Education Forward DC’s Partner for Schools, Talent, and Equity Rashida Young delivered the following testimony to the Council of the District of Columbia’s Committee of the Whole at a November 20,2024 hearing on Oversight of Education for Students with Special Needs.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and Council of the District of Columbia members. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. My name is Rashida Young, and in addition to being a resident of Ward 5 and parent of two public school students in the District, I am the Partner for Schools, Talent, and Racial Equity investments at Education Forward DC.
Ed Forward DC envisions a DC where students starting furthest from opportunity can chart their own path and thrive. We accelerate the work of visionary education leaders to foster a city of high-quality public schools for every DC student by providing grants across the city, offering advisory support to our grantees, and coordinating work across sectors, schools, and organizations. We believe DC can continue become a national model and guarantee every student access to an excellent education by focusing on pandemic recovery, addressing racial inequities, recruiting and retaining excellent leaders, and fostering equity-centered change.
Ed Forward DC appreciates the Council and the Office of the State Superintendent for their focus on special education, and we acknowledge that DC has made great strides. Of note is the development of OSSE’s recent Special Education Performance Report. This invaluable tool shines a light not only on compliance with IDEA, but also on each LEA’s progress toward ensuring students with disabilities succeed, while helping identify what is working and where additional capacity for educators could be impactful, while also keeping families informed. I’d also like to highlight the Special Education Institute OSSE held this past August. The daylong summit brought together educators to better equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to serve students with disabilities.
I also applaud OSSE’s launch of a new Inclusion and Inclusive Leadership professional learning series anchored in its Vision of Excellence for Inclusion and Inclusive Leadership. This opportunity is poised to be a rigorous and much-needed development opportunity for all educators in DC. Finally, I am heartened by the city’s continued support of the Special Education Hub housed at the DC Office of the Ombudsman for Public Education. The Hub is a crucial resource for families navigating our public schools on behalf of their students with disabilities.
Ed Forward DC is proud of its investments in our grantees and their work to advance the provision of special education services to students. One of our grantees, the Special Education Leader Fellowship, or SELF, partners with LEAs utilizing a whole-school approach to increase their capacity to leverage evidence-based, high-impact frameworks such as multi-tiered systems of support, or MTSS and Universal Design for Learning to close gaps for students with disabilities and their peers. Over the past two years, SELF has supported nine schools, most of whom saw improvements in statewide assessment performance, suspension rates, and attendance rates for students with disabilities. In addition, we’re excited to support the DC Special Education Cooperative’s Demonstration Classrooms which allow educators to see best practices in action and bring proof points for high-quality special ed instruction to other schools across the city. Grounded in equity and with deep expertise at the intersection of restorative justice and inclusive education, SchoolTalk supports dozens of DCPS and charter schools in implementing inclusive education best practices and youth empowerment programming. Advocates for Justice and Education’s Building Bridges program has helped 21 families across several public schools in DC become strong advocates for their children’s futures while fostering collaboration and trust between parents and educators.
While these efforts are laudable and impactful, we must also recognize that they are not enough. Data on special education achievement is concerning. Only nine percent of students with disabilities are on track to be college and career-ready based on annual citywide assessments[1]. This is worse than where the city was before the pandemic and has not improved in the last three years.
What we hear from leaders across the city is the need for more financial resources. Leaders and teachers are participating in communities of practice, professional development, and collaboration to improve the delivery of special education. However, additional resources are often needed to fully implement high-impact levers in their schools.
LEA leaders have elevated the need for more funding from the Council directed specifically at:
- supporting capacity-building opportunities for educators working to serve students with disabilities better.
- increased per-pupil funding for very high-needs students with disabilities (such as a proposed level 5 identification)
- developing pipelines of high-quality related service providers serving students with disabilities.
I’ll also briefly note that the incoming Trump administration adds additional uncertainty surrounding federal funding for special education over the next four years and beyond, further adding pressure for more significant local investments to support our students with disabilities.
Now is the time for bold action to address the unmet needs of students with disabilities in our city. Despite the progress made, the data is clear: far too many of these students are not receiving the high-quality support they deserve. By increasing funding to support capacity-building for educators, ensuring adequate resources for students with very high needs, and fostering pipelines for high-quality related service providers, we can create a more equitable education system that truly serves all students.
The stakes are high, and the challenges are urgent, particularly in light of federal funding uncertainties. However, with targeted investments and continued collaboration among leaders, educators, and organizations, DC can continue to lead as a national model for inclusive education.
Thank you for your time and commitment to improving outcomes for our students with disabilities. I am happy to answer any questions.
[1] DC Education Recovery Dashboard. EmpowerK12. https://www.empowerk12.org/dc-priority-students-recovery-dashboard
