Washington, DC—The DC State Board of Education (SBOE) will hold its monthly public meeting on Wednesday, July 15, 2020, at 5:30 pm. As the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak continues to spread globally, the State Board is taking the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our members, staff, and public. Therefore, this meeting will be held as a video web conference. For the most up-to-date information on the District’s COVID-19 response, please visit coronavirus.dc.gov. Members of the public wishing to provide testimony during the public meeting can email the State Board at [email protected] by the close of business on Monday, July 13, 2020.
The State Board will discuss health and safety as District schools discuss and plan their ReOpen strategies. The State Board will consider and hear from experts about the factors students and families should take into consideration when deciding how to attend school this fall. The State Board will welcome Ankoor Shah, MD, Deputy Director for Programs & Policy Community Health Administration from the DC Department of Health and Michelle Palmer, Executive Director at The Wendt Center for Grief and Healing—both of whom will lend their expert opinions on health and safety-related to student and school-based staff.
The State Board will also consider a resolution in support of police-free schools. More than a quarter of a million young people are arrested or referred to law enforcement in their schools each year with increasing investments in school budgets towards school policing, surveillance, suspensions and expulsions, harsh discipline, and arrests, in lieu of counseling, educational resources, and physical improvements to classrooms and school structures. The resolution proposes recommendations that would create a safer, healthier, and more equitable school environment to enhance the overall learning experience for the District’s 90,000 public-school students.
Public Meeting Agenda
Please note that the agenda may be altered, modified, or updated without notice.
I. Call to Order
II. Announcement of a Quorum
III. Approval of the Agenda & Minutes
IV. Comments from the President of the D.C. State Board of Education
V. Comments from the State Superintendent of Education
VI. Public Comments
i. Chioma Oruh, PhD, Chi Bornfree, LLC
ii. LaJoy Johnson-Law, Ward 8 Resident
VII. Health & Safety in Reopening Schools
i. Ankoor Shah, MD. Deputy Director for Programs & Policy Community Health Administration, DC Department of Health
ii. Michelle Palmer, Executive Director, Wendt Center for Grief and Healing
VIII. Administrative
i. SR20-X, Supporting Police-Free Schools
IX. New Business
X. Adjournment
About the SBOE
The DC State Board of Education is an independent agency within the Government of the District of Columbia that advises the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), the District’s state education agency. The State Board is comprised of nine elected representatives, each representing their respective wards, with one member representing DC at large, and two appointed student representatives. The State Board approves statewide education policies and sets academic standards, while OSSE oversees education within the District and manages federal education funding. More information about the SBOE can be found at sboe.dc.gov.
For the latest information on the District Government’s response to COVID-19, please visit coronavirus.dc.gov.
Contact: Milayo Olufemi
202-710-4641