Is DCPS going to fall to the feds if/when Home Rule is over?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain what you’re talking about for a progressive immigrant with two kids in an awesome DCPS elementary who was looking forward to sending them to DCPS middle?

We could lose Home Rule. This is a good primer:
https://51st.news/what-to-know-about-dc-home-rule/

the last time we “lost home rule” it was good for DC schools. there’s no reason to believe there’s going to be a disaster.

We would be losing control to a bunch of people who come from states at the absolutely bottom of educational achievement. No thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean, the last control board really bailed out DCPS and is the reason DCPS is an option for you now.

This. You are too recent of an arrival to appreciate this / the trajectory of the city. The results of the control board, then board-selected Mayor Williams are why you considered buying here in the first place

I am a GenX lifelong Dem who’s lived here since 1990 when the place was a dumpster fire with no functioning fire trucks or snow plows. The Republican-driven ControllBoard (aka, federal takeover) + Abe Polllin was the best thing to happen to DC since Home Rule.

[Anonymous]

I'm pretty sure it's objectively a very different DC in 2024/2025 then it was in the mid-1990's when Congress put in place the Control Board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:oversight from the feds has varied over the past 30 years i've lived in DC - some neutral, some positive and some bad. Depends on who they put in charge. Someone like Lauch Faircloth for example would not be good - he used it as a campaign prop to show people back home how much he was bashing the District, when we actually give more to the feds than we get unlike many states that voted in the new administration

I’ve also lived here for nearly 30 years, and I think we are about to face something unprecedented since the advent of home rule. This will be full-scale fed takeover, with the goal of killing public education in DC. Here’s what I anticipate in the near future: “don’t say gay” type language control, no lessons that involve race, no recognition of non-cis gender identities, end of protections against harassment based on race/gender/identity, prayer/religion in school. Everything you’ve heard about in Florida and Oklahoma and other states on the vanguard of destroying public education will come here. Anything bad we thought we had seen in terms of past interference will seem minor compared with what’s coming.

My youngest graduates in 2026, so we don’t have much choice but to stick it out. But if I had younger children, I’d be seriously considering a move to Maryland (and we are considering this after our kid graduates). I love this city, and my kids have had good experiences in DCPS. But I think a lot is going to change pretty quickly.

Most of the changes you list don't actually currently exist in our DCPS school. I've never heard any curriculum or school activity that directly addressed LGBTQ issues -- it's an elementary school and I think there are actually likely a diverse range of attitudes on those issues among teachers and staff (plenty of people with conservative Christian views mixed in with progressives as well as likely a bunch of live-and-let-live types). Our school teaches DCPS's fairly middle of the road Common Core based curriculum, not some far left fever dream based on CRT and the 1619 project.

I just don't get exactly what changes they would propose here. DC already has a lot of school choice including vouchers. So I just don't get what the specific threat to DCPS is.

Now I do have concerns about the proposal to eliminate the Department of Education but that will impact us even if we leave DC as long as we have kids in public school. So I don't see the point in panicking right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:oversight from the feds has varied over the past 30 years i've lived in DC - some neutral, some positive and some bad. Depends on who they put in charge. Someone like Lauch Faircloth for example would not be good - he used it as a campaign prop to show people back home how much he was bashing the District, when we actually give more to the feds than we get unlike many states that voted in the new administration

I’ve also lived here for nearly 30 years, and I think we are about to face something unprecedented since the advent of home rule. This will be full-scale fed takeover, with the goal of killing public education in DC. Here’s what I anticipate in the near future: “don’t say gay” type language control, no lessons that involve race, no recognition of non-cis gender identities, end of protections against harassment based on race/gender/identity, prayer/religion in school. Everything you’ve heard about in Florida and Oklahoma and other states on the vanguard of destroying public education will come here. Anything bad we thought we had seen in terms of past interference will seem minor compared with what’s coming.

My youngest graduates in 2026, so we don’t have much choice but to stick it out. But if I had younger children, I’d be seriously considering a move to Maryland (and we are considering this after our kid graduates). I love this city, and my kids have had good experiences in DCPS. But I think a lot is going to change pretty quickly.

Most of the changes you list don't actually currently exist in our DCPS school. I've never heard any curriculum or school activity that directly addressed LGBTQ issues -- it's an elementary school and I think there are actually likely a diverse range of attitudes on those issues among teachers and staff (plenty of people with conservative Christian views mixed in with progressives as well as likely a bunch of live-and-let-live types). Our school teaches DCPS's fairly middle of the road Common Core based curriculum, not some far left fever dream based on CRT and the 1619 project.

I just don't get exactly what changes they would propose here. DC already has a lot of school choice including vouchers. So I just don't get what the specific threat to DCPS is.

Now I do have concerns about the proposal to eliminate the Department of Education but that will impact us even if we leave DC as long as we have kids in public school. So I don't see the point in panicking right now.

DCPS has an LGBTQ+ inclusion plan and does an annual leadership conference to support more inclusive schools. DC also adopted new social studies standards that were revised to reflect our student populations and validate their lived experiences. It's hard to see why any of this would be offensive to anyone. However, we live in a world where politicians with an axe to grind will accuse DC of being too woke and could threaten funding and/or advance regulations that hurt DC schools. I'm not panicking but I do wonder (and worry about) what will happen with DC schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:oversight from the feds has varied over the past 30 years i've lived in DC - some neutral, some positive and some bad. Depends on who they put in charge. Someone like Lauch Faircloth for example would not be good - he used it as a campaign prop to show people back home how much he was bashing the District, when we actually give more to the feds than we get unlike many states that voted in the new administration

I’ve also lived here for nearly 30 years, and I think we are about to face something unprecedented since the advent of home rule. This will be full-scale fed takeover, with the goal of killing public education in DC. Here’s what I anticipate in the near future: “don’t say gay” type language control, no lessons that involve race, no recognition of non-cis gender identities, end of protections against harassment based on race/gender/identity, prayer/religion in school. Everything you’ve heard about in Florida and Oklahoma and other states on the vanguard of destroying public education will come here. Anything bad we thought we had seen in terms of past interference will seem minor compared with what’s coming.

My youngest graduates in 2026, so we don’t have much choice but to stick it out. But if I had younger children, I’d be seriously considering a move to Maryland (and we are considering this after our kid graduates). I love this city, and my kids have had good experiences in DCPS. But I think a lot is going to change pretty quickly.

Other than prayer/religion...nothing else you mention has much to do with education. I get it's bad from a society standpoint.

The issue with DC is let's say they create some massive voucher program, there literally is nowhere for anyone to go. It's not like any private school doesn't already receive significantly more applications than slots. The private schools that do have slots are at schools that nobody wants to attend (there are lots of private schools nobody has ever heard of because they actually have terrible academic results).

there already is a voucher program in DC and it basically doesn’t do much.

Because it's means tested and only very few vouchers are available. If it becomes widely available, many middle class families will leave DCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:oversight from the feds has varied over the past 30 years i've lived in DC - some neutral, some positive and some bad. Depends on who they put in charge. Someone like Lauch Faircloth for example would not be good - he used it as a campaign prop to show people back home how much he was bashing the District, when we actually give more to the feds than we get unlike many states that voted in the new administration

I’ve also lived here for nearly 30 years, and I think we are about to face something unprecedented since the advent of home rule. This will be full-scale fed takeover, with the goal of killing public education in DC. Here’s what I anticipate in the near future: “don’t say gay” type language control, no lessons that involve race, no recognition of non-cis gender identities, end of protections against harassment based on race/gender/identity, prayer/religion in school. Everything you’ve heard about in Florida and Oklahoma and other states on the vanguard of destroying public education will come here. Anything bad we thought we had seen in terms of past interference will seem minor compared with what’s coming.

My youngest graduates in 2026, so we don’t have much choice but to stick it out. But if I had younger children, I’d be seriously considering a move to Maryland (and we are considering this after our kid graduates). I love this city, and my kids have had good experiences in DCPS. But I think a lot is going to change pretty quickly.

Other than prayer/religion...nothing else you mention has much to do with education. I get it's bad from a society standpoint.

The issue with DC is let's say they create some massive voucher program, there literally is nowhere for anyone to go. It's not like any private school doesn't already receive significantly more applications than slots. The private schools that do have slots are at schools that nobody wants to attend (there are lots of private schools nobody has ever heard of because they actually have terrible academic results).

there already is a voucher program in DC and it basically doesn’t do much.

Because it's means tested and only very few vouchers are available. If it becomes widely available, many middle class families will leave DCPS.

Leave DCPS for what? There is a massive supply and demand problem already for DC-area private schools. It’s not as if there’s a bunch of empty seats at Potomac or Landon or NCS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, the last control board really bailed out DCPS and is the reason DCPS is an option for you now.

This. You are too recent of an arrival to appreciate this / the trajectory of the city. The results of the control board, then board-selected Mayor Williams are why you considered buying here in the first place

I am a GenX lifelong Dem who’s lived here since 1990 when the place was a dumpster fire with no functioning fire trucks or snow plows. The Republican-driven ControllBoard (aka, federal takeover) + Abe Polllin was the best thing to happen to DC since Home Rule.

The Republicans of 10-20 years ago are not the Republicans of today. I’ll take a LGBTQ inclusion curriculum, which does not impact my child in the slightest, over elimination of free lunches, climate change denialism, flat-eartherism, creationism, etc. which has a direct impact on my child getting into any reputable 4 year college.

[Anonymous]

Biggest issue for DCPS/DC charters will be the loss of Title 1 funding, IEP fundings, free meals, etc. All of that is subsidized by federal dollars from the Dept of Education.

DC schools were already facing budget cuts due to loss of pandemic supplemental funds. The loss of all these other federal dollars will put DC schools and charters into a tailspin.

Loss of federal monies for IEP will truly upend my family's life. It will force us to seek services outside of school and miss lots of work.

-DCPS parent of kid with IEP who receives services 5 days/week in class

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't panic. It's hardly set in stone that IEP services will be cut in DC and rest of the DMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:oversight from the feds has varied over the past 30 years i've lived in DC - some neutral, some positive and some bad. Depends on who they put in charge. Someone like Lauch Faircloth for example would not be good - he used it as a campaign prop to show people back home how much he was bashing the District, when we actually give more to the feds than we get unlike many states that voted in the new administration

I’ve also lived here for nearly 30 years, and I think we are about to face something unprecedented since the advent of home rule. This will be full-scale fed takeover, with the goal of killing public education in DC. Here’s what I anticipate in the near future: “don’t say gay” type language control, no lessons that involve race, no recognition of non-cis gender identities, end of protections against harassment based on race/gender/identity, prayer/religion in school. Everything you’ve heard about in Florida and Oklahoma and other states on the vanguard of destroying public education will come here. Anything bad we thought we had seen in terms of past interference will seem minor compared with what’s coming.

My youngest graduates in 2026, so we don’t have much choice but to stick it out. But if I had younger children, I’d be seriously considering a move to Maryland (and we are considering this after our kid graduates). I love this city, and my kids have had good experiences in DCPS. But I think a lot is going to change pretty quickly.

Most of the changes you list don't actually currently exist in our DCPS school. I've never heard any curriculum or school activity that directly addressed LGBTQ issues -- it's an elementary school and I think there are actually likely a diverse range of attitudes on those issues among teachers and staff (plenty of people with conservative Christian views mixed in with progressives as well as likely a bunch of live-and-let-live types). Our school teaches DCPS's fairly middle of the road Common Core based curriculum, not some far left fever dream based on CRT and the 1619 project.

I just don't get exactly what changes they would propose here. DC already has a lot of school choice including vouchers. So I just don't get what the specific threat to DCPS is.

Now I do have concerns about the proposal to eliminate the Department of Education but that will impact us even if we leave DC as long as we have kids in public school. So I don't see the point in panicking right now.

That's my experience with DCPS as well. It's mostly some of the charters that are all in on the progressive nonsense.

[Anonymous]

I'm pretty sure that even if they DID get rid of the US DoE (even though they're nominating a secretary for it) they'd still have the various funding sources/grants that are funneled through the department. They'd have to eliminate other current laws that authorize these funding sources/grants in order to eliminate Title I, special education funding, etc. They could also do what was, in the past, a favorite idea of conservatives "block grants" so that the amount of $ a state can get is ultimately capped regardless of if it is actually enough or not based on whatever formula has been used to award it in the past. (Ie. funding based on how many students there are in povery "FARMS", etc.)