Testimony Submitted to the Council of the District of Columbia Committee on Transportation & the Environment Performance Oversight Hearing on the District Department of Transportation

By Andy Renard, MPS

Associate Director of Policy & Political Affairs

Greetings, Chairman Allen and members of the Committee on Transportation & the Environment. My name is Andy Renard, and I am the Associate Director of Policy and Political Affairs at the DC Charter School Alliance, the local non-profit that advocates on behalf of public charter schools to ensure that every student can choose high-quality public schools that prepare them for lifelong success.

Thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony regarding the Adult Learner Transit Subsidy program, which provides critical transportation support to adult learners across the District. We appreciate the Department's ongoing commitment to this program and urge the Committee to strengthen it by increasing the monthly benefit to better reflect current transportation costs.

Adult Education in the District

DC's adult charter schools currently serve more than 5,000 adult learners across nine campuses and represent a national model for adult education. These learners have the unique opportunity to complete their high school equivalency, gain essential workforce skills, and secure family-sustaining employment in high-demand fields including healthcare, information technology, early childhood education, and construction. Notably, 54% of adult learners are also parents of school-aged children and data shows that investments in adult education have a generational impact on DC families.

However, adult learners face significant barriers to consistent attendance. They are balancing school with work responsibilities and family obligations, and often with limited financial resources. Transportation is one of the most urgent and persistent obstacles to regular class attendance and if left unaddressed, the District's investment in adult education cannot reach its full potential.

The Adult Learner Transit Subsidy: A Critical Support

We are grateful for the establishment of the Adult Learner Transit Subsidy in 2017, which provides adult learners with monthly funding to cover Metrorail and bus transportation costs. This program demonstrates the District's recognition that reliable transportation is essential to student success and workforce development.

However, the current $70 monthly benefit has remained unchanged since 2019. During this time, Metro fares have increased significantly, particularly during peak hours when many adult education classes are held. The gap between the subsidy and actual transportation costs has grown considerably and created real hardship for learners who depend on this support.

The Reality of Transportation Costs

Peak-hour Metrorail fares currently range from $2.25 to $6.75 per trip. Adult learners attending classes three days per week face monthly round-trip transportation costs ranging from approximately $80 on the low end to over $200, depending on distance and whether they must combine bus and rail travel. Adult charter school leaders report that students consistently experience a $15 to $50 monthly gap between the subsidy amount and their actual transportation expenses.

The gap is even more pronounced for learners who are also parents— a group that constitutes the majority of adult learners. Parents must make additional trips to drop their children at school or childcare before attending their own classes and the subsidy does not account for this reality.

The Impact When the Subsidy Falls Short

Adult learners report that they regularly exhaust their transportation funds by the second or third week of the month and that forces them to make some impossible choices. Many report that they must miss classes entirely while others arrive late, disrupting not only their learning but that of their classmates. Many must choose between transportation costs and their essential needs— including food, rent, or childcare expenses.

When students miss class their progress stalls, the likelihood of program completion decreases, and their path to workforce entry may be delayed or derailed entirely. This undermines both the student's educational goals and the District's workforce development objectives.

Transportation Support as Smart Investment

Increasing the Adult Learner Transit Subsidy is not simply about covering the cost of Metro fare— it is also about maximizing the District's much larger investment in adult education. The most recent data shows that nearly 80% of adult learners who complete these programs secure and retain employment or enter postsecondary education. These graduates earn industry-recognized credentials, access jobs with family-sustaining wages, and contribute meaningfully to DC's economy and tax base.

Our Ask: Increase the Adult Learner Transit Subsidy

We urge the Committee to work with DDOT to increase the Adult Learner Transit Subsidy to $100 per month to better align with current transportation costs. Given the range of actual expenses students face— particularly parent learners with additional trip requirements and students traveling longer distances— we believe an increase to at least $100 would be justified and would more fully address the transportation barriers students experience.

Additionally, we recommend that the Council consider indexing future adjustments to Metro fare increases so that the benefit does not erode over time as it has over the past six years. Building in automatic adjustments will ensure that this vital support keeps pace with transportation costs and continues to serve its intended purpose.

Moving Forward

Adult learners in the District are demonstrating tremendous commitment by pursuing their education while managing work, family, and financial responsibilities. Transportation should not be the barrier that prevents them from reaching their goals. A modest increase in the transit subsidy will ensure that the District's significant investment in adult education achieves maximum impact by supporting consistent student attendance and program completion.

We are grateful for DDOT's stewardship of this program and for the Committee's attention to the transportation needs of adult learners. On behalf of the charter school leaders and adult learners across the city, we look forward to working with you to strengthen this critical support. Thank you for your time, and I’d be happy to follow up with you to address any questions you may have.