Testimony on Chronic Absenteeism and Truancy
July 10, 2024
Kimberly R. Humphrey, Ombudsman for Public Education, submitted testimony to the DC Council’s Committee of the Whole on Chronic Absenteeism and Truancy.
Read her full testimony here.
Testimony on Student Literacy in the District
July 14, 2022
Serena M. Hayes, Ombudsman for Public Education, testified before the DC Council’s Committee of the Whole to compare the Office's student literacy data to District-wide data. In her testimony she discusses the correlation between reading discrepancies and special education. She also shares how OSSE's updated State Literacy Plan can help families who the Office has encountered. Further she shares other possible solutions to close the literacy gap in the District based on the Office's casework.
Read her full testimony here.
Testimony for the Education Budget Oversight Hearing
March 30, 2022
Serena M. Hayes, Ombudsman for Public Education, testified before the DC Council’s Committee of the Whole on the Office's FY23 budget.
Read her full testimony here.
Testimony for the Education Performance Oversight Hearing
March 3, 2022
Serena M. Hayes, Ombudsman for Public Education, testified before the DC Council’s Committee of the Whole at the Education Performance Oversight Hearing to share trends the Office was seeing in casework from the School Year 2021-22, review the Office's 2021 Annual Report, and announce an expansion that will allow the Office to help address one of our families' most common concerns: navigating the complex special education system. The Ombudsman shared that she recently partnered with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) to develop the DC Special Education Hub as a subsidiary office within the Office of the Ombudsman for Public Education.
Read her full testimony here.
Previous Ombudsman's Testimony
- Testimony on Improving School Attendance: Truancy, Chronic Absenteeism, and the Implementation of Reform Initiatives before the District of Columbia Council Committee on Education and Committee of the Whole, October 23, 2017.
- Testimony at Truancy Roundtable before the District of Columbia Council Committee on Education, June 29, 2015.
- Testimony at Roundtable on PERAA Report before the District of Columbia Council Committee on Education, June 22, 2015.
- Testimony on Pre-K Student Discipline Amendment Act of 2015 before the District of Columbia Council Committee on Education, February 4, 2015.
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