D.C. Public Charter School Board Opens Public Comment on Proposed Policies
Contact: Audrey Williams 202-328-2748
[email protected]
Washington, D.C. — The DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB) has opened the public comment period on two proposed policies: to clarify the definition of a school, a campus and a facility, and to use a single term to describe multiple data collection systems. In addition to submitting written comments, the PCSB will hold a public hearing during its monthly meeting on Monday, August 20 at 7:30 p.m.
The first policy, Definition of School, Campus and Facility, defines school as a local education agency (LEA) operating as a:
- Single-campus school: Operates a distinct grade range (i.e. grades K-8) with a single school leader responsible for the academic program for the entire grade span of the campus.
- Multi-campus school: Operates two or more campuses under one charter. Each campus must have distinct and unique academic performance, attendance and discipline data and must report these data separately to the PCSB and on federal and state reports. Under PCSB’s closure policy of June 18, 2012, each campus of a multi-campus school will be evaluated against specific academic and other goals for accountability purposes.
- Facility: A building that houses a part of a campus, an entire campus or multiple campuses. It may be temporary or permanent. Campuses may be split among multiple facilities. A school may operate multiple campuses in one facility.
The second policy, Update the Language and Terms Used for Data Collection, would replace specific references to PCSB data systems such as OLAMS, MODMS, AOIS, and ProActive with the general phrase “data collection tools.”
Written comments on the policies may be sent by email to Audrey Williams, [email protected] or by mail to DC Public Charter School Board, 3333 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20010. To testify at the Aug 20 hearing, members of the public may call the Board’s office at (202) 328-2660 by 3:00pm on the day of the hearing to be placed on the witness list. Please bring copies of written comments or send them by mail or email.
The public comment period will run through August 21st.
About the PCSB: The DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB) currently oversees 53 public charter schools on 98 campuses serving nearly 32,000 students living in every ward of the city. Seventy-five percent of the students attending public charter schools qualify for free or reduced price meals. Public charter schools serve 41% of all public school students in Washington, DC. Learn more about the PCSB at www.dcpcsb.org