Washington, D.C.

Introduction

Washington, D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) and the D.C. Public Charter Schools (DCPCS) enroll about 80,500 students, split nearly equally between the two. DCPS is governed by a chancellor who reports directly to the D.C. mayor, whereas the public charter schools report to an oversight board. There has been an underlying tension between the mayor and the city council over education policy, providing the background for increased attention toward the major themes of D.C. school reforms—namely accountability, school closings and consolidations, and school choice.

The Structure of Education Finance in Washington, D.C.

DCPS enroll about 45,500 students in 110 schools, pre-K through grade 12. Nearly an additional 35,000 students are enrolled in 57 DCPCS. Students in both DCPS and DCPCS are predominantly African American and Hispanic, and over 70% of all students are eligible for the free and reduced-price lunch program. The chancellor of DCPS reports directly to the D.C. mayor rather than to the D.C. City Council or school board, a system of mayoral control that was put into place in 2007. Each of the charter schools (or management organizations) functions as a local education agency (LEA) and reports to a charter board. Education funds are distributed to the individual schools under the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula (UPSFF) enacted in 1998. The formula requires a uniform level of per-pupil funding and equal services such as health and safety for all students enrolled in either DCPS or DCPCS. Per-pupil base funding starts with a minimum foundation level of spending, equal to $8,400 in FY 2012. Base amounts are then augmented by “weights” specific to the characteristics of the various students (e.g., grade level and special education). DCPS spent about $488 million in FY 2012 to fund schools, translating to about $10,900 per pupil in elementary schools and $9,796 per pupil in high schools.

Recent Proposals, the Mayor’s Proposed Budget, and the D.C. Council’s Alternative Reform Agenda

Ever-increasing enrollments in DCPCS forced the DCPS chancellor to propose closing fifteen DCPS schools in an effort to manage scarce resources more efficiently. Her proposal generated considerable controversy and ended up in federal court, with the plaintiffs unsuccessfully arguing that that closures discriminated students based on race, as the targeted closings are clustered in parts of the city with more minority students. The mayor and a key member of the D.C. City Council have proposed competing education legislation. The mayor proposed new authority to the DCPS chancellor to approve new charter school developments, in addition to the current D.C. Public Charter School Board governing authority. One of the members of the D.C. Council put together a set of seven education reform proposals to increase funding for children eligible for the free and reduced-price lunch program, open special public schools that are “charter-type,” and give principals the authority to end “social promotion.” The mayor has critiqued the council member’s proposed accountability system reducing mayoral control.

Special Education and Head Start Funding

As with other states, funding for early childhood programs, special education, and related services has been reduced in some cases over the past four years. The effect of the sequester seems to be on track for the 2013–2014 schools years, where up to $800,000 will be cut from special education in D.C. and up to $400,000 from Head Start and Early Head Start.

Teacher Salaries and Evaluation

Given a teacher union contract set in place in 2010 and an evaluation system known as IMPACT, DCPS teachers can earn up to $27,000 in bonuses for highly effective teaching. However, in order to join the bonus-based systems, teachers must surrender their tenure. Teacher evaluation systems in both DCPS and DCPCS are primarily focused on students’ scores on the city’s standardized test, the D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System (DC CAS).

The Payoff?

Student performance on the 2013 DC CAS in DCPS and DCPCS increased to the highest proficiency rates in recent history. The percent of...