MEMORANDUM

 

TO:         Nyasha Smith, Secretary to the Council    

FROM: Phil Mendelson, Chairman                                                         

DATE:    May 29, 2025

RE:         Request to Agendize for the June 3, 2025 Legislative Meeting      

 

Please place the following measures on the agenda for the June 3, 2025 Legislative Meeting:

 

• Pilot Truancy Reduction Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2025
• Pilot Truancy Reduction Emergency Amendment Act of 2025
• Pilot Truancy Reduction Temporary Amendment Act of 2025

 

                The purpose of these measures is to finish the pilot started by identical measures passed by the Council on July 9, 2024 (PR25-936, Bill 25-912, and Bill 25-913). The original set of emergency legislation set out to test the Mayor’s proposal to change truancy referrals in our schools. The purpose of the pilot is to test both the ability and the effectiveness of the Department of Human Services (DHS) to handle truancy referrals – the Mayor’s proposal.

 

The 2024 emergencies and temporary measures amended an Act to provide for compulsory school attendance, for the taking of a school census in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes to select 5 secondary educational institutions to refer students aged 14-17 to DHS if they accrue 15 unexcused absences within a school year

 

                DHS has worked with five high schools through this pilot legislation — Anacostia High School, Eastern High School, H.D. Woodson High School, KIPP Legacy High School, and Digital Pioneers High School. The first emergency and temporary measures called for DHS to produce a preliminary report by March 31, 2025, and a final report by August 15, 2025, to measure the success of the referrals. The Council has not yet received the interim report.

 

The reason for this second round of emergency/ temporary is to prevent a lapse in the law and to extend it so that DHS will furnish the final report on August 15^th.

 

                Draft