Testimony Before the DC Council Committee of the Whole on the Advancing Equity in Special Education Protocols Amendment Act of 2024

By Tami Lewis, Senior Director of Government Affairs

Good afternoon, Chairman Mendelson and members of the Committee. My name is Tami Lewis, and I’ve been a Ward 5 resident for more than 25 years. I’m the Senior Director of Government Affairs at the DC Charter School Alliance, the local non-profit that advocates on behalf of public charter schools to ensure every student can choose high-quality public schools that prepare them for lifelong success. 

I’d like to thank you, Chairman Mendelson, for scheduling this hearing and shining a light on the critical needs of students with disabilities in the District. 

Nationally, a significant gap in academic performance persists between students with disabilities and their non-disabled peers. For example, the 2022 NAEP 4th grade assessment results revealed students with disabilities scored 18% lower in reading and 12% lower in math than the overall average. Students with disabilities in DC also continue to fare far worse in academic outcomes than their general education peers. On average, the proportion of students with disabilities who approached, met, or exceeded grade level expectations was 30 percentage points lower than the city as a whole. The magnitude of the problem can be illustrated by these facts: only 10% of students with disabilities are proficient in English Language Arts (ELA) and just 7.6% of students with disabilities are proficient in math. 

While we often focus on matters of legal compliance when discussing special education – and developing and implementing compliant IEPs for our students is very important – if we want to substantially improve academic outcomes for students with disabilities, we must focus on early identification and improving tier one instruction in our schools. Most students with disabilities are taught in general education classrooms so it is crucial that schools focus on high quality instruction in the general education classroom that includes standards-aligned coursework, project-based learning and opportunities to collaborate. This also means adapting this core content, without reducing academic rigor, to meet the individual needs of learners so they can access and engage constructively with the content. 

Additionally, city-wide educational initiatives such as the Early Literacy Task Force and related structured literacy programs and OSSE’s Math Task Force should directly address the needs of students with disabilities and prioritize guidance and training assistance for schools to improve their special education programs. Likewise, our efforts to address chronic absenteeism must directly address the unique needs of students with disabilities whose absenteeism rates are 10% higher than general education students.

DC’s Charter Schools’ Bright Spots in Special Education Performance

In schools across the city, we are seeing some effective strategies to improve the performance of students with disabilities, including improved tier one instruction. From specialized professional development, to curriculum changes, to co-teaching models, these efforts are yielding results. I’d like to share a few of these bright spots.

At DC Prep’s Anacostia Middle School, the administration and the teaching staff have worked effectively to foster an emphasis on special education outcomes. They are among the top performing schools in math for students with disabilities. Since school year 2021-22, their students with disabilities scoring 3+ on CAPE increased 19% in math and 20% in ELA. As a former special education leader and teacher, the school’s assistant principal, together with their dynamic principal, collaborates consistently with the special education coordinator on academic supports and instruction for students in special education. Additionally, all teachers, regardless of whether they teach special education students or general education students, receive specialized training and regular coaching on ELA and math curriculum. 

At Paul Public Charter School, regular student data collection and analysis has led to improved progress for students with disabilities. Through monitoring the data and progress of students weekly, teachers make more timely, informed instructional decisions and efficient course adjustments. Paul’s percentage of students with disabilities scoring 3+ on CAPE rose by 10% in math and 11% in ELA from school year 2022-23 to school year 2023-24. Retention rates for their special education staff has also been very high, helping ensure the school is better able to meet the needs of special education students.

In the District, we also have one of the most well regarded schools for students with significant intellectual disabilities. St. Coletta PCS serves students ages 3–22 in a functional educational and life skills program. We are pleased that this year the UPSFF Working Group is exploring solutions for schools like St. Coletta whose current formula funding is insufficient to cover the full costs of dedicated aides and other 1:1 services required by their students. We must solve these resource challenges so the school can continue to provide these vital services for students with the most profound disabilities. 

To facilitate charter schools' efforts to improve student outcomes, the DC Alliance has created two new initiatives that allow school leaders to collaborate with one another. Last year, we established a student support leaders community of practice to provide opportunities for leaders to come together and share best practices and strategies to address challenges within special education. This year we also inaugurated an academic leaders community of practice for chief academic officers, instructional leaders and others. Here we will also be working together to focus on areas of improvement to grow academic performance across schools, including for students with disabilities. More than 40 LEAs have engaged in these programs to collaborate on better serving our city’s youth. 

Barriers to Success in Improving Special Education

Two barriers that LEAs regularly highlight for the Alliance are:

• Timely Information: One barrier schools struggle with is timely receipt of complete and up-to-date data and information for new students with disabilities, whether in the summer before the new school year begins or when students move between schools during the year. This challenge impairs schools ability to plan effectively for those students and ensure adequate staffing.

• Staffing: Schools in the District and nationwide continue to struggle to recruit and retain high quality special educators. Likewise, the ongoing shortage of psychologists, social workers and mental health providers in schools has also made it very difficult to meet the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of all students, especially students with disabilities who need more individualized and specialized support.

Recommendations to Improve Special Education in DC

As we look to next steps, I offer four recommendations we believe can strengthen our collective ability to improve special education in the District.

First, we urge OSSE to prioritize collaboration with schools and other stakeholders to provide enhanced professional development opportunities for general education teachers and special educators on effectively supporting students with disabilities for academic success and to identify strategies to grow the pipeline of special education teachers.

Second, given the costly nature of providing special education services, we need to take a closer look at funding needs. Many schools spend more on special education than the funding they are allotted. We’re pleased the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula (UPSSF) Working Group this year is focused on this issue. As a member of the Working Group, I anticipate we will provide strong recommendations to address additional resource needs for students with disabilities who require fulltime dedicated aids and other one-to-one services. We urge the Mayor and Council to provide the funding necessary to implement these recommendations.

Third, DC needs to prioritize evaluations and early interventions for preschool age children to ensure their needs are promptly identified and they can access high quality interventions. The DCPS Early Stages program provides evaluations and IEP development for children aged 2 years 8 months to 5 years 10 months. However, despite being funded entirely outside the UPSFF, Early Stages does not provide evaluations or support IEP development for children who enroll in charter schools. This policy results in delays for families and, unlike DCPS, charters must fund these services from their UPSFF allotments. We recommend extending Early Stages services to all District children, regardless of the public school their parents choose to enroll them in. 

Finally, we appreciate the opportunity to provide feedback on the Advancing Equity in Special Education Protocols Amendment Act of 2024. Rather than setting student to staff ratios for self-contained classrooms via rulemaking, we recommend OSSE engage with stakeholders and schools to develop guidance on best practices related to special education staffing. There are many factors to consider in determining appropriate staffing for self-contained special education classrooms which may vary depending on the individual needs of students in the class.

Moving Forward

If we are serious about improving outcomes for students with disabilities in the District, going forward we must commit to planning for and prioritizing their needs in every education-related initiative. Fortunately, when we improve things like tier one instruction, we improve outcomes for ALL DC students, including but not only students with disabilities. We look forward to continuing to support our schools and our ongoing partnership with OSSE to address the challenges in special education and provide the education all students deserve. 

Thank you for your time and attention, and I welcome your questions.