Councilmember David Grosso announces the scheduling of a public hearing of the Committee on Education on B21-361, “Youth Suicide Prevention and School Climate Survey Act of 2015” and B21-319, “Assessment on Children of Incarcerated Parents Act of 2015”. The hearing will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 27, 2015 in Hearing Room 412 of the John A. Wilson Building.
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Councilmember David Grosso announces the scheduling of a public hearing of the Committee on Education on B21-0039, “Military Installation Public Charter School Amendment Act of 2016” and B21-0428, “School Choice for Military Families Amendment Act of 2015.” The hearing will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 29, 2015 in Hearing Room 123 of the John A. Wilson Building.
Throughout the summer, Councilmember Grosso’s office worked with advocates from The D.C. Center, the Trevor Project, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and others on the “Youth Suicide Prevention and School Climate Survey Act of 2015” which Councilmember Grosso introduced today along with Councilmembers Nadeau, Allen, May, McDuffie, Todd, Bonds, Silverman, and Cheh.
According to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (a federal survey by the Centers for Disease Control last administered in 2012), 38% of our LGBTQ middle school students had attempted suicide in their lifetime and 28% of our LGBTQ high school students had attempted suicide within the last year.
Please join Councilmember Grosso and the Committee on Education for the following hearings and roundtables this fall:
D.C. Council member David Grosso kicked off the new school year with a tour of cafeteria food.
Councilmember David Grosso announces the scheduling of a public oversight roundtable of the Committee on Education on youth issues. The hearing will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 21, 2015 in Hearing Room 500 of the John A. Wilson Building.
The purpose of this hearing is to hear testimony from District of Columbia youth regarding issues that impact their lives as they make their way through the education system. Youth, aged 21 and younger, who wish to testify can sign up online at http://bit.ly/YouthHearing10.
On Thursday, October 1, 2015, Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie, Chairperson of the Committee on the Judiciary, and Councilmember David Grosso, Chairperson of the Committee on Education, will hold a public hearing on Bill 21-0243, the “Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Automated External Defibrillator Requirements Amendment Act of 2015”. The hearing will be held in Room 412 of the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., at 2:00 p.m. The hearing will be immediately followed by a related hearing on the State of Emergency Medical Services in the District of Columbia and Bill 21-0290, the “Office of Unified Communications Training, CPR, and Modernization Amendment Act of 2015”.
Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and Councilmember David Grosso announce a public oversight hearing of the Committee of the Whole and the Committee on Education on the State of Adult Education and Adult Literacy Initiatives in the District. The oversight hearing will be held at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 24, 2015 in Hearing Room 412 of the John A. Wilson Building.
As this summer's violent crime spike continued and students were returning to schools, Councilmember Grosso wrote to Metropolitan Police Department Chief Lanier about her preparations for ensuring safety for students. Chief Lanier wrote back, detailing her approach to deployment around schools, and also attached the her report on school safety and security for the new school year.
On June 3, 2015 and June 22, 2015 the Committee on Education held a two-part public roundtable on the "Summative of Evaluation of the Public Education System in the District of Columbia," as required by PERAA. This report is a summary of those gatherings, prepared under the direction of Committee Chairperson Grosso.
Since taking over the as Chairperson of the Committee on Education, Councilmember David Grosso has been focused on putting every student in the best position to succeed. Part of this work includes addressing issues beyond the classroom that affect students such as trauma. On June 23, 2015, the Committee on Education held a public roundtable on “The Value of Investing in Trauma-Informed Public Schools and Support Services.” This report is a summary of that roundtable.
After visiting dozens of D.C. schools and speaking with parents and community members, I know that D.C. residents are committed to eliminating the achievement gap as quickly as possible. As chairman of the D.C. Council’s education committee, I grapple every day with the question of how I can level the playing field after unfair policies and investments.
In light of the recent rise in crime throughout the District, Councilmember David Grosso sent the following letter to Police Chief, Cathy Lanier, regarding MPD deployment as students return to school on Monday, August 24, 2015.
Councilmember David Grosso announces the scheduling of a public roundtable of the Committee on Education on PR21-0216, the District of Columbia Board of Library Trustees Victor Reinoso Confirmation Resolution of 2015 and PR21-0280, the Public Charter School Board Ricarda Ganjam Confirmation Resolution of 2015. The roundtable will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 17, 2015 in Hearing Room 120 of the John A. Wilson Building.
Councilmember David Grosso announces the scheduling of a public roundtable of the Committee on Education on B21-0271, the Early Learning Quality Improvement Network Amendment Act of 2015 and B21-0295, the Higher Education Licensure Commission Amendment Act of 2015. The roundtable will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 1, 2015 in Hearing Room 412 of the John A. Wilson Building.
Councilmember David Grosso announces the scheduling of a public hearing of the Committee on Education on B21-0115, the Public Charter School Fiscal Transparency Amendment Act of 2015. The roundtable will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 14, 2015 in Hearing Room 120 of the John A. Wilson Building.
The stated purpose of B21-0115 is to amend the District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995 to define a conflicting interest transaction for public charter schools; allow an eligible chartering authority to require the production of financial books and records of certain vendors that contract with public charter schools; to establish violation of such conflict of interest provisions as fiscal mismanagement; and to define the circumstances under which a nonprofit corporation that operates a public charter school shall be involuntarily dissolved.
The Committee on Education recently held eight Town Halls between June 16 and July 11, 2015. Each meeting had over 60 attendees and gave residents, parents, students, and teachers an opportunity to discuss with the Councilmember their concerns with school modernizations, teacher retention, and the struggles their children face. The events lasted for two hours with brief presentations from Grosso and staff followed by questions from the public.
Thanks to the D.C. Office of Cable Television you can watch my Ward 7 town hall meeting from earlier in July.
The last of my education town hall meetings are this week, and thanks to the D.C. Office of Cable Television, you can see what they were like even if you weren't able to attend. OCT recorded my Ward 5 town hall, with Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, Deputy Mayor Jennifer Niles, and others in attendance.
Immediately following the announcement of the $19.4 million settlement between the District and one of the food service contractors for D.C. Public Schools (DCPS), Chartwells/Thompson Hospitality, I met with DCPS officials, the Attorney General, the Inspector General, and the D.C. Auditor to better understand the circumstances that led to the settlement with Chartwells and what action has been taken since the launch of the 2012 contract to ensure that this does not happen again.