Public Hearing on Bill 26-403: Education Continuity for Students in the Care of DC Amendment Act – July 6, 2026
Public Hearing on Bill 26-403: Education Continuity for Students in the Care of DC Amendment Act – July 6, 2026
The Council of the District of Columbia, Committee as a Whole, held a public hearing on Bill 26-403, which aims to improve educational continuity for students in foster care, detention, or incarceration. Chair Phil Mendelson presided, and Councilmember Zachary Parker, the bill's author, gave an opening statement. The hearing featured three expert witnesses, a panel of public witnesses, and government representatives from DYRS and OSSE. Key issues included the need for uniform credit transfer, transition planning, enforcement, and fiscal feasibility.
Consent Calendar
- None.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Danielle Robinette (Children's Law Center): Supported the bill, citing that nearly 100% of her foster care clients in high school lose credits during transitions. She emphasized that current MOAs are not enforceable and lack uniform procedures for transcript evaluations, leading to arbitrary credit decisions and delays.
- Dr. Felicia Hayward (Maya Angelou C4 Foundation): Supported the bill, noting that youth in detention often lose partial credits when transferring schools. She highlighted that receiving schools frequently do not accept credits earned in secure facilities, discouraging students from continuing their education.
- Paul Beach (Bellwether): Supported the bill, drawing on Nebraska's experience. He recommended establishing clear accountability for transition planning, ensuring complete records transfer, and creating a dispute-resolution process for credit determinations. He noted that few states have comprehensive frameworks like Bill 26-403.
- Noah Doherty (DC Charter School Alliance): Supported the bill's purpose but urged more clarity on definitions (e.g., "awaiting placement") and more flexibility in transition team composition to avoid scheduling delays. He stressed the need for robust data infrastructure to support credit transfer.
- Caterina Semanova (Public Defender Service): Supported the bill, noting that youth leaving DYRS often face weeks of waiting for school enrollment. She advocated for a point of contact at each school (not just LEA) and for requiring schools to allow dual enrollment to prevent unenrollment during detention.
- Taylor Bell (School Justice Project): Supported the bill, arguing that MOAs have failed because staff are not trained on them and because they lack enforcement. She noted that the Nebraska system cost about $300,000 in startup costs and that DC has about 9,600 students in care, compared to Nebraska's 2,200 adjudicated youth.
- Dee Dee Davis (Solo Practitioner): Supported the bill, citing that nearly 100% of her high school clients face credit issues. She highlighted the importance of interim educational services for students in highly specialized placements and dual enrollment to maintain continuity.
- Rachel Russo (School Justice Project): Shared the story of "Kevin," a client who believed he had enough credits to graduate but was missing core requirements because partial credits from out-of-state placements were not transferred. She argued the bill would prevent such outcomes.
- Megan Conway (Children's Law Center): Described a client, "Maria," who completed coursework at a PRTF but received no credit because DCPS did not accept the online platform used. She stressed that advance planning through transition teams could have prevented this loss.
- Maria Boyer (Advocates for Justice and Education): Supported the bill, noting that a uniform course catalog would benefit all DC students, not just those in care. She shared a case where a student was denied graduation because of differing definitions of a biology lab credit across LEAs.
- Kyla Woods (Open City Advocates): Supported the bill, noting that nearly every placement change for her clients results in lost credits. She affirmed that education reduces recidivism and that partial credit stacking is critical.
Discussion Items
- Enforcement and MOAs: Chair Mendelson questioned why new legislation is needed if previous MOAs were not followed. Witnesses and advocates noted that MOAs are not enforceable by students, lack remedies, and are often unknown to frontline staff. Government witnesses argued that MOAs can be effective within existing federal special education law but acknowledged gaps for students without disabilities.
- Timelines: The bill requires enrollment within two days of a placement change. DYRS requested a five-day timeline, arguing that shorter timelines are unrealistic given court processes and that they already achieve five-day enrollment. Councilmember Parker noted that Virginia uses a two-day standard. OSSE stressed the need to clearly define which student population the timeline applies to.
- Costs and Staffing: DYRS stated it would need at least seven additional FTEs to implement the bill, citing expanded responsibilities for transition planning and coordination across agencies. Chair Mendelson and Councilmember Parker questioned whether the agency is adequately resourced, given that DYRS testified earlier that its budget was sufficient. Advocates argued that the bill would save money by ensuring credits count and reducing recidivism.
- Data Infrastructure: OSSE discussed existing course data collection and the possibility of a "digital backpack" to transfer student records in real time. OSSE noted that a statewide SIS would be a multi-year effort, while a digital backpack could be phased in. The chair asked about barriers to timely data transfer; OSSE cited lack of a central system and resource limitations.
- Transition Planning: The bill mandates transition teams for students moving between placements. DYRS raised concerns about convening such teams within seven days for securely detained youth, who often stay only a few days. Advocates emphasized that transition planning would reduce enrollment delays and lost credits.
- Dual Enrollment: Dee Dee Davis and others recommended dual enrollment (maintaining enrollment at the home LEA while in a secure facility) to simplify records transfer and ensure re-entry. Councilmember Parker noted potential challenges with school counts but saw merit in the idea.
Key Outcomes
- No votes were taken; the bill remains under consideration.
- The record for the hearing will close at 5 p.m. on Monday, July 20, 2026. Written testimony received by then will be included.
- Government witnesses (DYRS and OSSE) recommended that the committee not advance the bill as currently written and instead pursue a collaborative process with agencies to develop a phased implementation plan with identified funding and realistic timelines.
- Councilmember Parker and Chair Mendelson expressed frustration over six years of inaction following a similar hearing in 2020, and indicated they expect progress on the bill, noting that the bill's framework has broad support from advocates and aligns with recent recommendations from the Students in the Care of DC Coordinating Committee.
Meeting Transcript
I'm calling to order this hearing. This is a public hearing of the committee as a whole of the Council of the District of Columbia. I'm Phil Mendelssohn, Chair of the Council and Chair of the Committee as a whole. Today is Monday, July 6, 2026. The time is 117 in the afternoon. We are in room 412 of the Johnny Wilson building. This hearing is being recorded and will be available on the Council's website, which is WW.dccouncil.gov. The subject of this hearing is Bill 26-403 entitled Education Continuity for Students in the Care of DC Amendment Act of 2025. The stated purpose of this bill is to require the Office of the State Superintendent of Education to create a course catalog so local education agencies can uniformly evaluate student transcripts to award partial academic credits to students in the care of DC. The legislation also contemplates the development of processes, plans, and planning teams to support students transitioning into or out of agency placements. Students care in the students in the care of DC are students in detention commitment, incarceration, or foster care. Given that these students experience tremendous instability in their education and lives, in 2018, the Council passed Bill 22-950, entitled Students in the Care of DC Coordinating Committee Act of 2018 to identify and recommend solutions to the challenges these students face. One key challenge described in the committee report for that legislation was, quote, ensuring that students receive credit for work completed, unquote. While Bill 26-403 attempts to solve some logistical problems with student transition, such as timely sharing of documents, it also addresses the issue of ensuring students receive partial credits for academic progress. Many students in the care of DC are incarcerated for for two short periods to complete full semester credits, and thus any academic progress is not recognized. The purpose of today's hearing is to hear public opinion on Bill 26-403 and to evaluate if and how it might solve the long-standing problem of providing schools, students in the care of DC with academic credits for partial semesters and to support their transitions. Maybe none of that was recorded. Well, I'm not going to start over. We have about 14 witnesses before we get to the public, excuse me, to the government witnesses. For those who are testifying, those who are not testifying, those who are not even aware of the hearing, but become aware of the hearing or have thoughts about the bill. The record for this bill will close at four at 5 p.m. on Monday, July 20th. That's two weeks from today. That's the record. That doesn't mean that we won't consider comments to come in after that, but we're required to file a record if we get it before the 20th of July or before 5 p.m. on the 20th, we'll include it in the record, otherwise it will not be included. The legislation was introduced by Councilmember Sachary Parker and co-introduced by Councilmembers Robert White, Pro Pinto, Anita Bonds, and Janice Lewis George. It was introduced last October 6th. And as I said, it was authored by Councilmember Parker, who is here. Councilmember, do you have an opening statement? Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh today I look forward to discussing uh the educational continuity for students in the care of DC Amendment Act of 2025, which I introduced as part of my care for youth plan. Uh and it highlights uh the systemic improvements uh to school transitions throughout the district that are sorely needed. As the chair of the Committee on Youth Affairs with oversight of the Child and Family Services Agency and the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, I have a special interest in protecting these children's education and ensuring they have academic stability, even when other aspects of their life are in flux. Students in the care of DC are an especially vulnerable part of our population that require tiered support and close hands-off between agencies. Right now, many students that enter and exit foster care or the juvenile justice system have difficulties successfully transferring academic credit and getting placement in appropriate grade levels due to the lack of coordination and guidance for this student population. Many are forced to wait weeks upon release or to transfer or resume classroom education. Some are forced to transition to multiple schools before they find the proper placement. Many of these students have IEPs and are enrolled in special education services, and major educational disruptions like this are destabilizing and often result in significant learning loss. Not to mention it puts these young people in a position where they're more likely to end up back in DRURIS in certain instances. This bill will streamline these transitions and empower every student to continue their academic journey without interruption. As we continue to face a truancy crisis in the district, it is exceptionally important to focus on measures that can boost school attendance and encourage students to graduate one time. This bill will bolster support for students in the care of DC and ensure they have the tools they need to succeed. Recently, the mayor and the deputy mayor for education released a set of recommendations designed by the students in the care of DC coordinating committee. Multiple advocate groups weighed in on these suggestions, including the School Justice Project and the Children's Law Center. The majority of the six-part policy framework contained in these recommendations are captured in this legislation, showing broad support for student transition support, cross-agency access to student records, and mandatory acceptance of transfer credits. While this bill was originally designed to serve students in the care of DC, like those in our foster system and DRS, its benefits will extend to every student in the District of Columbia. This legislation establishes a uniform course catalog that lists every credit bearing class offered at any secondary school in the district and calls for a uniform transcript procedure.
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