Reply to Bill introduced to declare the Old Hardy School surplus and extend long-term lease to the Lab School

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Reply to "Bill introduced to declare the Old Hardy School surplus and extend long-term lease to the Lab School"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
As a Wilson-feeder parent, here's my question: what is the DCPS plan to serve the increasing number of kids with learning disabilities that will come with the increased population of kids in general?

Or put another way, how can DCPS better serve its most underserved public school students including the hundreds of students with disabilities currently in the Wilson feeder pattern?

Anyone?[/quote]

In 2010, Vincent Gray ran successfully for mayor and one of his campaign promises was to halve the number of kids in private placements. When he took office the number was 2,204. At that time the city was spending over $120 million a year on private placements, when the entire DCPS budget was around $600 million.

By 2014 there were 1,062. In 2015-16 there were 665 and in 2016-17 there were 530. That's a 20% drop in one year and more than 75% in six years. This year it's 416. For better or for worse DCPS has made a dramatic change of direction in how it deals with those kids.

The reason Gray did this -- and Bowser has continued it -- was private placements just weren't cost-effective.

Which does raise the question, if the city can effect a change like that in six years, why is it committing the property for 50? 
[/quote]

1) The private placements DCPS rolled back the most were residential schools far away from the city, such as in upstate New York.

DC has students in 60 different private schools this year (mostly DCPS, but some charter) - the schools with 20+ students are:

Accotink 60
Chidren's Guild (2 campuses) 26
Episcopal Center 33
Ivymount 36
Katharine Thomas 26
Kennedy Krieger (4 campuses) 31 
Kingbury 35
[b]Lab 32[/b]
Joseph P Kennedy Institute 36
Phillips School (2 campuses) 65
Foundation School at PG County 32
Village Academy Maryland 41

The city is funding these students because either

1) their parents have proven that DCPS/their charter has failed to provide appropriate schooling to their children. Requires mediation or a lawsuit. Nearly all of Lab's publicly funded students all fall into this category.

2) OSSE, the child's school, and the parents all agree (without litigation) that there is no appropriate public school that can serve the child's needs.

Pre-Gray, when DC's special education was under court supervision because it was atrocious, it was relatively easy to get a private placement. Some were even gained bc DCPS couldn't even get the paperwork right, or follow the legally prescribed timelines. Those days are over.  [/quote]

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