Anonymous
05/12/2026 02:39
Subject: Early PK3 via Early Stages question
Is it true that if a child with a birthday after the 9/30 cut off goes through Early Stages and does PK3 that they have to repeat PK3 again the following year?
Anonymous
05/11/2026 15:19
Subject: Early PK3 via Early Stages question
bump.Anonymous wrote:OP what was the result of this? It is really relevant to anyone with a child who turns three between October and May, and receives Strong Start services.
Anonymous
01/28/2026 12:40
Subject: Early PK3 via Early Stages question
That’s crazy. I’m glad it worked out.
Anonymous
01/28/2026 10:31
Subject: Re:Early PK3 via Early Stages question
OP here: They were indeed happy to have her…fought to get her enrolled - despite the fact that the city is providing no funding - and the transition was seamless. But it took multiple outside actors and officials to force OSSE to follow their own written regulations that allow for this enrollment (as an “exception” - huh?). I will not speculate as to why, but will note that everyone outside the agency was as baffled by the intransigence and apparent ignorance of existing regulations as we were.
Anonymous
01/25/2026 14:55
Subject: Early PK3 via Early Stages question
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Also this — charter schools hate enrolling new students after count day. They get no additional funding for them. So the charter school is potentially being nice to you because you are a current family while telling ES they are not setup to support your daughter.
This is what I came to say. You are asking them to take a very young student (will be youngest in the class) with special needs that cost them $, but they will not get credit for it. Not going to happen. Enroll in your local DCPS for this year, OP.
OP here: the charter has been clear they are happy to have her…as long as it won’t get their city contract revoked. They need enrollment, and this is a simple way to onboard a student who’s likely to stick around.
Do not kid yourself, if they were actually were happy to have her there would be zero hiccups.
Anonymous
01/25/2026 13:56
Subject: Early PK3 via Early Stages question
OP what was the result of this? It is really relevant to anyone with a child who turns three between October and May, and receives Strong Start services.
Anonymous
11/09/2025 19:00
Subject: Early PK3 via Early Stages question
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My School DC is part of OSSE. So one part of OSSE is saying that these kids can enroll in charters but another part of OSSE is saying they can’t. Seems like a mistake right? Which one gets precedence over the other?
I agree that My School DC/OSSE is the only entity that can decide which guidance the school is supposed to follow. I feel bad for the mom, Early Stages, and the charter school. Seems like they’re all trying to follow policy but the policies are conflicting.
It's even weirder than that: OSSE itself is specifically saying - in its only formal, vetted, written, and publicly available guidance - that they can enroll, because their official policy in full compliance with DC law which gives charters the same obligations as public schools. And another part of OSSE is saying they can't enroll based on...vibes, apparently? They have given absolutely no official basis for their objections, presumably because none exists. The officials here were also completely unaware of the formal OSSE policy contained in the only written regulations and public guidance on this issue, which...isn't great.
Call me crazy, but my assumption would be that the only policy that was formally codified in writing, is actually in compliance with legal guidelines and has been publicly available for years "would get precedence" over one that has never been written down anywhere, is at odds with DC law and apparently exists only in the minds of MySchool officials who never bothered to check the published OSSE regulations that govern their departments.
I get that quite a few posters here seem to find this situation complicated....what I don't get is why.
Right. Everyone keeps saying "the policies" are at odds. Why the plural? We have one policy. We can read it on OSSE's website. Where is this second one that says charters are 100% required to serve all the same special ed kids as public schools...except THESE special ed kids who are served by public schools?
Anonymous
11/09/2025 18:56
Subject: Early PK3 via Early Stages question
Anonymous wrote:Please work with the team at early stages. Once the IEP is completed, your case manager will discuss which LEA you want to consider for your child' DCPS or Charter. If you choose charter, they will contact the school to see if they have space for your child in their program. This process is completely outside of MySchoolDC
Yes but it's apparently a good thing that the charter contacted MySchoolDC - apparently if they had followed the OSSE guidance and the Early Stages process as you recommend, this MySchool official would have immediately tried to revoke their contract. For the crime of correctly following the legal guidelines governing this process, both in terms of the letter and the spirit of the law. So for all the headache of addressing the enrollment policy ignorance of [checks notes] the officials who oversee enrollment policy, it's good that it was cleared up before the charter "violated" regulations (by, again, actually following said regulations), and the official in question tried to shut them down.
Anonymous
11/09/2025 18:49
Subject: Early PK3 via Early Stages question
Anonymous wrote:My School DC is part of OSSE. So one part of OSSE is saying that these kids can enroll in charters but another part of OSSE is saying they can’t. Seems like a mistake right? Which one gets precedence over the other?
I agree that My School DC/OSSE is the only entity that can decide which guidance the school is supposed to follow. I feel bad for the mom, Early Stages, and the charter school. Seems like they’re all trying to follow policy but the policies are conflicting.
It's even weirder than that: OSSE itself is specifically saying - in its only formal, vetted, written, and publicly available guidance - that they can enroll, because their official policy in full compliance with DC law which gives charters the same obligations as public schools. And another part of OSSE is saying they can't enroll based on...vibes, apparently? They have given absolutely no official basis for their objections, presumably because none exists. The officials here were also completely unaware of the formal OSSE policy contained in the only written regulations and public guidance on this issue, which...isn't great.
Call me crazy, but my assumption would be that the only policy that was formally codified in writing, is actually in compliance with legal guidelines and has been publicly available for years "would get precedence" over one that has never been written down anywhere, is at odds with DC law and apparently exists only in the minds of MySchool officials who never bothered to check the published OSSE regulations that govern their departments.
I get that quite a few posters here seem to find this situation complicated....what I don't get is why.
Anonymous
11/08/2025 20:40
Subject: Early PK3 via Early Stages question
Please work with the team at early stages. Once the IEP is completed, your case manager will discuss which LEA you want to consider for your child' DCPS or Charter. If you choose charter, they will contact the school to see if they have space for your child in their program. This process is completely outside of MySchoolDC
Anonymous
11/04/2025 17:49
Subject: Early PK3 via Early Stages question
OP tell us what My School DC says
Anonymous
11/03/2025 13:42
Subject: Early PK3 via Early Stages question
My School DC is part of OSSE. So one part of OSSE is saying that these kids can enroll in charters but another part of OSSE is saying they can’t. Seems like a mistake right? Which one gets precedence over the other?
I agree that My School DC/OSSE is the only entity that can decide which guidance the school is supposed to follow. I feel bad for the mom, Early Stages, and the charter school. Seems like they’re all trying to follow policy but the policies are conflicting.
I agree that My School DC/OSSE is the only entity that can decide which guidance the school is supposed to follow. I feel bad for the mom, Early Stages, and the charter school. Seems like they’re all trying to follow policy but the policies are conflicting.
Anonymous
11/03/2025 13:19
Subject: Early PK3 via Early Stages question
Anonymous wrote:"Given the fact that Early Stages and My School DC quote the same thing about this only being for DCPS schools, and given that the OSSE guidance goes into excruciating detail about what happens to students that are level 4 enrolled at charters after the April 1 lottery, I almost think that line about students being able to enter any LEA at age three is a mistake. Either that or they meant it, but then literally no one at OSSE or My School DC considered what that meant for children with birthdays between October 1-April 1."
What on earth does this mean? You can forget to include something by "mistake." You can issue conflicting written guidance by "mistake." Issuing the correct guidance as your sole policy: there is no universe under which this can be hand-waved away as a "mistake." It was both deliberate and accurate. The only existing published guidance correctly acknowledges the legal reality: that there is no distinction between public and charter schools in terms of the universe of students they serve or admissions policies. It's correct! How on earth is that a "mistake"?
And re: "Either that or they meant it, but then literally no one at OSSE or My School DC considered what that meant for children with birthdays between October 1-April 1." Well, it means the same exact thing for those children as it says on the page, and as it does in practice for the hundreds of them that attend DCPS under this policy. Why would they need to "consider" it? They wrote a policy that is in compliance with current law. It was vetted and published. Now, all they need to do is follow it. That, or they can unilaterally decide that charter schools, which take public money, should be required to reject a group of special needs students DCPS is required to accept - even if those charter schools WANT to follow the same inclusive policy as DCPS, and even if such a bifurcated policy violates existing city regulations.
It seems that it is a mistake given some of the other statements in the policy. What law is it in compliance with?
3. What should a public charter school LEA do if a parent or stakeholder contacts the LEA with special
education or developmental delay concerns about a child under the age of six who is not enrolled or
enrolling in the LEA?
If the child is two years and nine months old or older, the public charter school LEA should make a
referral to DCPS Early Stages (contact information for DCPS Early Stages is provided at the end of this
document). DCPS Early Stages will proceed with documenting the student’s referral in the Special
Education Data System (SEDS) and making reasonable efforts to obtain parental consent to conduct the
initial evaluation. If the child is younger than two years and nine months, the LEA should assist the
parent in contacting Strong Start at the contact information available at the close of this document.
4. When will DCPS Early Stages contact a public charter school LEA about a child who is enrolling in the
public charter school LEA?
DCPS Early Stages will ask the parent for a letter, email, or other documentation from the parent or the
public charter school LEA confirming that the child is registered in the public charter school LEA (stage
four enrollment) or that the child is attending the public charter school LEA (stage five enrollment).
Once DCPS Early Stages has received evidence of stage four or stage five enrollment, it will contact the
public charter school LEA to effectuate the appropriate transfer of student records.
Plus the policy is just poorly written. Charter LEAs can't enroll children who turn 3 after September 30 so there would be no stage 4 or stage 5 pre-school enrollees at a charter in this group (3 after September 30). Thus, per the policy, only DCPS would have responsibility for this group.
IEP Development
15. Is a public charter school LEA responsible for developing an IEP for a student who is stage four
enrolled for the following school year?
Public charter school LEAs are responsible for developing an IEP by the third birthday for all children
who are currently enrolled in the LEA or have completed the registration process for the next school
year (stage four enrollment). DCPS has this responsibility for any child who is a resident of the District of
Columbia who is not stage four or stage five enrolled in a public charter school LEA.
For children who are stage four enrolled in a public charter school LEA for the following school year, the
LEA must:
• Ensure the development of an IEP by the child’s third birthday; and
• Ensure the provision of special education and related services by the child’s third birthday or, if
the child turns three on a non-school day, within the timeframe described in question 21.
Anonymous
11/03/2025 09:44
Subject: Early PK3 via Early Stages question
"Given the fact that Early Stages and My School DC quote the same thing about this only being for DCPS schools, and given that the OSSE guidance goes into excruciating detail about what happens to students that are level 4 enrolled at charters after the April 1 lottery, I almost think that line about students being able to enter any LEA at age three is a mistake. Either that or they meant it, but then literally no one at OSSE or My School DC considered what that meant for children with birthdays between October 1-April 1."
What on earth does this mean? You can forget to include something by "mistake." You can issue conflicting written guidance by "mistake." Issuing the correct guidance as your sole policy: there is no universe under which this can be hand-waved away as a "mistake." It was both deliberate and accurate. The only existing published guidance correctly acknowledges the legal reality: that there is no distinction between public and charter schools in terms of the universe of students they serve or admissions policies. It's correct! How on earth is that a "mistake"?
And re: "Either that or they meant it, but then literally no one at OSSE or My School DC considered what that meant for children with birthdays between October 1-April 1." Well, it means the same exact thing for those children as it says on the page, and as it does in practice for the hundreds of them that attend DCPS under this policy. Why would they need to "consider" it? They wrote a policy that is in compliance with current law. It was vetted and published. Now, all they need to do is follow it. That, or they can unilaterally decide that charter schools, which take public money, should be required to reject a group of special needs students DCPS is required to accept - even if those charter schools WANT to follow the same inclusive policy as DCPS, and even if such a bifurcated policy violates existing city regulations.
What on earth does this mean? You can forget to include something by "mistake." You can issue conflicting written guidance by "mistake." Issuing the correct guidance as your sole policy: there is no universe under which this can be hand-waved away as a "mistake." It was both deliberate and accurate. The only existing published guidance correctly acknowledges the legal reality: that there is no distinction between public and charter schools in terms of the universe of students they serve or admissions policies. It's correct! How on earth is that a "mistake"?
And re: "Either that or they meant it, but then literally no one at OSSE or My School DC considered what that meant for children with birthdays between October 1-April 1." Well, it means the same exact thing for those children as it says on the page, and as it does in practice for the hundreds of them that attend DCPS under this policy. Why would they need to "consider" it? They wrote a policy that is in compliance with current law. It was vetted and published. Now, all they need to do is follow it. That, or they can unilaterally decide that charter schools, which take public money, should be required to reject a group of special needs students DCPS is required to accept - even if those charter schools WANT to follow the same inclusive policy as DCPS, and even if such a bifurcated policy violates existing city regulations.
Anonymous
11/02/2025 23:08
Subject: Early PK3 via Early Stages question
Your next step is to call My School DC then. Let Early Stages develop the IEP and place her in a DCPS school, then call My School DC and ask about a midyear transfer. Don’t bother Early Stages with questions about charter enrollment.
It seems like all three previous posters are right - yes, that one line of OSSE guidance says your child, once they have an IEP and are three, should be able to enroll in your charter that has open seats and accepts midyear transfers. But also, your charter has no way to do that because it does not appear that My School DC has any mechanism to let them. The guidance really focuses on kids who turn three after the lottery deadline.
Further, the My School DC website acknowledges these early enrollments, but only to say that it is something Early Stages/DCPS does outside of the lottery system. It does not acknowledge any process within the lottery system. Even the midyear lottery process is “an extension” of the previous years process, not a new one for newly three kids. https://www.myschooldc.org/how-apply/students-with-disabilities
Given the fact that Early Stages and My School DC quote the same thing about this only being for DCPS schools, and given that the OSSE guidance goes into excruciating detail about what happens to students that are level 4 enrolled at charters after the April 1 lottery, I almost think that line about students being able to enter any LEA at age three is a mistake. Either that or they meant it, but then literally no one at OSSE or My School DC considered what that meant for children with birthdays between October 1-April 1.
It seems like all three previous posters are right - yes, that one line of OSSE guidance says your child, once they have an IEP and are three, should be able to enroll in your charter that has open seats and accepts midyear transfers. But also, your charter has no way to do that because it does not appear that My School DC has any mechanism to let them. The guidance really focuses on kids who turn three after the lottery deadline.
Further, the My School DC website acknowledges these early enrollments, but only to say that it is something Early Stages/DCPS does outside of the lottery system. It does not acknowledge any process within the lottery system. Even the midyear lottery process is “an extension” of the previous years process, not a new one for newly three kids. https://www.myschooldc.org/how-apply/students-with-disabilities
Given the fact that Early Stages and My School DC quote the same thing about this only being for DCPS schools, and given that the OSSE guidance goes into excruciating detail about what happens to students that are level 4 enrolled at charters after the April 1 lottery, I almost think that line about students being able to enter any LEA at age three is a mistake. Either that or they meant it, but then literally no one at OSSE or My School DC considered what that meant for children with birthdays between October 1-April 1.