Directory

Types of State Board Meetings

Meeting	Date and Time	Location	Details
Working Sessions	First Wednesday of every month at 5 p.m.	Working sessions are live streamed at https://youtube.com/DCSBOE	While working sessions are open to the public, individuals and representatives of organizations are not permitted to speak or participate. However, individuals and representatives of organizations may submit written testimony for consideration by the Board. Written testimony must be submitted by email at [email protected] at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting.
Public Meetings	Third Wednesday of every month at 5:30 p.m.	Public meetings are live streamed at https://youtube.com/DCSBOE	All students, parents, educators, and community members are invited to provide testimony at public meetings. Individuals and representatives of organizations who wish to comment at a public meeting are asked to notify Board staff in advance by email ([email protected]) or by form no later than 48 hours in advance of the meeting. Written testimony may be submitted at any time to [email protected]
Committee Meetings	See the State Board's Events Calendar for dates, times, and log-in information.	Meetings are held virtually over Zoom. See the State Board's Events Calendar for each meeting's log-in information.	Committee meetings are an opportunity for members to discuss key issues and focus areas that the State Board has identified as priorities for the year. Learn more about Committee Assignments here. Committee meetings are open to the public, but individuals and representatives of organizations are not permitted to speak or participate.

Find SBOE Meeting Materials

Agendas, meeting documents, testimony, reports and resolutions to be considered for all working sessions and public meetings after April 1, 2015 can be on our information sharing website here.

Sign up to testify at upcoming public meetings

All students, parents, educators, and community members are invited to provide testimony at public meetings. Individuals and representatives of organizations who wish to comment at a public meeting are asked to notify Board staff in advance by phone at (202) 741-0888, email ([email protected]) or by form no later than 48 hours in advance of the meeting.

Written testimony may be submitted at any time to [email protected] Individuals are asked to furnish their names, addresses, telephone numbers, and organizational affiliation, if any.

NOTE: If you are having trouble accessing the form below, it can be opened here.

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How to Testify at a Public Meeting and What to Expect

What is the purpose of testifying at a State Board public meeting?

Is there an education-related issue that you would like to elevate? What changes would you like to see in the District’s education system? As a body of elected representatives, we are here to listen to your thoughts and concerns. At our monthly public meetings, we dedicate a portion of our meeting to receiving testimony and engaging with the public.

How do I testify?

There are four (4) steps to testify before the State Board: 1) Sign up, 2) Prepare your testimony, 3) Send us your testimony, 4) Attend and testify. Continue reading below for more information on each step.

Sign up

All students, parents, educators, and community members are invited to provide testimony at public meetings. Individuals and representatives of organizations who wish to comment at a public meeting are asked to notify State Board staff in advance by phone at (202) 741-0888, email ([email protected]), or by our online form no later than 48 hours in advance of the meeting.

Written testimony may be submitted at any time to [email protected]. Individuals are asked to furnish their names, email addresses, organizational affiliation if any, and subject of testimony.

Tips for Writing Your Testimony

Time limit: If you plan on testifying live at a State Board public meeting, there is a strict time limit of three (3) minutes per witness. However, there is no length limit for written testimony, so you may plan to have a shorter live testimony and a longer, more detailed written statement. You may also submit supplemental materials in the form of PDFs, slide decks, and more. It can be helpful to practice your testimony and time yourself to see whether your prepared statement falls under three minutes.

Content: Testifying can be a nerve-wracking experience and it can be difficult to know where to start! However, we have listed a few tips to help you begin to craft your testimony:

Beginning your testimony can be as simple as stating your name and the ward you live in. You can provide more information such as whether you are a student, parent, teacher, researcher, community member, etc., the school you or your child attends, whether you are testifying on behalf of a group or organization, and more. Example: Good evening, my name is Isabella Johnson and I am a Ward 5 resident. My children go to school at Brookland Middle School.
What are you testifying about? Is it an issue at your or your child’s school? Is it a system-level and/or policy issue? Your testimony can be about anything education-related, from extracurriculars to school budgets. Example: I am here tonight to testify about school-based mental health resources.
Now that you have established what you are testifying about, you can use the remainder of your time to provide details and discuss what changes you would like to see.

Submitting Your Testimony

Email us a copy of your testimony to [email protected] Regarding file type, while we accept .doc, .docx, .pdf, and .ppt files, we prefer to receive .pdf files for ease of sharing on our meeting materials website. If possible, we request that you name your file using the following format: Year-Month-Day of Public Meeting-Public Testimony-First Name Last Name-Subject

Example: 2022-01-19-Public Testimony-Isabella Johnson-School Accountability

In Sum: What to Expect

After Signing Up: You can expect a confirmation email from us no later than 24 hours after signing up.
48-hours before (the Monday before the public meeting at 5:30 pm): The sign-up period will close. If you sign up after the deadline, you will receive an email stating that you did not meet the deadline and will not be able to testify live. Again, we invite you to submit written testimony instead if you do not make the deadline.
24-hours before (the Tuesday before the public meeting): You will receive an email from us with the Zoom link and meeting logistics.
Day-Of: Follow the instructions you receive in your email to log onto the Zoom meeting. All witnesses will be admitted to the Waiting Room until it is their time to testify. We recommend all witnesses to follow along via the YouTube live stream and the agenda to know when they are called. Public witnesses are usually grouped together in panels of 5-6 (this is usually determined by the total number of sign-ups). After each person on the panel has spoken, the State Board members will have two minutes each for any questions or comments they might have.