Committee of the Whole Public Hearing

COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004 CHAIRMAN PHIL MENDELSON COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE ANNOUNCES A PUBLIC HEARING on “School Nurses” and Bill 25-278, “School Student Vaccination Amendment Act of 2023” on Thursday, June 22, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. Hearing Room 412, John A. Wilson Building (Track B) DC Council Website (www.dccouncil.us) Council Channel 13 (Cable Television Providers) Chairman’s Website (www.ChairmanMendelson.com/live) Council Chairman Phil Mendelson announces a public hearing of the Committee of the Whole on the provision of school nursing services, generally, and Bill 25-278, “School Student Vaccination Amendment Act of 2023.” The hearing will be held on Thursday, June 22, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. The purpose of this oversight hearing is to discuss the roles and duties of school nurses in public schools. Due to the severe national nursing shortage, 40% of health suites in DC public schools do not have full-time in person coverage. As a result, the District is shifting to zone coverage, also referred to as “team-based care.” Schools are grouped into clusters of four and nurses would supervise these clusters of schools. This hearing will also consider Bill 25-278. The stated purpose of Bill 25-278 is to remove the requirement that students in the District of Columbia are vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to attend school. Those who wish to testify must register using the Council’s Hearing Management System 1 at https://lims.dccouncil.gov/hearings by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 20, 2023. Testimony is limited to four minutes. Witnesses who anticipate needing spoken language interpretation, or require sign language interpretation, are requested to inform the Committee office of the need as soon as possible but no later than five business days before the proceeding by emailing cow@dccouncil.gov. We will make every effort to fulfill timely requests, although alternatives may be offered. Requests received in less than five business days may not be fulfilled. Witnesses will receive instructions on how to participate by Zoom prior to the hearing. If you have additional questions, please email cow@dccouncil.us or contact Raleigh Lancaster, Senior Legislative Counsel, at (202) 724-7130. Public witnesses will participate virtually via the Internet on the Zoom Video Conference platform. Testimony should be submitted through the Council’s Hearing Management System in advance of the hearing. Testimony will be publicly accessible upon Committee review. If you are unable to testify at the hearing, written statements are encouraged and will be made a part of the official record. Statements for the record should be submitted through the Hearing Management System or left by voicemail by calling (202) 430-6948 (up to 3 minutes which will be transcribed). The record will close at 5:00pm on Thursday, July 6, 2023. 1 The Council’s Hearing Management System (HMS) is a new method for managing hearings that the Committee of the Whole is piloting.