered at risk, and the programs are intentionally reaching students who are the furthest from opportunity.

Spark is especially excited about the ATC in Ward 8, where we are in discussion to partner with Aussie to launch a philanthropy-funded career-connected mentoring pilot program for students.

Our goal is to connect ATC students to mentors who have experience in their particular fields of study.

So the students have not only technical preparation, but also trusted adults who can help them to navigate their next steps.

That combination is powerful.

Students need credentials, but they also need networks.

They need work-based learning, but they also need guidance.

They need exposure to careers, but they also need people who can help them see themselves in those careers.

At a time when the district is focused on student engagement, economic mobility, and preparing young people for good jobs, the ATCs are aligned with exactly where we need to go.

Minimizing funding to the ATCs could disrupt a promising model that is already serving students, already producing results, and already connected to the district's long-term workforce needs.

I thus urge the council to maintain funding for the advanced technical centers and to continue investing in pathways that help DC students graduate ready for college, career, and economic mobility.

Thank you so much for the time and for your continued commitment to all of DC's students.

Thank you, Brandon White.

Molly McSherry, I think is not here.

Jackie Coombe, Tiffany Brown.

Monique Riley.

Hello.

Good evening, everyone.

My name is Monique Riley.

I serve as an instructional specialist at the ATC in Grade Ward 8, the Advanced Technical School Center.

I teach and support dual enrollment students across multiple healthcare courses, including psychology, medical terminology, and right now anatomy and physiology.

The ATC is not just another program, it is truly a bridge.

A bridge between high school and college, yes, but also a bridge between exposure and real career career pathways, a place to learn the skills that our students can use in healthcare and other industries.

The ATC War A site uniquely offers certifications in both CCMA and EMC pathways.

Across the country, these are exams have been difficult for many students, especially in areas that require critical thinking and applying knowledge within real clinical scenarios.

We've learned from and plan for this.

What makes the ACC different is that we are not stopping at a basic understanding of healthcare concepts.

Our students are engaging with advanced technology, training with real professionals in the field, and participating in simulations.

We've aligned even our teaching strategies and materials so that our students learn in ways that mirror the real demands of healthcare spaces.

They are not just studying healthcare, they are practicing how to think and respond within the health system that we've built here.

And beyond overcoming these types of challenges, at the ACC, we do something that is rare.

We encourage students to learn from mistakes, and we do not let students fail.

We support them until they succeed.

Something that I'm hoping that the council will also invest in.

That means getting creative with resources.

For us at the ATC, it looks like reteaching foundational concepts, providing targeted interventions, creating hands-on learning experiences, and making education feel real and achievable through tools that we use every day, our advanced systems, and through the direct resources and exposure that we have memorization, but into application.

The country is projected to face a shortage of nearly 3 million healthcare workers.

At the same time, DC has already invested in the New Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center campus, located directly next to our War AATC.

This places us right in the heart of service to a community deeply in need.

The infrastructure to repel this statistics is already here.

We have the students, we have the training environment, we've delivered on meeting gaps when challenges arise, and we're already seeing the impact.

Every week I witness our students struggle, struggle school and life schedules with the demands of a heavy curriculum and exceed expectations.

They are not just earning credits, but they are building discipline and resourcefulness.

Some of our students have even already successfully interviewed and gotten real internships in healthcare spaces, and that level of exposure matters specifically for our students.

It's been building their confidence, it's been building their professionalism, and it creates a clearer pathway into the workforce for each of them.

It's my time done.

No problem.

Should be a clock on your screen.

Um, I can't see it.

Sorry.

Oh, I see it now.

Sorry.

But thank you.

I'm glad you see it now.

Um, thank you.

And I do have your statement.

Uh Lori Butler, Angela Das, Nicole Summers, I believe are not here.

Kayuna Ballantine.

I'm told, did not accept the panelist invite.

Uh Laura Taylor, I think is not here.

Erica Harrell.

Did not accept the panelist invite.

Um, Anastasia Fitz, I believe, is not here.

Reginae Newborn is not here.

Sharfa Hussein is not here.

Sierra Barry is not here.

Erin Fisher.

Good evening.

I'm here.

Excellent.

Um, good evening, Chairperson Mendelson and members of the council.

Um, my name is Erin Fisher.

I'm the CEO of Bright Beginnings.

We're a two-generation organization.

We serve children and families in Ward 7 and Ward 8 for over 36 years now.

I'm here today in support of continued funding for the pay equity fund and child care vouchers, which are both essential to the success of families and early childhood education providers across the city, including Bright Beginnings.

The Pay Equity Fund and Childcare Vouchers account for just under 30% of our $13 million budget.

Bright Beginnings serves over 200 families experiencing housing instability and intergenerational poverty.

We've been providing high-quality early childhood education and comprehensive family support services with the belief that children can only succeed if both their parents and their educators are continuing to learn, grow, and thrive.

The work we do is transformational, but that work is only possible when families can access affordable high-quality child care and when educators are pay wages that reflect the importance and complexity of their work.

The pay equity fund has been a critical investment in stabilizing and strengthening the early childhood workforce in the district.

For too long, educators have been underpaid despite being responsible for the healthy development, safety, and learning of our young residents.

The pay equity fund helps address this long-standing inequity by making it possible for providers like Bright Beginnings to recruit and retain qualified educators.

In the past three years, we've been able to maintain over 70% of our educators.

That's our retention rate for the last three years with the pay equity fund.

We've retained 90% of our lead teachers, which is basically unheard of in our field.

Teacher retention is directly connected to the quality of instruction children receive.

When early childhood educators are fairly compensated, programs are better able to keep experienced teachers in the classroom year after year.

That consistency strengthens relationships between teachers, children, and families, and creates a more stable learning environment where children can grow socially, emotionally, and academically.

Retaining skilled educators also improves kindergarten readiness by ensuring children receive high quality instruction during the most important years of brain development.

Investments in the pay equity fund are investments in stronger educational outcomes for children across the whole city.

Without this funding, we risk losing experienced educators to higher paying industries, creating instability in classrooms and disrupting the relationships children rely on to feel safe and supported.

Staff turnover in early childhood education is not just a workforce issue.

It directly impacts children's development and families' ability to maintain stable employment.

Child care vouchers are equally important and essential for providing the educational services and two generation supports to our children's parents.

For many families serviced by bright beginnings, vouchers are the bridge that make early education accessible.

While BBI's services are free, the child care vouchers are what allows us to afford the two generation supports that create stable environments at home for our children.

We often provide workforce development, emergency food and utility assistance, and access to mental health services.

Our two-gen approach frequently allows us to step in to provide a stopgap for parents when they can access services through the red tape in the city.

Without vouchers, parents and caregivers may be forced to leave the workforce, reduce their hours, or make them possible choices.

As the CEO of Bright Beginnings, I urge the council to continue investing in both the pay equity fund and child care vouchers to support Bright Beginnings and other programs like ours.

Thank you.

Ms.

Fisher, when you say child care vouchers, that's the same as the subsidy.

The subsidy program, yes.

Let me ask you about that.

I tried to ask some folks earlier.

As I understand it, Aussie determines what the rate should be, the cost should be, depending upon the age of the child and so forth.

And then pays as a standard 70% of that.

For quality 72, and I think the next is 78.

One of the proposals in the mayor's budget is to just flatten that all to 70%.

Now, the 78% is meant to incentivize quality, but uh just speak to that.

Right.

So within the last two years, bright beginnings moved from quality to high quality.

We deeply invested in the coaching of our teachers through training, uh professional development, instructional coaching.

Um, if we were to reduce the budget, if the funding went flat for the child care voucher, it would result in about 210,000 less for us a year, which is the equivalent of an entire classroom worth of educators' salaries and benefits.

So that incentive, I mean, that's how as a high quality provider east of the river, I mean, we take great pride in that.

And so for us to lose the ability to serve children, that would be devastating.

The other piece of the child care voucher with the freeze and the wait list.

Um, we typically have about 20 to 25 children matriculate each year, and with that loss with um not being able to with the um potential for the wait list, that's about half a million dollars of our revenue too.

25 use children equal about what did you say, a million?

About half a million, um, I had this discussion with one of the um providers earlier.

So, I don't know what the population is right now when I see population enrollment.

Um, I'm assuming that it's gone up quite a bit with the surge given that we're getting close to the um wait lists being implemented.

Let's just say that the population is 7300 kids right now.

If we budgeted for 7300 and then put a cap so there's a wait list over that, would that impact you?

That would impact us because when children leave our program and they no longer have that child care voucher.

If we can't, we can't exchange one child for the other, right?

So if once the wait list starts and then there's the um way that they're ranked to be able to children are ranked to be able to get the service, then we can't not only do we possibly lose money, we really can't plan either.

With the wait list, we never know if we're going to be able to bring another child in on a child care voucher or not.

So I think you know we lose our funding, but we also lose that ability to plan, which is very scary for us.

I think you answered that in terms of what the mayor's proposing as a wait list, which is poor population.

The way I put the question was if the enrollment right now is 7300 and budgeted to 7300, and then said there is a wait list or a cap over 7300, would that negatively affect you?

I would think it wouldn't, because you right now would um that's okay.

Right now, in fact, with the surge, you probably don't even have the additional um youth.

But uh what I'm the hypothetical I'm putting forward is that we would we would put the freeze to cap, whatever you wanna call it, the wait list at a higher number, a number that reflects where we are budgeting, which would reflect where we are today.

Right.

So the issue really becomes that when a child matriculates out, if that if we're at that cap already, that 7300, and we put the wait list in, we can't plan or ensure that and we'll be able to when that wait list happens, that we'll be able to bring another child in, if that makes sense.

It doesn't make sense.

How come?

Because the children are when there's a wait list, right now it's open, right?

So if our child children qualify for it, then we are able to, especially for us as a level two provider, we're able to immediately assign that child care voucher.

Now, if the number stays the so at any point we're not impacted by the rest of the city.

If the need is there, the child is able to access the child care voucher.

But if a child leaves us or the cap is there, then we can't bring, we are not able to plan for bringing more in on that child care voucher.

Because we're not guaranteed the spot.

It could be up for anyone.

Yeah, I think I see that.

Hold on.

Uh I don't think I have any other questions for you.

Thank you.

Okay.

Let me keep going through the list.

Um, Latifa Bukhari, these are all uh spaces in action, folks.

Latifah Bukhari, Rafia Mohammed, Erlen Fletcher, Yassine Bukhari, Yazamine Bukhari, Edem Abba, Annie Penke, Georgia Walker, Sharon Lemons.

It's a voice in my ear saying nope.

Victoria Franklin.

Yes.

Needs to accept.

I'm gonna keep going.

If you accept, we'll come back to you.

Marcia Hughes, Wanda Edwards, Julie Williams, Simone Cross.

Yes, hello.

Hold on, Miss Franklin, Kira Fernandez.

Really?

Okay, let's go back to uh Victoria Franklin.

Um, yes, how you doing?

I'm Victoria Franklin, and I'm a childhood early educator, and I work for love and care, and I've been hearing everything that was going on about cutting the equity pay and the voucher system for the children.

Well, all I gotta say is it shouldn't be cut.

But if you do cut the voucher system for the children, it's gonna be a trickle effect, it's gonna trickle around like in a circle.

Because if a child can't get uh subsidy, can't get funded for a voucher to put their child in early education or child care, then they'll have to stop work, stay home with their child, then it's gonna go right back to the government because they're gonna have to go to the government to get some type of assistance because I'm home now.

I don't have an income because I have to care for my child.

So the government will have to push out some money for me, some food stamps, some uh help me with my utilities, and it's gonna go around, and then the business is going to fall because half of my workers gone because they don't have nobody to keep their infants and their children.

So it it's it's around in a circle.

All that has to be thought of, I mean, really, really thought about.

And I'll be thinking myself, the people who sitting up in the chair making these decisions for us and cutting things.

I mean, do they have children?

Do they understand what they're doing?

Do they really understand it or maybe not?

Because they, you know, are top-level uh people.

They can pay for a nanny to come to the house, they can pay for private school to take care of a lot of our low-income parents can't do that, don't have the accessibility to do that.

So I mean, it's it's it's really sad when we come to this area like this that things have to be cut and hurt the low-income person that's been struggling for years trying to make it on top, even working and can't do that because so much of the help is trying to be cut and not be funded.

Hello?

I'm here.

Oh, I didn't know whether you were here or not, because I actually I'm driving.

I'm just leaving the daycare myself, you know, and um then now the equity pay, that should not be cut.

I mean, if you really look at it, we have everybody's children.

If you look at it from sun up to sundown, we have your children more than you have them.

So we go through a lot.

It's a lot we have to do to care for your child, make sure your child's safe, make sure your child is eating properly, make sure your child is learning properly.

It's a lot we have to do.

And we need to be compensated on a level that reflects our work.

Now, Miss Franklin, your time is up.

I'm sorry.

But I appreciate your testifying, and um, thank you.

Oh, okay, you're welcome, sir.

Um, let me ask you one question.

Do you have children?

I do.

Um, are they in early education or child care, daycare?

Uh, she's a 25-year-old artist.

Oh, okay.

She's an artist.

So at the time when she had to go to uh some type of care when you had to work, you didn't have to go through this type of stuff because you probably either had a mom that could stay home and and they had an income that no.

No, no, no, no.

She uh she'll never go into politics because I took her to every meeting.

Um, I'm gonna move on to the next witness because it's uh like uh five after 8 p.m.

and we still haven't gotten to the agency.

But thank you, Ms.

Oh, okay.

All right, sir.

Thank you so much for having me.

Uh Simone Cross.

Hello, my name is Simone Cross.

I um excuse me.

Um I am with Bethlehem Christian Fellowship for three years now, both as a mother and an educator.

I am a mother of three, and I have a preschool um student, um, also two school age students as well, while working a full-time job, and also as a full-time student as well.

Um, I am also a leader with space in action.

I value my child care because it provides a safe and flexible space for me and my children, and I also work there as well, um, without worrying about where do my child has to stay or what do I have to do as a teacher.

But um, I have, like I said, I'm also as an educator.

Um, I value everything that they teach my children as well.

Not only for me, but also for my students.

So I appreciate a lot of things that the parents have been giving me this week a lot of feedback on how their children is growing as a child.

Just growing up because we have them from infants to toddler to preschools, all the way up to school age.

We really do need it, not only for the parents, but also for the teacher as well.

We are in there nonstop every day, all day, making sure that these children have exactly what they need.

But thank you for letting me share.

Yes, no, well, thank you for sharing.

Good evening, everybody.

I am Piora Fernandez.

I'm the assistant director at Blandy's Child Learning Center in Ward 4.

And I'm here to speak about the pay equity fund and the subsidy wait list that's been that's going to happen in May 12.

The as a as a small family run business, oftentimes the expenses comes from my pocket, and I'm comfortable shelling out, you know, to provide materials in the classroom because the equity fund gives me that comfort.

And this also sends a message that all teachers in the daycare centers, even in the big school as well, we deserve fair compensation.

And I I just want to second Ms.

Franklin that we have their children the whole day, and it's hard work just to mold young minds, you know, the to help the future, and it's it's it's going to be a struggle, especially unlike unlike big corporations as a small business daycare um owner, it's everything we rely on, whatever resources that we can get.

And I want to move on also for the for the subsidy.

I'm losing 16 plus children to the big school in the fall, and it doesn't really mean that I'm getting 16 plus in return.

And with the subsidy wait list, it's it's it's gonna be a struggle just to just to fill in to fill up the spots, and because there's going to be less kids, now we're planning to maybe cut ours uh um from the staff because hey, there's there's not enough children.

Um this is just the struggle that the reality that we face, and I'm I'm hoping that the pay equity fund is not going to be cut and also maybe change the new rule that's been put in place in terms of putting the subsidy children in the wait list.

Um thank you for hearing me.

Uh thank you, Miss Fernandez.

Um there was earlier uh you need, but I don't think she accepted.

So I'm gonna keep moving.

Olaila Ochoa.

Um my name is Oleila Ochoa, so I can speak Spanish, but um if you have translator for me there, uh we do not have a translator, we um provide translation when we're given four or five days notice.

Okay, so I can do it in a four or five days because um my testimonies in the Spanish.

If you want to read it in Spanish, I will not understand it, but there's one person here who says we will.

Okay, perfect.

Thank you so much.

Um, as noches, President and Members del Consejo.

My nombre is Oleila Ochoa y soy maestra de la primera infancia, pero más que eso soy alguien que cada día cuida, enseña y accompanya niños in una de las etapas más importantes de sus vidas.

Trabajo con niños pequeños desde 2023.

Nosotros no solo enseñamos colores o números.

Somos quienes los receiven con amor quando sus padres tienen que salir a trabajar.

Somos quienes los consuelan cuando lloran, quienes celebran sus primeros logros, incluse when you.

Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony.

You're welcome.

Good afternoon, Chairman and members of the rather than a pay per leader.

I am here.

Why don't you turn your camera off?

Maybe we'll do that.

Represent the tragedy repeated across all eight walls.

On one side is the part of my son, of life.

Submission represents all eight walls on one side of them.

Our city is in a state of found crisis, a collective mental breakdown born from severe trauma that we all fall fail to address.

All must be on that.

We often treat the budget for public safety, education, and mental health as separate.

They are not.

If we want to win the war against mental health crisis, we automatically win the war for public safety involving physical violence.

To win this war, we must invest in programs that we know support our students.

This includes supporting high impact tutoring.

My son fought through the valley of the shadow of death to graduate schools, but too many of our children are failing, falling through the cracks long before they reach that stage.

High impact tutoring does more than support students out carrying the door in front of a child.

And I believe in you.

If COVID 19 could shut down our city for safety, this crisis does protect the 3 million funding for hit.

It provides academic confidence and stability relationships.

Our children need to stay off the street corners and in our classrooms.

In my own capacity, I believe invest in programs that breeze life into the youth of the district.

We need to mobilize our village.

I feel like we've lost you completely here.

We must focus on resetting caregivers.

We must give our children the publication.

Let us honor the memory of Mr.

Lamar.

Uh Ms.

Lamont, I have your statement here, and I know you were near the end of it, so we do have it.

Let me move to the next witness.

Yes, good evening, Chairman Mendelson.

Members of the committee and viewers district wide.

My name is Khalid Balogun.

Um I am a 12th grader at Paul Public Charter School and an alumnus of the World Five ATC.

I participated in the program during the second year of its founding.

I stand before you today, not only as a former student, but as someone whose entire professional foundation was built inside the walls of the ATC.

I served as the ATC's local chapter officer, and now is the state state reporter for the Technology Student Association, a national STEM organization that the ATC made accessible to me.

In that role, I learned to communicate, advocate, and lead behalf, lead on behalf of my peers.

Skills that I use right now in this very moment to advocate for students who will come after me.

The ATC didn't just shape my education, it changed the trajectory of my life.

When I walked through the doors of the ATC, I assumed it is another doorman class that would just boost my GPA or be of use to me in some way, but not in the way that I it turned out to to impact me.

The ATC gave me industry recognized certifications, such as my secure computer uh user um certification, digital and essential forensics uh certifications, and um the Microsoft 365 suite certification that I earned via the um summer uh internship that I got through the ATC.

Not only that, I earned um up to 12 college credits as I was enrolled in the cybersecurity pathway and rewarded skills that most students spend years in the workforce trying to build.

I didn't just finish high school, I finished employable.

And my story is not unique.

According to the National Center of Educational Statistics, CTE students graduate at a rate of 90% compared to the national average of 75%.

Nearly eight in ten, eight in ten CTE concentrators and will in post-secondary education within two years of graduating.

These aren't abstract numbers.

These are students in this city who are beating the odds because programs like the ATC give them a fighting chance.

Now, imagine a DC without the ATC.

Cutting this program would mean cutting off a lifeline for students who need more than a traditional more than what a traditional classroom could offer.

DC would lose one of its most powerful tools for bridging the gap between education and the workforce.

Students, many of whom from communities where opportunity is not handed to them, would lose access to a proven path toward tech toward careers in technology, healthcare, business, and beyond.

With one-third requiring exactly the kind of I'm sorry, experts project 47 million job openings over the next decade.

With one third requiring exactly the kind of associated degree credentials and technical certifications the ATC provides, we cannot afford to send our young people and my peers into the into that economy unprepared.

The cost of cutting this program will far exceed the cost of funding it.

I cannot say that enough.

At the ATC, another important part are the professors.

They're not just instructors, they were mentors who generally invested in every single student.

With them, I competed through and led TSA events at our local chapter and statewide in DC.

I walked through, I walked out of that building with certifications in hand, thanks to them.

You're over your time.

Thank you.

Have a great day.

Thank you.

Um, you're up.

Yeah.

Good evening, Chairperson Phil Mendelssohn and members of the DC Council.

My name is Jonathan Ferdos Weiser, and I'm a junior at Theodore Roosevelt High School and a cybersecurity student at the Advanced Technical Center.

I'm here today because I wanted to understand what this program truly means to students like me before decisions are made about this funding.

When people hear technical education, they sometimes think it is an extra class or electives.

But for us, it is a preparation for real life.

At the advanced technical center, students are learning new skills that employers actually need right now.

We're gaining experience, professionalism, certifications, teamwork, and problem solving skills that cannot always be taught through textbooks alone.

For me personally, this program became important during a difficult moment.

At one point, my PC screen was broken, and I struggled to keep up with my cybersecurity work and assignments.

In a field like cybersecurity, technology is not an option.

It is the classroom.

It was stressful because I care deeply about my future and about succeeding in this program.

But experiences like that made me realize how valuable this opportunity really is, and how much students depend on access to technical education and resources to keep moving forward.

This program gives students directions.

It gives students motivation to come to school because they can finally connect education to a real future.

Some students discover carriers they never even knew existed.

Others finally feel confident in something that for the first time that matters more than statistics can show.

Option, but not every student has the access to expensive programs, private training, technology at home, or professional connections.

For many of us, the advanced technical center is an opportunity.

Cutting this budget would not only affect classrooms, it would affect students' confidence, career preparation, and future opportunities.

It sends the message that hands-on education and workforce development are not priorities, even though industries across that country are searching for skilled workers, especially in technology and cyber security.

The students in this program are serious about building careers and contributing to the city.

We are trying to get ahead, stay focused, and create successful futures for ourselves and our families.

Programs like this help me and others make that possible.

Instead of reducing supporting for technical education, I believe we should expand it.

Please protect this funding for the Advanced Technical Center, and continue to support who are working hard to succeed.

Thank you for listening to me.

Apologies for um me not being in my professional tire or in the house right now.

I'm walking back from a um community service event.

So as I would like to add, the funding for the Advanced Technical Center Center should not be cut or tampered with because the Advanced Technical Center gives many students across the DOV area the opportunity to really explore their pathway, their pathways in the work.

My pod, let me slow down the work field, and it allows students in the allows students to truly express what they wish to be in the future if they have not already made that decision, and also gives them additional aid to actually apply themselves to become what they want to in the future.

Like, for example, me, I wish to be a cybersecurity CEO, and the advanced technical centers cybersecurity course has helped me tremendously by already giving me one certification that I can use towards applying for cybersecurity jobs locally, as well as we have a upcoming exam for another certification that will also help me in my journey to becoming cybersecurity CEO, as well as generally get jobs in cybersecurity that will help my future and my family's or friends' futures as well.

Um, the ACC, many students would not have that additional backbone to additional backbone to propel them in their futures for success.

Actually, yes, that that is all thank you all.

Thank you, Mr.

Williams.

Uh, I don't have any questions for you or for any of the other witnesses at this point.

So you all are excused.

I want to thank you for your testimony.

I also want to thank you for your patience.

Since this has been a long hearing and you are the last witnesses before we turn to the government.

Uh I'm gonna take a little recess.

I think I told the center word to um that I was gonna take a little recess.

Whatever I say it'll be longer, so I don't want to say anything.

Um, but um let's see if we can try for uh 15 minutes.

It's 8 30 right now.

Uh we'll recess until 8 45.

And again, thank you to all the witnesses.

Um, Let's reconvene.

This is the budget hearing we're having on the budget, mayor's proposed budget for the Office of the State Superintendent of Education.

We've had testimony from non-government witnesses, and now we are turning to Dr.

Antoinette Mitchell and her team.

The state superintendent and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education.

So when you're ready.

Thank you, Mr.

Chairman.

Greetings, Chairman Mendelson, members of the Committee of the Whole, and staff.

My name is Dr.

Antoinette Mitchell, and I am honored to serve my hometown as the state superintendent of education.

Washington, D.C.

has been rewriting its educational story for nearly two decades.

What began with the creation of ASI in 2007 has grown into a wave of momentum that is reshaping opportunity for students across the district.

We see this progress most clearly in academic achievement.

On national assessments, DC has made the fastest progress in the country.

Since 2027, 2007, our reading and math NAPE scores have risen 31 points and 36 points respectively.

In contrast, reading and math scores nationwide have declined eight points and five points.

Our local assessments tell the same story of progress.

This year's DC CAPE results show the biggest year-over-year improvement on record.

And in schools participating in our comprehensive literacy state development grant, student academic gains were even more impressive, with students growing 54% more than their peers while also narrowing long-standing achievement gaps.

We see the momentum in high schools as well.

This year, DC reached its highest graduation rate ever, driven by a significant increase among African American students, particularly males, with a 7.4 percentage point increase last year.

Today that number is 79%.

More graduates took AP exams than anywhere else in the nation.

This is true across every reported race and ethnicity.

These results are not isolated.

Together, they show an education system gaining strength year after year.

And while we know there is still much work left to be done, the Washington, D.C.

wave is undeniable.

As the state education agency, we oversee all federal education programs and grants.

We set statewide standards and measure student progress.

We support early childhood education, adult learners, students with disabilities and LEAs.

And we maintain accurate statewide data and drive the interventions that keep our education system strong and in compliance with state and federal law.

Each of our divisions plays a unique and essential role in supporting education progress in DC.

Our Division of Early Learning licenses and monitors more than 450 facilities with nearly 27,000 child care slots, funds nearly 1,000 PKEP pre-K slots, supports students with disabilities and developmental delays, and provides nearly $200 million this year to child care providers through the Pay Equity Fund and the Child Care Subsidy Program.

Our division of strategic funding for school quality administers more than 120 million in federal grant funding to LEAs and CBOs.

It also provides oversight and support for special populations, most notably guidance, monitoring and technical assistance to LEAs for the education of students with disabilities.

Our division of teaching and learning provides professional development and programmatic support to increase teacher effectiveness and student learning, including by providing $18 million in funding to local partners.

Town runs our nationally recognized high impact tutoring initiative, literacy and math efforts, school improvement work, and our teacher apprenticeship program.

Our division of health and wellness works in partnership with LEAs and sister agencies to promote policies and practices that build healthy bodies and minds.

This includes administering child nutrition programs that provide access to nearly 22 million healthy meals and snacks last year and overseeing the district's school immunization policy.

Our division of post-secondary and career education leads numerous programs that support students with success in high school and beyond, including DC's innovative advanced technical centers, our highly effective adult and family education integrated education and training program, and the DC Tuition and Assistance Grant, DC Tag.

In addition, Peace Create PCE creates and funds programs of study for career and technical education.

Through this work, we have radically increased access to and participation in CTE programming over the last six years.

In total, this division provides more than $60 million to local schools, students, and partners to expand pathways to post-secondary success.

All of this just scratches the surface of our agency's role and responsibilities in supporting DC's learners from birth through adulthood.

ASI also transports nearly 4,000 students with disabilities to and from school each day, calculates and distributes UPSFF payments to charter schools, conducts the annual enrollment audit, administers the school lottery, oversees statewide assessments, and licenses higher education institutions and more.

These are large, complex programs and we effectively administer each of them with fidelity.

Our impact reaches every school, every educator, every family, and every student in Washington, DC.

Now I'll turn to OSI's fiscal year 2027 proposed budget, without which we could not do the high impact work that I just described.

OSI is unique among executive agencies as we are responsible for managing four distinct budgets, which are proposed as follows.

$598 million for ASIMAI Maine, which directs funds, which directly funds schools and programs and covers agency operations.

$133 million for OSI DOT to transport students with disabilities.

$57 million for MPT, which finances non-public tuition and required services for students with disabilities who attend day and residential special education schools, and $1.5 billion in per-pupil payments to DC's public charter schools.

It is important to note that $454 million or $76% of Aussie Maine's budget leaves the agency and is passed through directly to schools and businesses, including child development facilities.

As we know, coming into this budget, Mayor Bowser had to fill a $1.1 billion gap, which meant agencies had to absorb significant cuts.

ASI Maine's local budget saw a net reduction of $53 million.

The division of early learning is the largest component of ASI Maine's budget.

As you can see from this graph, 70% of local non-personnel services funding lives within Dell.

ASI cannot absorb significant funding reductions without substantive cuts to early learning program.

With this important context established, let's now examine funding for early learning in more depth.

Mayor Bowser's fiscal year 27 proposed budget includes $284 million for universal pre-K, including $18 million for PKEP as part of the most expansive pre-K system in the nation.

The budget also includes $114 million for child care subsidy payments, $12 million to ensure that child care workers can keep their health insurance and $9 million for grant programs that strengthen child care operations and quality.

Taken together, these investments represent some of the highest per capita commitments to early learning in the nation.

At the same time, the budget proposes to eliminate wage supplements from the pay equity fund program.

For those affected, this understandably overshadows everything else.

It is a significant and meaningful loss for educators and providers who have benefited from the program.

Unfortunately, these reductions are being driven by the financial reality facing the district.

The federal dollars that once allowed us to expand district programs in unprecedented ways have now been exhausted.

At the same time, federal workforce reductions have created new pressures on our economy and on our commercial corridors.

As a result, ASI does not have significant funding to continue providing supplemental wages for child care workers in the coming year.

ASI's child care subsidy program is a key support in our early education system and for the district's workforce.

It directly affects families' access to affordable child care and demand for the program continues to grow.

Unfortunately, that growth has created budget pressures that require cost control measures in this and the coming fiscal year.

The fiscal fiscal year 27 proposed budget increases subsidy funding from approximately $100 million in fiscal year 26 approved budget to $114 million in the fiscal year 27 budget.

However, it is still more than $25 million below the fiscal year 26 revised subsidy budget, which is $140 million.

As a result, ASI will need to streamline our tiered payment system and for the first time will join our surrounding jurisdictions in implementing a wait list.

The wait list will begin on May 12th and will likely need to remain in place through fiscal year 27 to bring enrollment down to roughly 6,000 students and align with our proposed budget.

I want to emphasize that while ASI has produced the best estimates possible to guide our budget and program decisions, there are still several variables that introduce uncertainty, including enrollment growth through May 11th, per child costs, and the effects of the wait list on enrollment and attrition.

For this reason, ASI will continuously monitor and publicly post enrollment and wait list data so that both the council and the public can remain informed.

And if funding allows, we will lift the wait list for groups beyond the first priority category.

Now, I'd like to highlight a few other key investments from Mayor Bowser's fiscal year 27 proposed budget and financial plan.

The proposed budget increases funding for our advanced technical centers by $2.4 million.

It adds funding for DC futures by $2.3 million, and adds $3 million in recurring funding for high impact tutoring.

In addition, our agency is proud to introduce a new parent-facing mobile application that will significantly improve transparency and communication for families using OSI DOT services.

I'll speak to each of these investments in the following slides.

OSI's Advanced Technical Centers are open enrollment programs serving both DCPS and charter high schoolers from across the district.

These college professor-taught courses expand equitable access to high-quality dual credit CTE programs that are too expensive or resource-intensive for schools to offer on their own.

Each pathway includes paid internships, industry recognized credentials, four high school credits, and up to 26 tuition-free college credits.

Our Ward 5 healthcare student pathways are paired with a new pediatric care urgent care clinic and a new primary care office in a high need area of Ward 5 through partnerships with Children's National Hospital and Med Star Health.

Similarly, the Ward 8 ATC is located at the Whitman Walker Center, a critical health care provider east of the river.

Not only do these investments expand health care access for DC residents, they foster buy-in and shared ownership of our city's future health care workforce from key healthcare providers.

These investments also increase access to strategically aligned work-based learning for ATC students and pathways to in-demand jobs after graduation.

At a time when the region has lost more than 100,000 jobs in a year, and when we see deep income disparities between students born in DC and peers who move into the region, the ATCs both prepare our students for high-quality local jobs and support the district's economic recovery.

We have grown from serving eight schools to 25 as student and parent demand for these programs has skyrocketed.

Close to 1,000 students have expressed interest in attending the ATC next year, and four new high schools plan to join for the 2026-27 school year.

In just the first three years of the ATC's operations, 400 students earned nearly 4,700 early college credits that represents approximately $3 million in college tuition savings for district students and families.

In addition, by building programming that aligns to students' interests and career aspirations, we are increasing student attendance and engagement with attendance rates nearly seven points higher and a 99% graduation rate.

The fiscal year 27 proposed budget increases operating funding to serve 150 more students as planned and expands career connected opportunities, including a new dental assistant pathway.

It also establishes an appropriate sustainable funding structure to ensure that the ATCs remain available to students across the district for years to come.

DC Futures, the fiscal year 27 budget includes an additional $2.3 million for DC Futures, our college completion program with a strong record of success.

This funding will ensure that all DC Futures participants can continue progressing toward their degrees with the program's full suite of supports.

The proposed budget allows the program to responsibly wind down while still delivering meaningful results for residents and strengthening the district's workforce.

High impact tutoring.

High impact tutoring, which provides targeted, high-dosage, one-on-one or small group instruction, has been an essential component of the district's recent academic progress.

We are pleased that the proposed budget and financial plan invests $3 million annually to sustain our high impact tutoring initiative.

HITS is grounded in strong evidence.

It levels the playing field for students furthest from opportunity, and families continue to demand access to this intervention.

A rigorous study by Empower Ed, Empower K-12 found that district students who participated in Math HIT gained the equivalent of 59 additional instructional days, nearly three extra months of learning.

We've delivered these results while cutting our per student tutoring cost in half.

This is also an equity focused investment.

Nearly three-quarters of participating students come from economically disadvantaged households.

And parents are clear about the value.

In a recent national survey from 50 CAN, DC parents expressed the highest enthusiasm in the country for free in-school tutoring.

One parent, La Shima Burnett from Ward 8, shared the following.

Her growth was astronomical.

In one year, she jumped two levels in reading and one level in math.

This year, in fifth grade, my daughter has continued with the HIT program.

I have continued to see her grow academically and become more engaged in her learning.

Each day she grows more passionate about school.

The support she is receiving will serve her the rest of her academic career and her life.

Stories like this mirror what the research shows.

Students who participate in high impact tutoring improve academically, attend school more often, and are more likely to report having a trusted adult at school.

Student transportation.

Just as we are investing in academic programming, we are also focused on improving transportation operations and services.

The 18,000 miles we drive each day to provide student transportation is more than a logistical service.

It is the bridge that connects students to classrooms, relationships, and supports that help them learn and thrive.

Over the past year, we have strengthened our multimodal transportation system and improved how we track and report progress.

We proactively launched our new parent portal and tripled participation in the parent stipend program.

After several years of rising ridership and growing budget needs, we will be able to maintain our transportation services next year without an increase to Aussie DOT's budget.

We continue to strengthen our operations and respond to the needs of families.

And our Parent Resource Center receives calls each day from parents wanting a faster, more reliable way to know what is happening with their child's bus.

In response, we are now testing a bus tracking mobile application that will deploy in the first quarter of the new school year.

Now, if you'll direct your attention to the screen, we have a brief video that shows how the new app will work.

Aussie DOT buses do have GPS that staff use to track a bus location.

But now Aussie is testing a new parent-facing mobile application that will allow parents to get location updates on their phone.

Aussie is testing busware, a system that can track the bus and keep the parent aware.

This is how it would work.

Families would download the app, open bus wear, and access their students' transportation information.

The app will show them where a student's bus is along the route and estimated arrival information.

Busware would also send alerts when a bus is approaching a pickup or drop-off.

In this testing phase, Aussie is working on ensuring student privacy and how the app responds to things like same-day changes on a bus route.

Aussie continues to learn from this testing phase and is tailoring bus wear to fit our transportation model, support efficiency, and give families clearer updates.

As you can see, Aussie continues to push for improvement in every area of service delivery, and we are proud to be making meaningful progress on this critically important priority.

Council members, thank you for your time and attention today.

I am a product of the local public system.

I am deeply invested in the success of districts' children.

I know firsthand that district educators and district government opens doors of opportunities for residents.

A strong education creates access to new possibilities and helps level the playing field for those long excluded from it.

That is why I have devoted my career to strengthening educational opportunities and post-secondary pathways right here in the district.

Today, DC is number one in the country in both math and reading recovery.

We have surpassed pre-pandemic performance and reading because we have invested in high impact tutoring, comprehensive literacy supports, and our schools.

We also launched the nationally recognized advanced technical centers.

The ATCs have created new on-ramps to post-secondary success, kept students engaged and attending school, and helped them invest in their own futures.

While our proposed budget includes significant reductions, it continues investments in core educational programming and vital career training opportunities.

These kinds of investments will help maintain the district's positive momentum.

The Washington DC wave continues to roll forward.

And now I welcome any questions you may have.

So this is a budget hearing.

One contract stuck out.

Starting in FY26, there is a contract for an emergency fund.

Parentheses agency and parent unquote in the amount of one million seven hundred and five thousand dollars.

Can you tell me more about what this contract is for?

Yes, I can, Chairman.

The emergency fund is used to support some critical programs at Aussie, one being E-School Plus at $856,000 and $65,000.

Another is special programs, which is the system we use to track special education work across the city.

That one was for 650.

And we also use this fund for settlements and judgments to offset settlements and judgments that we incur.

The uh e-school plus how much is that?

E school plus eight hundred and sixty-five thousand.

So if it is e-school plus a specific contract, why wouldn't it be listed separately rather than as emergency fund?

I thought the emergency fund is used to pay for critical systems, and that is one of the systems included there.

Yeah, so uh microphone.

Sorry.

Introduce uh good evening, my name is Keenan Thompson.

I'm the COO at Aussie.

Um it should actually be disaggregated.

One of the things you saw is that you didn't have any expenditures in FY25 on that line, and what we notice is as we had a subsidy pressure, we needed to make sure that we had a dedicated um pool of money to pay for these critical systems.

And so at the time that we formulated it, we just put it in one kind of one point seven million dollar bucket, but those are the uh particular systems that uh Dr.

Mitchell mentioned that we'll pay for those funds out of there.

But they guess they you're correct, they should be disaggregated into the different contract lines.

And how much is for settlements and judgments?

It's about a hundred and ninety thousand dollars.

Um would those be the settlements and judgments that are relatively small individually and within the last couple of years, in other words, that the agency has to pay for.

Yes.

Um, unfortunately, we don't have a settlements and judgments line at Aussie.

We have to use actually our DOT line to pay for the settlements and judgment, but um they are they range from small to very large um settlements that we have.

Um, particularly over the last uh year and continuing into this year, we had to pay for um a settlement known as Charles H, in which we had to pay for the auditor that was overseeing the actual um uh settlement that that occurred a few years ago, but they range in very in total.

We had to pay last year around $890,000 in settlements across the agency.

Um so it's as a result of both the um uh non-public um settlements that we have and uh some of our DOT HODs.

Um recently there was a report that urged DME and ASI to collaborate on an efficiency assessment to review potential savings.

What is or was your response?

Thank you for the question, Chairman.

We are very much aware of the report that was written.

Uh we felt that the programs that um were pointed out as being overlapping have some rationale.

Uh one of the areas I believe was data.

Um the ASI is the repository for education data, and coming out of the DME's office is the education to employment pipeline.

Uh ASI actually tried to develop a system like the education to employment pipeline for many years, and we could not do it because we didn't have the clout of a deputy mayor who could tap into other uh agencies across the city to impel them to come to compel them to participate.

So sometimes there is a need for a program to be at the deputy at the deputy mayor level.

Why did Aussie's security budget increase or why is the proposed increase from $241,000 to $604,000?

Yeah.

We take security very seriously, and I'll ask my uh Chief Operating Officer to answer that question.

Yes, thank you for the question.

So it increased for two reasons specifically.

It was one, DGS increased their assessment of our security needs across all of our locations, and then also we appropriately put in the ATC security costs on that line item.

So the increase from DGS was 128,000, and then the increase for ATC was 235,000.

So what facilities was DGS increasing its assessment?

I'd have to go back and look at the actual DGS assessment for which specific facilities they were increasing their security assessments for, but I can get that to you.

Well, would it be like your office building at uh in NOMA or?

Yeah, so we have um uh five different facilities.

Um we have our Charles Sumner building, we have our Aussie main facility, we have um uh strong start, and we have um GED terminals.

And the G, well, yes, the terminals as well.

But on the Aussie main side, we have um uh strong start GED, Aussie Maine, and Charles Sumner Museum.

Well, is this uh security services include Aussie T OT?

Well, the those yards, or whatever you want to call them terminals, um not on this increase, right?

So this increase would apply to Aussie Maine, and then I can look and see the if there was an increase in security for DOT, um and there was so on DOT side there was an increase of DGS security of four hundred and forty-three thousand dollars, and those would include the terminals.

How much did that increase?

433?

Uh 443,000.

What's the total security budget for Aussie DOT?

Uh it is currently for FY26, two million three hundred and ninety, and for FY27, two million eight hundred thirty-three thousand.

Do you question uh DGS's uh determination?

I mean, I just am amazed that in this government that uh we're spending more exponentially more on security, and I question how thoughtful that is.

As a part of formulation, we have to accept what DGS is um uh assessments or all of our fixed cost assessments, we just have to you know accept what what they say, but um I you'd have to ask DGS if it's warranted.

Is it accurate that there's no change in the budget for non-public tuition?

Yes, it is non-public tuition uh next year will be the same as this year.

I believe it's 57 million.

Okay.

How's that possible?

Everything's going up.

It's possible because um this is actually uh a story that would suggest that when we as Aussie uh implement strong guidance, we're able to drive numbers down.

We issued uh some guidance around when students are when IEP teams should uh recommend uh non-public placement about two, three years ago.

And as a result of that, um the number of students that are placed in non-public settings has been decreasing.

I believe it's an 11% decrease in the last three years.

Umfortunately, that decrease has been offset by rising cost, so uh which have gone up around uh just over 11%.

And so we believe that the guidance will continue to drive the number down, but we can't control inflation, but we do believe that the budget is sufficient.

How are you providing this um guidance to uh reduce the numbers?

We work um very closely with our LEAs.

We release the guidance, we put it on our website, we have uh meetings with LEA special education uh teams, uh share the guidance, answer questions.

Um we also work with them as we uh review for our CEPA reports, and so uh we just make it make clear to the LEAs what the guidance is, and they learn.

And so that's reduced non-public tuition.

Has it reduced?

Um I don't know what what do I call the other?

The uh regular um come on help me here.

It's the IEPs, either uh students who are in the LEAs in the city or they're non-public, so has it had an effect on both sides?

Oh well, issuing guidance is one of the tools that we have for helping LEAs maintain compliance with IDEA.

Uh we issue guidance on um lots of different components of the special education system, and we work very closely with LEAs to ensure that the guidance is being followed, and when it's not being followed, we provide technical assistance to support their ability to do that.

Well, I'm not asking the question very well, but um, you said that you've you have um how do I want to say this?

Press the guidance more um you've pressed the guidance more with the LEA IEP teams.

That's reduced enrollment in the non-public tuition.

Has it also had the effect of reducing enrollment in regular schools?

So reducing enrollment reducing the number of IEPs, reducing the number of are we are you is the guidance only about IE uh non-public placements?

No, sir, it's not.

We issue guidance about special education compliance with IDEA.

So there is guidance around IEP teams, there's guidance around how LEAs should incorporate parents into decisions that are made about students.

Uh there, yeah, guidance is one of the major tools that we have to help LEAs understand IDEA and get better and improve their special education services.

So it's not solely guidance for non-publics.

You've got a whole So has been reducing the number, I guess I'll say number of IEPs generally.

So we want to make sure that all students that have disabilities get the services that they deserve under Act, right?

Correct.

So the I guess implicit in my question is that there in the past has been what I'll call inflation, that is where there have been determinations of a child needing special education services when maybe he or she didn't actually need them.

You've certainly heard that said.

Um in the past, we have to say in the past.

Yes, I have heard that said particularly about our bus services, those those students who um who are deemed who are deemed uh in need of transportation as one of the services that they require.

I have heard that indeed, and we do have guidance on that topic.

Uh, it was released about a year, maybe a year and a half ago, and we are working the same strategy that is to ensure that LEAs and IEP teams thoroughly understand the requirements necessary for a student to receive transportation as a provided service.

We do see that the number of students that are actually applying for and receiving transportation services decreasing.

The guidance is being supplemented by technical assistance when we see an LEA that is not following the guidance, we provide and increase the level of technical assistance that they receive.

So are you seeing effect from all this guidance?

We are um in terms of the number of students that receive uh that are deemed eligible for transportation services.

We're holding steady from last year to this year.

The numbers are about the same.

Uh so we've not seen increases.

I can't say that we've seen decreases as a result of the guidance yet, but the example of with the non-publics, it took a few years in order for the guidance to um to show some uh demonstration of effectiveness.

I will say that we did uh audit of IEPs to determine whether or not uh the recommendations for transportation were reasonable.

We found that for the most part uh recommendations were reasonable, but um we also found that IEP teams were um stressing the use of Aussie transportation buses and not really um giving students access to other types of transportation services, types of services that would enable them to learn how to independently travel to and from school.

So there was testimony, I said earlier, and I think that understates and over the last 12 hours.

Um attorney with the firm that is involved with the DLV versus DC.

Litigation.

Um you know what I'm talking about.

I do.

And um, the district is required to provide special education and related services to all three to five-year-old children who need it.

At a minimum, the DL injunction requires special education for 8.5% of three to five-year-old children.

Further, the DL injunction requires the district to provide timely special education eligibility determinations and smooth and effective transitions from early intervention services prior to age three.

It's called Part C services to school-based services at age three, part B services to 95% of children going through that process.

I think that sentence could have been written a little bit more easily.

Um the DL injunction requires the district to meet these levels for several years in order to demonstrate its ability to sustain compliance with the requirements.

Um his testimony went on to say that of the three what do I want to call them?

The three um aspects, elements, I'll call them elements.

So the three elements, the district is sometimes in compliance with one or two, but never all three, and never any of them for a sustained number of years.

He suggested that maybe this is a resource issue.

Um we are hopeful that the mayor and council will provide ALSI and DCPS any funds that they need to finally come into compliance with the DL injunction.

So what's necessary to come into compliance?

It is necessary for us to continue working hand in hand with LEAs.

We commit a lot of resources to support LEAs in this work.

I can just give you a list of some of the things that we're doing in working with LEAs to meet the uh metrics under this lawsuit.

Um we work with DCPS uh to establish systemic improvement activities designed to meet these metrics.

Um we work with DCPS on a weekly basis uh to improve their systems, to uh provide professional development, to put systems in place uh so that we can ensure a smooth transition for three to five-year-olds.

Uh we um do can do annual monitoring uh to uh on on all of the metrics that are outlined in the lawsuit.

We use data to identify key areas and then we work on those areas in a continuous improvement mode.

Uh we are providing specialized tracking uh so that we know what happens um step by step through the special education process.

We are advertising child find and conducting parent information campaigns with DCPS.

So we are very much aware of um the areas where improvement needs to happen.

We are working with them again on a weekly basis to ensure that these things are happening, and it just takes a little bit, it takes time to turn the system around, uh, but we are uh absolutely working toward that.

Well, the attorney pointed out it's been 10 years since the injunction was put in place.

Um is this a how much of this is an Aussie issue as opposed to a DCPS issue or another LEA issue?

Is there another LEA that's at issue here?

Is it pretty much DCPS?

It's pretty much DCPS.

And how much of this is a DCPS issue or an ASI issue?

Uh actually, I think it is DCPS and all the other LEAs.

Uh Aussie is involved because of our oversight um role, but special education happens at the LEA level, and IEP teams are uh responsible for identifying and suggesting the supports that students need, and then the LEA is responsible for carrying out those those and providing those supports.

I'll come back to this.

I was reminded, Councilmember Fruman.

Do you have questions?

Uh thank you very much.

Yeah, sure, do you've been going for it's been a long day for you.

Thank you.

Uh nice to see you, Superintendent Mitchell.

Um, what are the implications of the 8.1 million dollar decrease in early education licensing and compliance?

Why the big drop there?

Okay.

I'm gonna ask my COO to address that question.

Uh good evening, and thank you for the question.

Uh, it's actually just a shift, it's a shift to a different program inside of our budget, um, specifically shifted to what's known as quality programming.

And so it's just as a recount, um, to remind everyone on the council is that uh when we transition to diffs, a lot of our stuff was in the wrong location, and so we've been using the last last few years to actually clean up and appropriately put the program's budget in the appropriate budget level.

So in this, there's no programmatic shift here, it's simply just moving some MPS to the uh quality programming line.

Okay, very helpful um i saw that P-Keep in the supplemental there was some money moved away a reduction for P-Keep in the supplemental and then there's a um a 277 thousand decrease to PKE in FY27 is this the result of simply the result of an estimate of lower enrollment in FY27 compared to FY26 and lower enrollment in FY26 than had been anticipated for FY26?

Yes council member that is the case I think you know PKEP is budgeted based on estimates and then uh the actuals come in and uh so that is why there was a little bit left in 26 and that's why the 27 budget is as it is and estimating is gonna get super tricky in this space and to what extent have you modeled out the implications of the cuts to the pay equity fund and the child care subsidy and the the impact the flow of dollars to our early childhood providers is going to be pretty significantly constrained.

Have you tried to model or talked with them about how that's going to be dealt with in terms of maybe it's increased tuition maybe it's some providers needing to close how what do you think are the implications of the proposed cuts in those in that space yeah I will say that the we clearly understand that the proposed cuts will have uh negative impacts across the sector you can't take 60 million dollars out of a sector without there being some real uh impacts we um clearly understand that for the providers uh this is a significant um uh significant amount of money coming out of their revenues um we know that the providers are all independent private organizations they'll make decisions uh that could range from um lowering the pay for their workforce uh some may decide to raise the rates for the families that they have some unfortunately may not be able to do that because of where they are located and the amount of money that their parents make so um this is going to have a negative effect we um really empathize with the providers it's just that with a billion starting off with a billion dollar deficit for the DC budget uh this is a really tough decision that we had to make yeah I mean now the ball is in our court and it is a it is a really tough decision and the idea we're gonna work our way down is it like 1600 is it is current enrollment in the 7600 range and you want to get it down to six thousand is that right yes for the subsidy program um the current enrollment is at what 70 78 7900 uh individuals right now uh we are budgeted for fiscal year 27 at 114 million which is enough for us to serve uh six thousand uh families uh that means that we are trying and of course um we don't know how many families will enroll in the program prior to the implementation of the wait list so uh it is the goal to to stay within budget and right now our budget is 114 yeah and so that means a one quarter reduction in the number of folks benefiting from the subsidy and obviously a giant hit to the providers.

You didn't want to have to do this, I'm sure.

Super hard in an environment where work requirements are kicking in on the public benefit side and folks are gonna need child care in order to get jobs and the and now they'll be on a wait list.

But I didn't people have editorialized all day on this and that I have to believe you in a perfect world you wouldn't have done that.

And the ATCs it's interesting what you guys are doing on the ATCs.

What how did the idea come up about renting out the ATCs?

What kinds of things are contemplated did you have people come to you and say they wanted to rent the ATCs?

Well the renters at the ATC, it's the ATC and Ward 5, they will be our industry partners.

They're our children's hospital and Med Star.

The uh idea is to have those uh medical facilities available on the first floor it's a boon to Ward 5 which is uh healthcare desert but it also provides partnerships and our students will be able to do internships and and uh on site uh learning they'll be able to do job shadowing they'll get lectures from the people who work there it's a wonderful partnership so it's not like it's not somebody wants to rent it in order to do an event or something it's that somebody's going to rent the real estate in order to set up a uh office not at all not at all these are medical clinics that'll be partners in our work.

Interesting and then the dollars stay at the ATC.

That's correct um what happened you know a lot of talk about child care subsidy and pay equity and I really hope there's a way for the council to fix this community schools like Aussie's come forward and talked about the success of community schools and then they're cut from the budget what what drove that decision?

Well the community schools budget was a one time uh one time was what's it called one time one-time enhancement yes it was a one-time enhancement and I think you know that all of the one time enhancements went away with um the need to fill the the budget gap um I strongly believe in the community school model I think of community schools as setting the context for kids to grow and learn um the community school grants that we provide I think we provide about 17 grants of about 158 thousand dollars um to fund the the uh community schools coordinator at the schools uh it is the beginning it's an incentive grant to uh to to introduce the concept to schools uh but there's so much more to what a community school can be i'm not sure that we've reached the the right mix i don't think the model that we have here in DC is fulfilling the potential of what a community school is uh we were at a communities in schools event just the other night doing incredible work um and we have to figure out how we how we systematize that work and make it more uh more feasible across the whole system yeah i mean i'll say it's the kind of thing that can make a real difference and it also these the these dollars can leverage private philanthropic dollars that's what that communities and schools event partly what that was all about and it's uh it sounds like you're saying you'd love to be doing this and doing it in an even more robust way but the money just isn't there in this budget cycle that's correct sir and what about the um the are you planning on funding the second year continuation grant for the whole child and educator wellness grants using current Aussie dollars, or what's gonna happen with educator educator wellness grants?

Yeah, that too unfortunately was a one-time enhancement we um we're not able to uh continue that grant.

Uh to address educator wellness.

Um, you know, DCPS has wellness days, there are um you know programs that exist for teachers.

Um so it is another program that uh would be great to continue had we had the money, but in the circumstances that we find ourselves, um we uh sort of lean more towards programs that have proven academic value.

Uh and while educator wellness is critically important across the board.

We just think that there are other ways to um to support that goal.

Okay.

Well, I will I will step aside for the chairman to take another round, and I will talk with you again sometime soon.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um I want to go back to this uh issue that I was pursuing on the DL injunction.

And I think where I was was I was asking you how much of this is Aussie, and how much of this is DCPS.

So all the LEAs have to provide uh special education services where needed, but my impression, and you seem to agree was that this is primarily a DCPS issue.

So then the question is how much of this is Aussie and how much of this is um DCPS.

So there are these uh different um metrics that have to be met.

Three, and the metrics aren't being met.

And the testimony we got earlier was we are hopeful the mayor and the council will provide Aussie and DCPS any funds they will need to finally come into compliance.

Well, to be sure to come into compliance does require resources.

The question is whether the resources in the existing budgets are adequate.

You might say the resources are adequate because I've never known an executive branch agency director at a budget hearing who says, Well, gosh, the resources I have are not adequate, but the fact is that this injunction was uh issued on May, I think he said May 16th.

He said we're coming up on the 10th year anniversary.

So 10 years and still there's not uh compliance with the three metrics.

So I'm trying to figure out how I can figure out what the resources are that are needed.

We actually think the resources are sufficient.

Um that what is needed is just more focused work.

Uh we continue to work with DCPS on a weekly basis on a monthly basis.

We look at staffing to determine where there are gaps, where there are holes, and what uh DCPS needs to do to fill those holes.

Well, you make that sound pretty simple or easy, but it hasn't happened in 10 years.

More focused work.

Yeah, like um the same kind of uh I want to say focus on literacy where actually we spent a couple million dollars on training teachers.

Yep, and before the pandemic, we were nearing with DCPS, we were nearing the goals, uh the metric goals that we uh needed to um get out of the lawsuit.

Unfortunately, the pandemic hit and we um lost ground and we are now digging our way back out, but we are making progress.

I think this needs more attention, uh, and we're probably gonna have a hearing later in a year, so forewarned.

Um there is a budget line under operations in ASI's budget book for special education.

This budget line increased from roughly 1.8 million FY26 to 23 million FI27.

Can you tell me more about this?

Um for that specific budget line, I'm going to turn to the CLO.

Yes, thank you for the question.

So on that specific line, um, we had uh basically what occurred is there uh was movement from the pay equity line.

So if you look at the pay equity line, which used to be called grant awards program, has hundreds of millions of dollars on this.

There was essentially um 21.3 million dollars of our DCPS interagency that we have on the previous what is pay equity has been moved appropriately to the special education, mostly of um federal grants that we provide to DCPS.

Why would it have been on the pay equity line?

Pay equity is what we've been talking about all day.

Yes, I haven't I'm so glad you asked, Mr.

Chairman.

Um so if you recall when we transitioned to diff, if you look at a budget book a few years ago, that particular line used to be called grants awards program, and it was where essentially um the placeholder for everything that basically had grants at Aussie was placed on that line.

So if you look at the budget book, you'll see hundreds of millions of dollars there on the what is now known as pay equity.

Um so it was just a vestige of where all of our grants used to live, and so now we've been, as I said, you know, been working to actually redistribute these things to the appropriate line items as they exist.

When it was called grants awards program, it should have always been pay equity, but that's just where um all the money was dumped, unfortunately.

Uh so there's nothing new here.

No, there's no new money here, it's simply a movement from and and as again you will see a quite a lot of shifts to the appropriate levels, and we are you know proud to say that all of our um NPS and PS is finally at least on the GD side where it should be this year.

Uh UPSFF at risk.

Why did the at-risk portion of the UPSFF decrease at DCPS?

The at-risk portion remained relatively flat for charter schools.

So we know that um with the enrollment data, we lost some uh students some students.

I think we were down 300 students.

I'm gonna ask the COO to explain a little bit more about that change.

Yes, thank you.

So one, we did see from our enrollment audit from 2425 to 2526, a decrease of at-risk students of about 841 particular students.

Now I think what you're referring to, and one thing we should be very clear is that the DME runs the projections for both DCPS and the charter side school.

But what you're seeing particularly on the DCPS side actually is in alignment with what the enrollment audit showed for the number of at-risk students based off of our most recent enrollment audit.

So what you see on DCPS's side is a basic two thousand uh roughly a two thousand dollar two thousand student decrease from at risk projected to their new projections.

But if you actually look at our most recent enrollment audit, their projections are actually up over their at-risk students of their actual at-risk students that they have.

So their projection is pretty spot on.

You know, I almost followed that, but if you asked me to repeat it, I wouldn't be able to repeat a word of it.

So, it's down 2,000 from the projection is down 2,000 from the last projection.

Correct.

But it's close to the actuals.

Correct.

No, it's above the actuals.

Correct.

So, you know, DCPS is their their at-risk um uh based off our last enrollment audit was 22,328, and their projection is 22,412.

So an increase essentially of 84 students or 0.38% of their at-risk.

This is all to say that they're, you know, coming out of the DCP uh DME's office and DCPS, their projections are pretty close to where they're actual at risk students.

And the reason we're not seeing the same thing on the charter side is because.

Well, I mean, on the charter side, um, they are projecting in line with their actual at-risk numbers as well, right?

Um, so they their actual audited at-risk numbers on the charter side is 21,975, and they have predicted 21,000 um 899, so a decrease of 76.

Um, again, you need to you'd have to ask the DME and the PSCS PCSB in order to uh for understanding about how they arrived at those projections, but for both sectors, they are pretty aligned to their actual at-risk enrollment.

So I got the impression listening to 250 witnesses that someone somewhere somehow put the word out that the council's looking at cutting funding for the ATCs.

Uh I would say we are questioning all kinds of different things in the budget, but I've not been part of any discussion that's actually discussed cutting the ATCs.

Um, but I do have some concerns about how we got into this.

I want to say free.

It was a um a philanthropy, a philanthropy philanthropic grant.

So we got into this free.

And now next year we're looking at uh roughly a seven million dollar local funds contribution.

Um so I'm not quite sure where I'm gonna go with my questions here.

One of them is um, why is there a UPSFF weight to fund this?

Um there are all kinds of things we do.

Uh, we don't fund your office out of a UPS FF weight, and the UPSF philosophically is to ensure appropriate funding on two sides of the public education system, charters and DCPS.

HCTs are neither.

So why is there a UPSFF weight?

Thank you for the question, Chairman.

Um first, I'd like to, before I answer your question, I'd like to uh go back to the first statement that you made about um the beginnings of the advanced technical centers.

We actually wrote uh into our state plan, maybe 2013, 2014, about um a cherry on top of our CTE system in the District of Columbia, and that cherry on top was the ATC or Advanced Technical Center.

Um uh we did not have funding, did not have any idea that we would be able to do that.

It was like a moonshot.

Uh but years later, COVID relief funds came along, and we were able to use some of the COVID relief funds to launch the ATC.

Having launched the ATC, uh, we found that it was in alignment with some of the goals of the Bloomberg Foundation and Philanthropies, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and we were invited to submit an application, which we did, and then we got funding.

Um, I am so pleased to hear that you've not entertained seriously um changing the proposal in the budget about the ATC because it is uh an outstanding program that as we indicated in my testimony has a thousand almost a thousand families on a wait list wanting to participate in in the ATC.

So I'll um answer your question now.

Uh the reason that we have included the ATC.

The proposal to include the ATC in the UPS FF is because the ATC operates very much like a school, it has fixed costs like teachers' um equipment supplies, very much like a school in order to ensure that future students will have access to this very popular uh program.

We think that the stability of funding is very important, and one of the most stable ways to do that is through the UPSF.

So is that really what it's about?

Is that if it was a line item, it might be more vulnerable to a cut than if it's in the UPSFF.

We need the stability.

The um total budget for FY26 is 5.4 million, and for FY27, it's 7.8 million.

Total budget for fiscal year 25 is 26, that's correct.

Yes.

Sometimes I have the right numbers, sometimes.

So, but that's an increase of uh help me here, 2.5?

2.4?

That's correct.

And the increase um is designed to uh backfill some of the funding that we received from the Department of Education, uh, but uh had a grant rescinded.

I'm going to invite uh assistant superintendent Kylan Boardman Schreuer to say a little bit more.

Thank you so much.

Um thank you for the question, and I'm I'm glad to hear that uh right now there's only conversation and questions happening.

Um the 2.4 million dollars is also associated with increasing our enrollment to by 150 additional students.

Right now we serve 370 students in FY27.

We're projected to serve 520 students, uh and that is in line with expansion associated with both the um build out of the ward 8 ATC.

Right now we only have uh about 70 students at the ward 8 ATC.

We are in a temporary location.

Uh we are building out about 10,000 square feet of classroom space on the second floor of the Whitman Walker Health Center.

That would allow for eventually up to 200 students to be served at the ward eight ATC, and then we also very much due to the generosity of the mayor and the council uh was funded about 24 million dollars for capital funding over the last two years to build out the ward five ATC's first floor, which will allow us to continue to increase enrollment.

So this 150 additional students in FY27 is the beginning of that planned expansion.

So what's the current enrollment at the ward five facility?

310 at the ward five facility.

I'm sorry, 30.

And what's the current enrollment at the ward eight?

I'm sorry, I think I said 70 at 60.

And where do you want to be in Ward 5?

You say you're building it out.

We're looking to add about additional 80 students next year, um, and we would then add an additional uh 70 students to the ward eight ATC.

And we would again be um eventually ramping up enrollment at those two sites.

So next year FY27 would be 390 in Ward 5 and 130 in Ward 8.

That's correct.

And then after that, uh after that, we would be looking to get up to our 200, which would be the maximum in FY28 at uh ward 8, and then we'd be increasing by another 100 in ward five.

So 490.

Yeah, probably actually up to 500 that year, so 110.

You said 110, 510, what?

No, sorry.

Just saying our our goal for ward five and 28 would be 500.

So it would be 110 additional.

Got it.

Any other expansion plans?

Uh so the ward by the ATC, the maximum capacity would be 700 students, but we would plan on rolling that out basically between FY27 and FY30.

Uh, but then after that, we would be at our max capacity at both sites.

Of 700 and 200?

That's correct, Chairman.

So 200 is the maximum at the ward 8.

Correct.

So when was the Bloomberg um philanthropies grant first?

It's a multi-year grant.

So what was the first year of it?

FY FY25 was the first year.

We're now in our second year, obviously, and we would have one more year of grant funding in FY27.

The grant, however, was built um to be sort of a narrowing grant.

So we started with a larger investment year two is a smaller investment, year three is down to an even smaller investment.

So for the FY27 budget period, we are looking at just under a million dollars from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

So it's a three-year grant, correct?

27 is the last year.

That's correct.

Are there any other philanthropic uh possibilities?

Well, we are always on the lookout to try to figure out how we can augment our our local budget, especially with such tight um revenue forecast that we're we're all dealing with here.

We are actually planning on doing a showcase just next Monday where we're bringing in um local officials as well as national funders to figure out how we can continually uh augment the budget that we have so that we aren't always coming to the council and the mayor to cover everything.

But right now we don't have anything um concrete prospects, but we're always putting it out.

The ATC has been recognized nationally, we've had international education leaders come visit the ATC, so we do think it is a model that uh is right for private investment.

So I don't it was was the decision to do the UPSFF weight, was that Aussie or DME or the city administrator?

I think that I believe that it is a good idea, and I think that uh we came together to come to the conclusion that it is a way to ensure sustainable funding for the ATC.

Um, because I'm looking at this question that I'm hesitating to ask, but I guess I would say there's a little bit of resentment.

I know that sounds strong.

Uh resentment that this is a mayoral initiative.

Well, I've just spent the last 12 hours listening to defunding two, no, one council initiative, which was the pay equity.

But also, and the question I have here is how do you justify the ATC weight compared to the level five sped school weight, or say a weight for community schools?

Um, let's just look at um level five.

So there's been testimony for two years, this being the second year about how there needs to be a level five weight.

Umbody denies that it's worthy.

It was in the um uh whatever the study is called.

The um what's the study house?

The adequacy study.

Um it was it was in the adequacy study.

I get to listen to St.

Coletta, they come to every hearing now.

Um, they may even have been at the Department of Buildings hearing.

That's a little unfair because they actually weren't, but um, but they're pretty upset.

And uh of course, what would make the most sense is if we just funded to level five weight.

So why is the administration so quick to fund something else to the to create a weight for something else, and they can't do like level five in special education?

Yes, Chairman, I think the programs that you identified are all very worthy of funding.

I don't think um that we ever want to be in a position where we have to pick one thing over another.

Uh I will say that we have made some um pretty substantial investments in the ATC.

Uh we've got this wait list of a thousand families uh from all over the city who want their child to have the opportunity.

Uh we've built out space.

Uh we are committed to renting space in ward eight.

Uh so we would be losing money if we didn't use the the slots that we are creating.

Um, and so we know the incredible impact the ATC is having on students, uh, increasing attendance, increasing graduation, increasing post-secondary education, they're earning certifications.

Uh, this is a program that is um equally as worthy.

So, in getting the additional funding.

I'm looking here.

Um, uh from three to six, getting the additional three four million dollars in local dollars.

I think that's roughly the right amount.

2.4 million.

Additional and local dollars.

Um, did you have to file an enhancement request with the city administrator?

No, we didn't uh turn in any enhancement requests, but we maintained a dialogue with uh Mayor's budget office throughout the year uh and we're able to point to the multiple successes at the ATC.

So there would have been, I think your answers honing in on the infamous discussion about formal budget enhancement requests, but there would have been other documents submitted.

I had to submit something in writing to explain it.

Yeah, I could be I don't I just don't recall.

I believe the thing we we um included in a presentation to the city administrator around our spending pressures, uh future spending pressures at the uh what do they call it to budget something team?

BRT.

Yeah, budget review team.

Councilmember Fruman, I can just go on and on.

Did you have any more questions?

Uh thank you very much.

If I could take a round, and this will be my last round, and I give you a break to gather your thoughts for going on and on into the night.

Um on the ATCs, uh I'm very enthusiastic about them.

And you pointed to to impact in terms of attendance.

Uh, do you have data on the number of the students who are connected to a job after the ATC?

And I suppose you referenced increased engagement in post-secondary.

So of the students who have participated, how many or what percentage of them have gone on to get a job or gone on to uh post-secondary program?

Do you have data like that?

It's a great question.

The ATC is, I think we graduated our first class last year, two years ago.

I'm going to turn to uh assistant superintendent.

Thank you for the question.

So our ATCs are still pretty young.

They've uh only been in existence so far.

We are in our fourth year.

Um we have graduated two classes, but in ATC graduation can include seniors who are graduating high school, but can also include juniors who are remaining in high school have one more year.

So we do not have enough data simply because of the time frame to be able to see exactly how many of those ATC graduates who have moved on and graduated high school, how many of them are actually enrolling in post-secondary education.

However, we do have anecdotal information around students who we know have, for instance, earned a certified nursing assistant, started working while still in high school as a certified nursing assistant, then leverage the partnership with Trinity Washington University, which will admit any of our ATC graduates into either their IT or their nursing track and provide a $15,000 a year scholarship.

And we have anecdotal information around several students being able to participate in and utilize that pathway that we've built.

We are certainly happy to provide additional information around maybe those students who have graduated to see how many of them actually found themselves in a post-secondary education program.

I will say that for CTE concentrators, we have about 80% of our CT concentrators across the city are actually moving directly into post-secondary education or a job, and when you look at that disaggregated by post-secondary education and a job, most of them about 70% are moving directly into post-secondary education.

So we would be more than happy to try to disaggregate that so we can look specifically at the ATC graduates.

So I do think that's going to be important.

I mean, on its face, it looks like an absolutely great program, and the fact that there are a thousand families on the wait list says a lot, but the but having actual data on impact as opposed to anecdotal, I think would be useful.

100%.

If there's a thousand families on the wait list, is there any contemplation of trying to have a third site?

ASI has not contemplated a third third site, but we know that we have set an example and DCPS has opened Phelps to all of the high schools within DCPS.

So it is not unreasonable to assume that other organizations uh may do something like the ATCs, uh and that would be a good thing.

Okay.

One of the things that what I've been hearing about some is that is the practical diploma.

Um, and um there had been I think we had a meeting with the state board where a number of state board members talked about their reaction to the practical diploma studies diploma.

Where does it stand and how are you trying to take into account whatever public feedback you've gotten on that?

Mm-hmm.

Thank you so much for the question.

The practical studies diploma is one of many recommendations to change high school graduation requirements, which we have submitted to the state board.

Uh the practical studies diploma was developed uh to address a need for a certain amount, a certain um level, certain group of students with disabilities.

Uh some students with disabilities are able to earn a regular high school diploma through accommodations or modifications.

Unfortunately, there are also some students who because of their disability are unable to achieve a regular high school diploma.

For those students, the only other option is a certificate of completion.

That certificate of completion is for individuals who have pretty severe disabilities.

And there is a group of students between being unable to achieve a regular diploma and that certificate of completion.

And for that group of students, a practical studies diploma would prepare them for work, job training, or even possibly post-secondary education.

This diploma is not designed for a race to the bottom.

It is rather designed to support a group of students who are largely dropping out of school.

So where does it stand in terms of implementation?

It's part of it's part of a big package that's in front of the state board.

Has the state board come back with their recommendations of what it is you should do?

No, the state board has not provided us with their uh final decisions around uh around the entire package, but we have been in contact with the subcommittee that is looking at the graduation requirements.

We continue to work with them to share information to ensure uh to work toward to help them understand the intent of the diploma.

I know that there is uh some controversy around um this race to uh push more students to get this diploma.

It is not, that is not the intent whatsoever, and we will work towards we work with the state board um to identify a path forward that um that most people can be happy with.

Uh once the state board sends information back to us about their uh opinion about the package, we'll have to work with them because ultimately they have to approve anything that any change that we would make.

Um, and then even once we work with them, uh, in order to change the regulations, we'd have to go through a public comment period.

Um back on the child care subsidy wait list, which is days away, right?

Um what kind of communications are you preparing so that families know that the wait list is coming, but maybe even for those who are enrolled, uh, if their enrollment lapses, they will have created the urgency of recertifying and reenrolling in order to keep their space.

Uh, one would imagine there would be an FAQ that would be out there.

What are the steps being taken to make sure that our families are fully informed of what's happening and how they can protect their rights and then once they if they are on the wait list, how they can have transparency into where they are on the wait list.

What's that?

What's that picture look like?

And I I would say to the chairman that I don't have a clock running, and I don't think you want me to go on forever.

I don't know what you want to do about that.

Yeah, well, thank you so much for the question.

Um, with such big changes happening um in the subsidy program, communication uh is critical, and not only communication with uh the families and the subsidy program, but communications with providers and stakeholders as well.

I'm going to ask Hannah Matthews, who's our interim deputy superintendent for early learning to share the various mechanisms that we've used to communicate with stakeholders.

Thank you.

Yes, thank you for the question because the team has been very hard at work since we announced the wait list, and frankly, even prior to that, in thinking about all of this.

So you mentioned FAQs.

Um, yes, we have updated our website to have FAQs that are targeted both towards families as well as those towards providers.

We have been sending email communications to providers that participate in the subsidy system and all of our providers with information about the wait list and what it means.

We've given them information to hand to families, both families that might be seeking subsidy to let them know that they can submit a complete application on or before May 11th, as well as families that are receiving subsidy to know the implications.

We have produced a poster for them to hang up in their um in their programs as well as in DHS offices again with this information.

On the redetermination side, because I think that is the most important piece for families that are currently enrolled, is that there are now implications of not uh redeterminate on time.

Um, so excuse me, a couple of things that we've done.

We've been able to make some modifications to our existing system.

So right now, um 60 days prior to the end of a redetermination, a family gets a notice of eligibility return free determination.

That is what tells them what documents they are required to submit.

We will be sending that notice to providers as well so that there's another touch point to work with families to make sure that they recertify in time.

We also are going to be able to adapt our system to actually send out reminders at 30 days, 15 days, various times before that eligibility ends.

So we really are trying to take a look at that process and make sure that we are being as clear as we can to families that are participating so that they don't lose their subsidy with while being eligible.

I think you asked one more question about how we're communicating in terms of the the wait list itself.

Um a couple of things there.

So we are one thing is that we have taken the request for transparency on the subsidy system very much to heart.

We are um very happy that we um last month started producing quarterly data on enrollment and information about children in the program and providers participating.

We are going to be adding a monthly update on the wait list so that we'll be able to see each month the number of children and families enrolled and also be able to see the number of children on the wait list by the priority group, by their age, by their ward.

We're gonna provide all that information.

Um, when families apply and are placed on the waiting list, they will get a notification that informs them that they're on the waiting list, what their priority group is, and so they can also look at that dashboard to be able to get a sense of the number of families in the group with them or perhaps ahead of them.

Will they know where they are in that group?

Will there be any way that they have transparency to do that?

It's a good question.

So the challenge here is that um giving a number to a family doesn't actually provide them any information because those numbers that placement on the wait list are dynamic.

If a family applies and then additional families apply after them, but in a higher priority group, those families are gonna move ahead and the family is gonna move down, right?

So the number itself won't be meaningful.

I think the other issue is that we can't tell families right now the date that we anticipate being able to provide a subsidy.

You heard we're anticipating that the wait list is in effect through the end of the fiscal year.

So the number itself isn't meaningful.

We are providing information in that notice about the wait list with the family's eligibility worker, their contact details.

The eligibility worker again will be able to look at that monthly dashboard and be able to give them a little bit of support and understanding where they are in the kind of universe of the wait list.

Okay, all very helpful.

I mean, I'm glad to hear that you're doing it.

Really important to do it because it's the right thing to do.

Also, really important to do it because you need a paper trail of showing that you've given notice because we're uh inevitably we're gonna have people coming and saying they had no idea.

And so help us by providing the kind of notice that you're talking about.

I want to do one last topic, which is sort of a big one.

And I'm curious.

Today there was a lot of testimony about the use of screens and technology in schools.

This is a thing that I had not been hearing about six months ago in anything like the same way, but increasingly I'm hearing from people who have concerns about the amount of screen time that students and including at very young ages are engaged in.

I wonder to what extent is Aussie looking not just at the AI piece but also at the screen time issue and if you have reactions to the testimony that you might have heard today from folks who are concerned about this.

Yeah thank you so much for the question screen time is a growing national concern uh and we certainly have heard about it and are tracking uh a lot of the concerns that are being raised um I think you know that we have written a model uh cell phone use policy uh that um is being shared and and uh next year students will not be allowed to have cell phones in school so that'll cut down on some of the screen time uh we are working on an AI policy in a in the similar vein um we have not though contemplated any um regulations or anything like that related to screen time we think that that is an issue that is best dealt with at the LEA level and um certainly we stand by to provide research uh and information but it's not something that Aussie has thought about um moving on.

I mean so it's not the kind of thing that in terms of sort of statewide standards you'd you don't see yourself developing a policy on that but but you are developing a policy on AI.

Who are you consulting with as you're creating that policy on AI and why why a policy on AI but not necessarily but not a policy around screen time.

So AI is increasingly shaping uh all of our lives uh we use it you know you can't do a Google search anymore without AI so it is um like a steam train rolling down the track and we feel that it is very important to try to get ahead of it we know that teachers are using AI students are using AI um and without guardrails it can be a dangerous thing there are incredible benefits uh that can be gained through the use of AI but um just as importantly there are real concerns uh safety concerns privacy concerns that we have to take into consideration and so we feel it's very important um to provide some guardrails in addition to that we uh conducted a survey of LEA leaders asking them what they needed most as they confront this big big change that AI is bringing to our whole society and the number one thing that they asked for was guidance so we are uh fulfilling a need based on a survey from LEAs um and in order to create the guidance we first did a national scan of other states that have written guidance uh we did research around AI guidance um across the country uh and um we are also um we've got a draft of the policy we are uh sharing it with a few LEAs right now to get responses before we do it uh we we release the uh guidance okay um on screen time i i do think we're seeing increasingly around the country you observed it uh a move away particularly at younger grades and there's apparently I mean this is a thing I'm beginning to engage in um a decent amount of science that suggests particularly at very early grades, that learning on a computer is far less effective than learning from a person.

And so it does seem like another one of those areas where Aussie could explore sort of statewide standards.

I mean, I don't know.

DCPS is developing its own standards, I believe, or has standards, but some of the smaller LEAs.

Where do they go if they don't go to LC?

Yeah.

We're more than happy to reach out to the LEAs and work with them, should they want to do that?

I think I would encourage you to ask the LEAs what they're hearing and thinking about on this topic, because when it's interesting, you know, through the pandemic, you know a lot of the screens were the salvation.

It was we need absolutely 100% needed them, and there's a certain momentum to it.

But there we can get to a place where we're doing something just because we started doing it without evaluating the efficacy of it or some of the downsides.

And it seems like we're in a moment where folks are saying, Time out, does this still make sense post-pandemic?

Is this the best way to be teaching our kids?

Really does seem like a natural space for us.

We will have discussions with our LEAs for sure.

All right, thank you very much.

Thank you for your patience, and I will leave you to it.

Um I'm gonna call it a night.

Thanks.

Uh thank you for bailing early.

Um I'm gonna ask some questions about uh child care subsidies, so might stick around.

Um, what is the um current enrollment?

Uh 7,921.

Are there uh any pending applications that are not part of that?

That is the last number of children that we paid for services, so there are certainly applications pending.

I will say that we can see that the applications that are coming in have been an increased volume.

We don't know right now the share of them that have been determined eligible and being placed in services, so um we it can anticipate that there will likely be some growth in that number, but we don't know the extent of it.

How many pending applications are there?

I don't know the number that are pending.

Um, I know that we saw spikes in the number of applications submitted in each of the last several months.

Okay.

7,921 is the last number that you paid for.

Yes.

You have not a clue how many are like sitting in the mailbox or in the inbox or the whatever.

So they're coming in in real time, and the applications are supposed to be processed if they're complete within 10 days.

So there's not necessarily a lot that are sitting waiting.

We are in the process of moving them through, but we don't have that number that so you not asked that question at all in the last couple of days.

How many applications have we gotten in this week, or how many did we get in the last two weeks?

You've not asked that question.

We do have that.

We have some information from the online application.

So again, families can apply multiple different ways.

They can apply through a level two provider, they can apply through DHS, or they can apply through the online application.

The online application can also be used at either of those two.

So there's uh it's a little bit hard to have a perfect number.

Um, we did see that just at the beginning of May, we had 64 online applications, and that is an increase from previous times.

In April, we had 202 online applications submitted, um, which was higher than the number in March.

Well, those are the applications, not the eligibility determination.

So 64 is uh the beginning of May, which means May 1st or May 5th.

May 1st through 5th, we pulled it this morning.

Or sorry, through the 7th.

You pulled it this morning.

Yes.

Okay.

Um if an application comes in, I think your wait list goes into effect on the 12th, which is Tuesday.

I'm kind of this is a complete aside, but why on a Tuesday and not a Monday?

Um so if an application comes in on Monday, if it's eligible, it's gotten in under the wire.

As long as there's a complete application submitted on the 11th, that will be processed.

If the family is determined eligible, they will be able to enroll in services.

Are there any other numbers besides the 7,921 in the 64?

Not yet.

So for the current fiscal year, with the revised budget, you'll have 114 million dollars for the child care subsidy?

No, with the revised budget for fiscal year 26, we'll have 140 million dollars for subsidy.

And how many um students does that cover?

I believe it's 8,000.

So yes, uh that would cover uh 8,000 students.

Um we want to say very clearly though, we don't have any idea how many students will end up in the program at the end of 26 because we don't know how many students will sign up before the wait list goes into effect.

Yeah, I'm not sure I understood that.

Um you're at 7,985 of the 64 100% are eligible.

And of course, the 64 doesn't include all the other applications that either have yet to come in or came in in different ways that you haven't counted.

So you're already at 8,000.

You're gonna be above 8,000.

Um understanding is that your attrition rate right now is about 1% a month?

1% per month and 10% in September.

And that is based on previous years.

We don't know if the wait list will change those numbers.

So for next year, the mayor's proposed 114 million.

That's correct.

And that covers 6,000.

That's the average number, yes.

So 10% of 8,000 is 800.

Somebody do the math, and um one percent a month for 11 months would be 80 times 11, which is another 800.

So that's 1600 from 8,000 gets you to 6,400, which is above the 6,000.

Well, the 6,000 is meant to be an average monthly number of children over the course of the year.

So that number does fluctuate pretty consistently.

Um, we would be bringing it down to about 6,000.

Well, I just ran through the math.

That was pretty crude.

I think I was just trying to impress people with my math skills, but you still didn't get the 6,000.

You got the 6,400, I think.

And that's above 6,000.

So however you average it, it's still above 6,000.

I'm not quite seeing how a hundred and fourteen million would be adequate.

We've also included in that number a single rate um to pay the child care providers, which is anticipated to save us about six million.

Yep.

I'm sorry, say that again.

Single rate saves how much?

Six million.

Um, so uh there's a little confusion on my part here.

The Aussie determines what they think is um, I'm gonna say the market rate, and then the subsidy is a percent of that calculation.

And it depends on whether it's an infant or a three-year-old.

Is it is the standard rate 70% or 80%?

So it as you said, it depends on the age and the type of care.

But if we're looking at our infant care rate, the base payment rate, so that lowest payment tier.

Hold on, hold on.

My phone's blowing up.

Did I say Siri?

What did I say?

Did I say Siri?

Shut up.

Infant is what?

That's theory was gonna weigh in.

Um the infant rate is 80% of the cost of care.

So that's the analysis based on the cost of care, which is a little bit different from the market rate.

Do you remember how many categories are there?

Infant and there are breakdowns by age, there are breakdowns by setting for centers and homes, and then there's a full-day rate part day, there are um special education ads-ons.

So there are multiple rates.

All right, so let's take infant at 80% of cost of care.

Do you have that um uh quality and high quality add-on?

So what is the high quality for 80%?

The quality rate is then about eighty-two percent of the cost of care, and the high quality rate is 88% of the cost of care.

But if everything was just at the basic cost and not the quality and high quality, you think that would save about six million?

That's correct.

Without the quality and high quality rate increases, what is Aussie's plan for encouraging and supporting child care facilities to continue meeting quality and high quality benchmarks?

We would continue to uh evaluate childcare centers uh, but for quality, uh using uh an instrument that is validated and reliable based on national studies.

Um we'll always be interested in quality and want to ensure that our child care facilities are of um strong quality.

But there won't be an incentive.

That's correct.

So you'll I run a facility, you'll come into my facility, you'll look at it and you'll say we think you run a decent place.

We think you're meeting the requirements of licensure.

Do you want to?

I would just add that we still will because we have the observation data, we can still provide information about the quality of facilities.

So to the extent that that is an indicator that families can look at and make determinations, I think there is an incentive there to be to do well on those assessments.

Um back to those incentives, the uh I'm gonna say two percent and eight percent, that's an Aussie guidelines or regulations, correct?

That's not in law.

That's right.

That's correct.

In regulations, yes.

So I can't help but think that maybe some of the witnesses who testified here being a little bit dramatic, but if we eliminate the pay equity subsidy for compensation, and we um I'm gonna say put a chokehold on uh the child care subsidy.

Isn't the um child care industry going to crash?

So let me before you answer that, just remember that during the pandemic, there was a lot of concern because nobody was going to work, nobody was putting their kids in child care centers, and the child care centers were really struggling.