Committee of the Whole Public Oversight Hearing

COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE NOTICE OF PUBLIC OVERSIGHT HEARING 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004 REVISED CHAIRMAN PHIL MENDELSON COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE ANNOUNCES A PUBLIC OVERSIGHT HEARING on School Librarians in the District of Columbia Public Schools Bill 24-443, “Students’ Right to Read Amendment Act of 2021” Tuesday, November 23, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. Live via Zoom Video Conference Broadcast Chairman’s Website (www.ChairmanMendelson.com/live) DC Council Website (www.dccouncil.us) Council Channel 13 (Cable Television Providers) Office of Cable Television Website (entertainment.dc.gov) Council Chairman Phil Mendelson announces the scheduling of a public hearing of the Committee of the Whole on School Librarians in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and Bill 24-443, “Students’ Right to Read Amendment Act of 2021.” The hearing will be held on Tuesday, November 23, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. via Zoom Video Conference Broadcast. This notice has been revised to add Bill 24-443 to the hearing agenda. The purpose of Bill 24-443 is to require DCPS to provide sufficient funding to ensure that each District of Columbia public school has at least one full-time library media specialist. As of July 2021 there were 36 schools in DCPS without a full-time School Librarian due to the flexibility afforded to principals to forego having a school librarian in lieu of another position. A disproportionate number of these schools were in Wards 7 and 8. Amendments were successfully introduced to Bill 24-275, the Fiscal Year 2022 Local Budget Act of 2021, to attempt to remedy this problem temporarily, and this hearing will explore possible permanent solutions. Those who wish to testify must register at http://www.ChairmanMendelson.com/testify by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 19, 2021. Testimony is limited to three 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. 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. If you have additional questions, please contact Destiny Riley, Committee Assistant, at (202) 724-8196. The hearing will be conducted virtually on the Internet utilizing Zoom videoconference technology. Testimony should be submitted in writing to cow@dccouncil.us in advance of the hearing. Written testimony will be posted publicly to http://www.chairmanmendelson.com/testimony. 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 to cow@dccouncil.us 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 Tuesday, December 7, 2021.