July 6, 2026
Education Forward DC’s Managing Partner Margie Yeager delivered the following testimony to the Council of the District of Columbia’s Committee of the Whole at a July 6, 2026 Hearing on B26-0592 – Lottery Preference for Families Impacted by School Closures Amendment Act of 2026
Good afternoon. My name is Margie Yeager, and I’m a Ward 3 resident, the parent of three public school students in the District and the Managing Partner of Education Forward DC. Ed Forward DC combines strategic grantmaking, hands-on partnerships, and citywide coordination across both traditional public and public charter schools to ensure a great public school for every DC student.
Thank you Mr. Chairman for the opportunity to testify today on the Lottery Preference for Families Impacted by School Closures Amendment Act of 2026.
Rigorous oversight and accountability are key features of DC’s public school system, ones that have led to the education progress DC has seen over the past two decades. Accelerating that progress and fulfilling the promise of a great public school that prepares our students for bright futures requires that we grow what’s serving students best, invest in improvements where possible, and responsibly close schools that are not helping students achieve.
While school closures play an important role in efforts to deliver better educational outcomes for students, they are difficult for school communities and create disruptions for students and families.
Ed Forward DC applauds recent efforts by the Public Charter School Board to improve its review and renewal processes in a way that closure decisions are made in a timely manner that allows families to fully explore and select options for their students through the MySchoolDC common lottery. Just last week, PCSB approved its school reorganization policy that expands the toolbox of options for school leaders to respond to challenges that could necessitate a closure in a way that creates easier transitions for students.
Taken together, these changes will reduce the most disruptive instances of school closures. However, we recognize that not every scenario can be accounted for and we appreciate the Council examining ways it can further provide transition support for students and families when unpredictable closures occur.
However, we have concerns about this specific piece of legislation as drafted which would impose a mandatory preference on public charter schools only when all other preferences are voluntary; and, while the preference could benefit students from a closing traditional DCPS school intending to attend a DC public charter school, the reverse is not true and precludes DC public charter school families from the full range of options in our public school choice system.
All our decisions should be grounded in what is best for students. Requiring a school to prioritize accepting students from a closed school, regardless of whether that school is prepared to serve them well, risks placing students in a school that isn’t the right fit, rather than the one that best sets them up for success.
Every decision we make in these processes, from review, reorganization, and closure, should be driving toward placing a student in a higher-performing school that sets them up for success. We believe the Council should align this new preference with the model laid out by the equitable access preference which Ed Forward DC supported and the Council enacted in 2022 to support students designated as at-risk. This model created a voluntary cross-sector preference as well as the option to set aside seats specifically for at-risk students. This ensures that schools are prepared and have a plan to support these students better than the school they are exiting.
Thank you for your time and the opportunity to testify today. I’m happy to answer any questions and to further work with the Council as this legislation is considered.
