SBOE Approves New ESSA Task Force

Moves to Include Historically Marginalized Voices

At our May Public Meeting, the SBOE approved the creation of a new ESSA Advisory Task Force! This new task force will help advise the State Board over the next year and will be chaired by our Ward 4 representative, Dr. Lanette Woodruff. The SBOE is committed to involving broad community input in the decision making related to the Every Student Succeeds Act, particularly voices that have been ignored and sidelined historically.

With this new task force, the State Board will conduct community roundtables and focus groups to gather input on the remaining ESSA accountability plan measures, pilot studies, and school report cards from essential District education stakeholders. This task force will consist of two parent representatives, two student representatives, two teacher representatives, two ward education group representatives, two District business representatives, two community education advocates, two national education experts, the District of Columbia Public Schools Chancellor or designee, one District of Columbia Public Charter School Board designee, an OSSE designee, State Board President or designee, and two SBOE representatives. Read the full resolution HERE.

In the coming months, the SBOE will release to the public a plan of action that will provide a clear and transparent process of engagement on the elements we, as a city, want to see in our school report cards. The SBOE is committed to approving a report card that ensures that parents no longer have to search for essential information across multiple websites and that they provide full stories of each school. The SBOE will also work with the Mayor and Council to ensure that these report cards are accessible and translated into all of the languages required by the Language Access Act.