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 Bill 25-540, School Improvement Amendment Act of 2023 on Monday, November 20, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. Hearing Room 412 (Track B) John A. Wilson Building 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW DC Council Website (www.dccouncil.gov) Council Chairman Phil Mendelson announces a public hearing before the Committee of the Whole on Bill 25-540, the “School Improvement Amendment Act of 2023.” The hearing will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, November 20, 2023. The stated purpose of Bill 25-540 is to establish a school support office within the Office of the State Superintendent for Education (OSSE) that will provide tailored resources to DC public schools and public charter schools whose academic performance is in the lowest 5% of schools across the District. Research suggests that schools, especially those serving at-risk students, improve with continuous and targeted support, seeing decreased failure rates, increased homework completion rates, increased Advanced Placement exam participation, increased kindergarten readiness, increased college enrollments, and more efficient use of funds. The hearing will be an opportunity to hear from stakeholders and government witnesses on this proposed legislation as well as best practices for school improvement and hear how the District can improve our schools and ultimately increase academic outcomes for all students. Those who wish to testify must register using the Council’s Hearing Management System at https://lims.dccouncil.gov/hearings by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 16, 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 contact LeKisha Jordan, Senior Policy Advisor, at (202) 724-8137 or ljordan@dccouncil.gov. 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 (https://lims.dccouncil.gov/hearings) 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 5:00 pm on Monday, December 4, 2023.