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By Aya Elamroussi, Special to the AFRO
District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) seeks public feedback on its newly released draft of regulations and policies regarding attendance, student promotion, secondary grading and graduation. The revisions will go into effect in the 2018-2019 school year.
“The proposed changes reflect the feedback of students, staff, and families, and will allow us to better support our school communities.” Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement.
“From the beginning, I said we would always put students first, stay focused on equity and excellence, and have the courage to improve; and over the past several months, that is what we have done,” Bowser added.
Some of the changes include:
- Increased flexibility with school schedules
- The removal of automatic grade reductions and failures (for 10 absences);
- The grade appeals process will be streamlined
The proposed revisions follow the harsh criticism school administrators faced after students at Ballou High School in Southeast D.C. received diplomas last year without completing graduation requirements.
“When we first learned that our policies were not being followed, we put a process in place to get to the bottom of what happened and fix what wasn’t working,” said Bowser, who is running for re-election in November.
A report, commissioned by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, showed that nearly 90 percent of students at Ballou were chronically absent during the 2016-2017 school year. Yet, all seniors walked the stage last year. Administrators at the Southeast high school pressured teachers to pass students despite their high rates of unexcused absences, a WAMU and NPR investigation found last year.
“Creating clear standards all students must meet to graduate and holding all stakeholders accountable is key to ensuring our students graduate prepared for college, career, and life,” DCPS Interim Chancellor Dr. Amanda Alexander said in a statement.
DCPS is now seeking feedback from the public on its new proposal from June 22 to July 22, 2018. Public comment can be accessed via dcps.dc.gov.
Residents will be given the opportunity to participate in two community forums on July 19 at 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
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