2023-24 Oversight Testimony: Office of Human Rights

Children’s Law Center Public Service Legal Policy Fellow, Mariatu Okonofua, testified today at the performance oversight hearing before the Committee on Public Works and Operations regarding the Office of Human Rights.

Her testimony focuses on improvements OHR and the LAP must make to address crucial areas of non-compliance within the District. This includes the continued prevalence of language access violations faced by LEP students with disabilities and their families; the necessary coordination between OHR, the LAP, and OCTO in selecting a better language interpretation servicer; the LAP’s limited capacity to enforce the Act; and the gaps in current law and how they leave charter school students without OHR support when their language access needs are not met.