Washington, DC—The D.C. State Board of Education (SBOE) will hold its monthly public working session on Wednesday, December 2, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. As the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic continues globally, the State Board is taking the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of our members, staff, and public. Therefore, this meeting will be held as a video web conference. Materials for the State Board meetings can be found on our meeting website. For the most up-to-date information on the District’s COVID-19 response, please visit coronavirus.dc.gov. 

As the District continues to respond to the ongoing COVID-19 health emergency, the collection of daily attendance for both in-person and remote instruction remain vital to comply with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education’s (OSSE) proposed regulations. The State Board will discuss the proposed regulations in preparation for a vote at its December 16 Public Meeting. The proposed regulations were published in the D.C. Register on October 9, 2020. Emergency regulations went into effect on that date.

The Social Studies Standards Advisory Committee (SSSAC) is finalizing a draft set of Guiding Principles. Three (3) members of the SSSAC will present the Committee’s work and explain the process by which they arrived at the Guiding Principles, as well as take questions from State Board members. 

• Fadhal Moore, Georgetown University, MPP Candidate; Former Teacher, E.L. Haynes Public Charter School
• Maria Marable-Bunch, National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, Associate Director for Museum Learning and Programs
• Sally Schwartz, Globalize DC, Executive Director

The State Board will also review feedback from the public and discuss the next steps in the social studies standards revision process before voting and transmitting the SSSAC’s Guiding Principles to OSSE. 

The 20 Guiding Principles focus on ensuring that revised D.C. Social Studies Standards will include fewer, higher, clearer, rigorous standards that will be coherent, developmentally appropriate and vertically aligned across grades Pre-K–12. The Guiding Principles push for revised standards that expand on the types of skills and knowledge to which all D.C. students should be guaranteed access (e.g., digital literacy, student agency, democractic citizenship, power and bias), as well as recognize that the world our students are growing up in is—more than ever before—globally interconnected and culturally and racially diverse.

The State Board will review and consider recommendations for its 2020 Annual Report, which summarizes and highlights the agency’s efforts in the Social Studies Standards revisions, teacher retention, and COVID-19 response efforts.

The State Board Committees will also give updates on its work. The Well-Rounded Education Committee is preparing for its webinar on December 10 Reopening Right: Putting School Community at the Center. This is the second webinar in the series “Meeting the Needs of the Whole Child During Hybrid Learning”.

The Student Advisory Committee prepares for its live student-led town hall on distance learning, airing Tuesday, December 1 at 6:30 p.m. Participants will hear directly from high school students in D.C. on topics such as student mental health, workload, synchronous v. asynchronous balance, communication and transparency, and class structures.

The Social Studies Standards Advisory Committee (SSSAC) will meet December 8 at 5:00 pm. The Research Committee will meet December 9 at 2:00 pm, and the Student Advisory Committee will meet December 14 at 5:30 pm.

While working sessions are open to the public, individuals and representatives of organizations are not permitted to speak or participate. Individuals and representatives of organizations may submit written testimony for consideration by the State Board at any time. Written testimony must be submitted by email ([email protected]) at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting, in order to be included in the official record. Materials received after that time will be included in the next official meeting record. To review the agenda, submit testimony, and presentations, please visit the SBOE meeting documents site.

Working Session Agenda

Please note that the agenda may be altered, modified, or updated without notice.

I. Call to Order

II. Announcement of a Quorum

III. Leadership Report

IV. Executive Director's Report 

V. Attendance Regulations

VI. Social Studies Guiding Principles

VII. Questions for New Superintendent 

VIII. SBOE 2020 Annual Report 

IX. Committee Reports 

      i. Student Advisory 

      ii. Teacher Retention 

      iii. Social Studies Standards 

      iv. Well Rounded Education 

      v. Research 

      vi. Administrative 

X. New Business & Other Discussion 

XI. Adjournment 

About the SBOE

The DC State Board of Education is an independent agency within the Government of the District of Columbia that advises the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), the District’s state education agency. The State Board is comprised of nine elected representatives, each representing their respective wards, with one member representing DC at large, and two appointed student representatives. The State Board approves statewide education policies and sets academic standards, while OSSE oversees education within the District and manages federal education funding. More information about the SBOE can be found at sboe.dc.gov.

For the latest information on the District Government’s response to COVID-19, please visit coronavirus.dc.gov.

Contact: Milayo Olufemi

202-710-4641

[email protected]