2024-25 Performance Oversight Testimony: District of Columbia Public Schools

Senior Policy Attorney Danielle Robinette testified before the Committee of the Whole for the performance oversight hearing of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS).

At this Committee’s hearing on special education in November, we testified about concerning trends in special education dispute resolution in the District. Our testimony today expands on our previous testimony with a focus on DCPS’s reliance on special education litigation and its adverse impacts on students with disabilities. We urge the Commitee to examine the costs of special education litigation and to determine what is needed to ensure that DCPS can fulfill its IDEA obligations in the first instance. For serious health conditions, DCPS must improve implementation of their home and hospital instruction program (HHIP) to ensure these students receive appropriate instruction.