–DC’s proposed budget is out—here is DCPS and charter school information and here is capital information (starting on p. 231 for DCPS). 

–As of this blog post, most education budget oversight hearings have been officially listed on the council calendar, which has sign-up information for those who wish to testify. What listings I found with sign-up information I have put immediately below and into the blog calendar:

DCPS & charter board public witnesses: April 22, 9:30 am
DME, state board of education: April 23, 9 am
Charter board, government witnesses only: April 24, 9 am
DGS public witnesses: April 27, 9:30 am
DCPS government witnesses: May 1, 11 am

Also, head’s up: The council budget office has this schedule of oversight hearings, which notes the following:

Office of the state superintendent of education: May 7, 9:30 am
DGS, government witnesses only: May 7, 9:30 am

(In my experience, this budget office hearing information is often subject to change. Be sure to check the council hearing calendar for the latest and for sign-up information—and I will endeavor to post updates here as well.)

–The Strengthening Families Coalition is concerned about a plan to revise how DC’s school-based behavioral health program is run. The changes would reduce funding and ensure that the program would be moved into the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) and not handled (as it is currently) by a mix of community-based organizations (CBOs) and DBH itself. The coalition has drafted a letter to the DC Council, asking for preservation of current staff and funding. You can sign on to the letter by COB tomorrow April 16 here as an individual or here as an organization.

–What is left of the U.S. Department of Education is proposing resolutions to DCPS for its longstanding and numerous special education violations. DC’s office of the state superintendent of education (OSSE) has data on special education compliance and provision by each of DC’s LEAs. The most recent reports I could find for DC (last one issued in 2025) are here. You can see OSSE’s LEA comparison chart here. Note that DCPS and St. Coletta are, for this purpose, combined, as DC law permits St. Coletta to serve only high-needs students (as opposed to serving all students, as other charters are required). I do not know in what ways OSSE’s reviews compare to the Department of Education reporting, but special education violations are rather legendary in DC’s publicly funded schools. (E.g look at what turns up when you search this blog for “special education” using the search box; there also was a December 10, 2025 hearing on the subject.)

–Four affordable childcare centers in DCPS schools are closing–apparently victims of ongoing federal cuts to childcare. It remains to be seen what will happen to the families and to the spaces in those schools reserved for early childhood education (Randle Highlands; Ketcham; Woodson; and Luke C. Moore).

–In the wake of noting that the DC council chair was not moving education legislation very speedily, EmpowerEd’s Scott Goldstein shared with me (and, months ago, with the council chair, Phil Mendelson) this list of 26 recent education-related bills. To date, less than half have received a hearing, with just 5 enacted (marked with asterisks): 

Schools First Amendment Act
Early Childhood Educator Pay Scales–Enacted**
Apprenticeships and Credentials as Pathways to Prosperity Act
PACE Clarification Act
Holding School Budgets Harmless During Modernization Amendment Act
Improving School Attendance Outcomes Amendment Act
Artificial Intelligence Literacy in Education Act
Student Identification Card Act of 2025
Work-Based Learning Amendment Act
Youth Financial Literacy Pilot Amendment Act
Institution of Higher Education Sexual Misconduct Reporting and Resource Accessibility Act–Enacted**
Education Code Adjustment Act
Education Report Simplification Act
Education Continuity for Students in the Care of DC
Gardner Bishop Elementary School Redesignation Act
Strengthening Arts in Schools Amendment Act
John Thompson Jr. High School Designation Act–Enacted**
Safe Passage Training and School Amendment Act–Enacted**
Empower the State Board of Education Amendment Act
Let Students Attend Kindergarten Temporary Amendment Act
Universal Free School Meals Amendment Act
Universal Out of School Time Amendment Act
Advancing Equity in Special Education Protocols
Universal Public School Nurses for Safer Students Amendment Act
Heads Up Distraction Free Learning Amendment Act/ Disconnect Act–Enacted**
Dolores Tucker Middle School Designation Act

While it is hard to know if 5 out of 26 is a typical bill attrition ratio, the sheer breadth of these proposed laws represents deep and abiding concerns over DC’s publicly funded schools that remain unaddressed. (Maybe council members are too busy criminalizing children–or maybe the council chair is distracted by this ethics complaint?)

–That bane of school testing (and teacher evaluation) in DC, iReady, is the object of a new class action. Here is a good primer on why the test isn’t all that.

–Finally, I wanted to give a shout-out of profound thanks to Caroline Pryor of EmpowerEd, who not only has always tirelessly answered my (many) questions, but who is also responsible for a riveting and information-packed weekly newsletter on federal and local threats to public education. I would love to link to that newsletter here–but it is not available that way.

BUT you can receive that newsletter via email every week if you sign up with Defend DC Public Education here.