Cathy Braxton
August 25, 2003

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I am a special educational attorney here in Washington DC. I am on the DC Superior Court Special Education Panel; consequently, most of my clients are students under the supervision of DC Superior Family Court or the Juvenile Division. I am writing because as a special education attorney here in DC, I have come up against constant stumbling blocks regarding DCPS and its refusal to comply with federal law. 

As you are aware, the No Child Left Behind federal law mandates that children attending schools in need of improvement are eligible to transfer to higher performing schools. DCPS has significantly limited the transfer process. DCPS sent letters to parents dated August 1, 2003, and only allowed August 4-8, 2003, from 8:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.; Saturday, August 9, 2003, 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.; and August 11-15, 2003, from 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. for parents to personally go to Logan School and transfer their children. A two-week time frame is inadequate. Many people are out of town this time of the year and they work during the proposed hours, and DCPS refused to modify the plan. This notice was not put on the DCPS web site until August 13, 2003, two days before the deadline. 

I called DCPS on August 18, 2003, inquiring about the short time frame as well as requesting that two of my clients be allowed to transfer on August 18, 2003, as neither their parents nor I had received the notice. I was told that notices only went to students and not advocates, despite many of these kids having advocates that have represented them against DCPS. I questioned the DCPS official as to how many notices went out. I was told that 10,000 notices to transfer were sent via first class mail to students; however many notices were returned due to address problems. The DCPS official stated that only 350 students opted to transfer to better achieving schools. If only 350 students out of a possible 10,000 students opted to transfer to a better achieving school, clearly there is something wrong with the DCPS notification process. 

DCPS refuses to extend the transfer period, to attempt to get better addresses, or to notify parents in a different way. Kids in the juvenile justice system and the foster care system constantly move from foster homes, group homes, independent living situations, even residential facilities. Therefore it is difficult to provide notice to them just via mail to their last known address. If DCPS wanted to provide adequate notice, they would have started this process before August 1, 2003, and ended it August 15, 2003, and they would have provided notices directly to kids before they left for the summer. This transfer process was intentionally designed by DCPS to ensure a minimal response. It is unfair and in violation of federal law. 

I sent a letter to the DCPS Superintendent's Office and have had no response. I sent E-mails to education staff writers for the Washington Post and have had no response. If there is anything that DCPSWatch can suggest to help me shed light on this issue for the public, it would be most helpful.

Addendum, September 21, 2003

In addition to the lack of access regarding out-of-boundary transfer, I have also had problems regarding the private tutoring that was supposed to be in place at the schools listed as in need of improvement. I went to Anacostia for an IEP meeting and inquired about the private tutoring that was supposed to be in place, and the school special education coordinator had no idea what I was referring to. She suggested that I have a meeting with Anacostia's principal to inform him of the tutoring, as she stated that she did not believe that he knew about this private tutoring that was supposed to be happening. I left literature regarding the tutoring and the application that the Special Education Office Headquarters developed for applicants. 

I visited Roosevelt HS and inquired about the tutoring that was supposed to be taking place. I was told that they were out of application and that, despite having disseminated applications, no tutoring had been set up at the school. I then contacted the Special Education Office and inquired about the tutoring, and was told that transportation was an issue with the students getting to tutoring, so private tutors were supposed to come to the different schools. 

Next week, I am going to make an appointment with the official in charge of Supplemental Services for DCPS and get more information as to what is going on.