Education

Educational success shouldn't be defined by the ward we live in. Neighborhood public schools are the foundation of a strong school system and should be protected against privatization. Learning and equity begin at birth, and we should follow student leadership when it comes to school safety and priorities.

OVERALL RANKING OF DC Councilmembers on Education

Green = Champion Yellow = Mixed Record Red = Not Aligned with DC4D

SPECIFIC VOTES CONSIDERED

Did They Support the Income Tax Fairness Act of 2021 to Provide a Pay Raise to Child Care Teachers? In 2021, as part of the FY 2022 Budget Support Act, the DC Council adopted an income tax increase targeting high-income residents – 92% of the increase was paid by millionaires – in order to fund several important priorities. One of the things funded by the tax increase was to raise salaries for childcare teachers and assistant teachers through a new Pay Equity Fund.  The PEF provided pay raises of $10,000-$14,000 to nearly 4,000 early childhood educators, most of whom are women and are Black or brown.  (In recent years, PEF has also been used to help pay health insurance premiums for early educators.) Because childcare teachers typically are paid very low salaries – much lower than K-12 teachers, for example – the Pay Equity Fund promotes living wage jobs and addresses racial and gender inequities in the economy.


DC for Democracy supported this tax increase.

Did they support the DC Education Agency Independence Act of 2021 to make the Office of State Superintendent of Education subordinate to the State Board of Education, and allow DC Public Schools employees to be members of the State Board of Education?  Because DC is responsible for both local and state-level functions, we are in the unique situation where the “state” superintendent of education is appointed by and responsible to the Mayor. This removes an important element of education accountability, especially since the DC Public School system is under mayoral control. This bill introduced in 2021 would make the State Superintendent of Education report to the State Board of Education rather than to the mayor. The scoring below shows which Councilmembers supported that bill by co-introducing it.  (The bill has not come for a vote.)


DC for Democracy supports this policy change.

Did they support the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) Independence Act 2021? As noted above, the fact that OSSE, a state agency, is under mayoral control removes a level of education accountability found in all states, where a state agency sets state standards and oversees local school districts.  This legislation would make OSSE an independent agency. The scoring below reflects Councilmembers who signed on to that bill, which has not come up for a vote.


DC for Democracy supports this policy change.

Did they support the Universal Out of School Time Act of 2025? High-quality learning opportunities beyond the school day are critical for young people’s growth and development and positively impact their social and emotional well-being, academic outcomes, college and career readiness, and community safety. This legislation would make access to out-of-school time programs available to all students who want it. The scoring below reflects which Councilmembers signed on to this legislation, which has not yet come up for a vote.


DC for Democracy supports this legislation.

Did they sign on to the Universal Free School Meals Act of 2025? In many schools, free meals are available only to students with very low incomes creating administrative work for schools and stigmatizing students who eat school meals.  (In schools with high poverty rates, free meals are available to all students.) This legislation, introduced  in 2023 and then again in 2025, would make school meals free to all students regardless of income, eliminating stigma for students and burdensome administrative requirements for schools to gather income information. The bill has not yet come up for a vote. The scoring below reflects those who helped introduce the legislation and those who did not.


DC for Democracy supports this bill.