Overview
School choice and student assignment policies establish the access rights that students have to public schools in the District of Columbia. School choice and student assignment policies determine who gets to go to which school, where and how parents and students apply to school, what rights students have to remain in a school they have chosen, and what rights students have to transfer between schools.
The District has not undertaken a comprehensive review of its student assignment policies, including school attendance boundaries and feeder patterns, in over three decades. Meanwhile, District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and public charter schools have opened and closed, neighborhoods have changed, and the city's population has shifted.
Over the next eleven months, the DME will lead the effort to review current policies and practices, identify challenges, analyze data, and recommend solutions.
Goals and Initiatives
To develop fair and clear school choice and assignment policies in an effort to establish clarity, predictability, and continuity for families. Specifically,
- To clarify what rights and responsibilities families and schools have regarding access to public schools;
- To update feeder relationships between schools to ensure that schools are aligned to provide a robust pipeline of students into the middle and high schools;
- To ensure that the boundaries align to the DCPS facility capacity and projected population of students;
- To explore opportunities to bridge student-assignment and choice policies across DCPS and charter schools.
DC Advisory Committee on Student Assignment
As part of this process, the DME established the DC Advisory Committee on Student Assignment. The Advisory Committee, co-chaired by Deputy Mayor Smith and long-time District leader John Hill, will incorporate public discussion, research, and analysis to provide the DME with fair minded, thoughtful, and informed policy recommendations.
The Advisory Committee will:
- Review current citywide policies on attendance zones, feeder patterns and school choice;
- Formulate guidelines and principles for public school assignment and choice policies and practices;
- Listen to the community and serve as insightful interpreters of public sentiment, concerns, and questions;
- Develop recommendations and scenarios for revised DCPS attendance zone and feeder patterns;
- Make recommendations on how to bridge student-assignment and choice policies across DCPS and charter schools.
Members of the Advisory Committee were selected by the DME and include members of varied perspectives who are strongly invested in the success of the public education system and the future of our City. Members include parents from both charter and DCPS schools, as well as individuals with a deep knowledge of schools, neighborhoods, DC history, and urban planning, or with legal and policy experience.
Members:
| Co-Chairs | |
| | Abigail Smith, Deputy Mayor for Education |
| | John W. Hill Jr. |
| Community Representatives: | |
| | Maryam Ahranjani |
| | Wilma Bonner |
| | Ed Davies |
| | Denise Forte |
| | Matt Frumin |
| | Heather Harding |
| | Faith Hubbard |
| | Rev. Donald Isaac |
| | Kamili Kiros |
| | Ellen McCarthy |
| | Dianne Piche |
| | Cathy Reilly |
| | Evelyn Boyd Simmons |
| | Marta Urquilla |
| District Agency Representatives: | |
| | Josephine Bias-Robinson, District of Columbia Public Schools |
| | Kimberly Driggins, Office of Planning |
| | Ariana Quinones, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services |
| | Emily Bloomfield, Public Charter School Board |
Getting Involved
Critical to the success of this process is a comprehensive community engagement plan. City residents will have multiple opportunities to get involved and provide input throughout the process including the following:
- Participate in a Focus Group. Opportunity to provide in-depth input into various policy options being discussed by the Advisory Committee. To sign-up, click here.
- Volunteer to join a Working Group. Opportunity to vet policy scenarios being considered by the Advisory Committee and how they might impact specific geographic areas of the city. To sign up, click here.
- Share your ideas and thoughts on EngageDC.org. Online forum where the public reviews the materials from the Advisory Committee meeting and can share ideas. (Coming Soon!)
- Attend citywide community dialogues. Opportunity to provide feedback on proposed policy recommendations released in May.
- Participate in an online survey. Opportunity to provide feedback on-line on proposed policy recommendations released in May.
Timeline
| Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | Jan.2014 | Feb. | Mar. | Apr. | May | Jun. | Jul. | Aug. | Sept. |
| Advisory Committee (Cmte.) Meetings | Release Proposal | Cmte. Meeting | | Final Cmts. Meeting | Release Final Plan |
| Focus Groups, Surveys, Small Group Meetings | Working Groups | City-wide Community Meetings | | | |
The final plan will be released in September of 2014. Changes will begin to take effect for the 2015-16 school year. However, to support a smooth transition, "grandfathering" provisions will buffer the immediate impact on many current students and their families.
Letter to Parent/Community Member
Please review our letter to parent/community members[PDF]
Chinese[PDF]
French[PDF]
Korean[PDF]
Spanish[PDF]
Vietnamese[PDF]
Frequently Asked Questions
Please review our FAQs[PDF]
Spanish[PDF]
Who do you contact if you have questions?
If you have any questions, please email dme.studentassignment@dc.gov or call (202) 478-5738.
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