{"id":6512,"date":"2024-12-03T08:57:50","date_gmt":"2024-12-03T08:57:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=6512"},"modified":"2024-12-09T09:03:05","modified_gmt":"2024-12-09T09:03:05","slug":"state-board-explores-high-quality-education-as-a-civil-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=6512","title":{"rendered":"State Board Explores High-Quality Education as a Civil Right"},"content":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0Sam P.K. Collins<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

D.C. State Board of Education (SBOE) Vice President Jacque Patterson, fresh off the campaign trail, said he will soon recommend a resolution aimed at holding the D.C. government legally accountable for providing every public school student with a high-quality education.<\/p>\n

If the state board follows Patterson\u2019s recommendation during a working meeting scheduled for this week, then representatives will be able to vote on a resolution, titled The Civil Right to a High-Quality Education Resolution of 2024, as early as Dec. 11.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a working proof for open dialogue about education as a civil right,\u201d Patterson, a member of the state board\u2019s Education as a Civil Right working group, told The Informer.<\/p>\n

Patterson told The Informer that he and his fellow working group members \u2014 SBOE Representatives Allister Chang (Ward 2), Eric Goulet (Ward 3) and Brandon Best (Ward 6) \u2014 spent time between May and the Nov. 20 public meeting preparing to provide recommendations to the entire state board.<\/p>\n

The actual language will be developed between Dec. 4 and Dec. 11, Patterson said. He expressed a desire for the passage of a resolution in support of an amendment to the D.C. Home Rule charter that codifies the District\u2019s obligation to provide a high-quality education to all public school students.<\/p>\n

Much of the testimony from panelists, and later public witnesses, centered on the language for the resolution that Patterson spent a year developing in consultation with local and out-of-state legal scholars. Although he acknowledged concerns about amending the Home Rule Charter while the District government is in the cross hairs of a Republican-controlled Congress and, soon, a second Trump White House, he said time is of the essence in improving academic outcomes.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone agrees we need to do something about proficiency, especially east of the Anacostia River, but there\u2019s no consensus on how we achieve that,\u201d Patterson, an at-large member of the SBOE, told The Informer. \u201cWe\u2019re making efforts [in education] but we haven\u2019t put in place the types of resources that make big impacts. We have to focus and get people accountable for getting there.\u201d<\/p>\n

State Board Members Debate a Small, But Impactful, Change to the Home Rule Charter<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Patterson said he wants to add a critical caveat to the Home Rule Charter.<\/p>\n