February 10,
2017
District of
Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser
DC Council
Education Committee Chairman David Grosso
Council Members
Dear Mayor
Bowser, Deputy Mayor Niles, Chairman Grosso, Council Members, Task Force
Members,
The linked Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report on DC Public Charter Schools' suspension rates for school year 2015-16, which was released on 2/9/17, raises several issues:
1. The high rates of suspension in many DC charter
schools:
* Five schools, including two KIPP schools,
have rates of 30% or higher
* Eleven schools, including three KIPP
schools and two EL Haynes schools, have suspension rates greater than 20%
* Thirty schools with over 10% suspension
rates.
2.
The report describes the lack of legal clarity regarding the
responsibilities of the DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB) and the Office of
the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE):
"OSSE, in
commenting on the report, agreed that there is some ambiguity around its
authority with respect to D.C. charter schools. Specifically, OSSE stated that
the complex D.C. regulatory framework is unclear regarding oversight authority
in some instances. As such, the agency's current view of its authority to
regulate charter schools on discipline differs from previous administrations'
interests in that area.
Specifically,
OSSE stated that its current conclusion is that the D.C. code does not provide
OSSE clear authority to regulate charter schools with respect to discipline.
Such views about D.C.'s regulatory framework are an example of the importance
of clarifying agency roles and responsibilities with respect to D.C. charter
school discipline." (p.35)
3.
The weakness of intra-charter sector collaboration suggests that
inter-sector collaboration is premature. The Cross-Sector Task Force should be
suspended.
4.
It's high time to cap charter growth. After 20 years of charter
promises, the discipline rate, an indicator of student engagement and achievement,
should not be so high. The original idea for charter schools as alternatives
and experiments in learning means that charter schools should be one of the
solutions for students with discipline problems.
5.
The report only examines discipline data and the disproportionate
breakdown of the data. It does not address the reasons for suspensions.
The Council and the public need to know
the details and rates by school - in both sectors - of the infractions and
incidents that led to suspensions and other major discipline. I assume that
teachers and ultimately principals choose suspension as a very last resort - in
both DCPS and charter schools. In many classrooms and schools, lowering
suspensions means returning disruptive students to the classroom and disrupting
learning.
It would be nice, if the mayor and deputy
mayor would empower honest conversation about this difficult topic.
Sincerely,
Erich Martel
Retired DCPS high school teacher
Attachment: 2015-16 DC charter schools with suspension rates of 10% or higher
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