May 12, 2026

📌  Updated: FY27 Budget Advocacy Resource Hub. We've added new materials— including updated talking points and advocacy tools for the markup phase. Access the resource hub here.

☎️ Register for a Parent or Board Member Advocacy Zoom— We’re hosting two sessions this week to equip your community for the final push before the May 22 markup. Forward the registration links directly to your parents and board members.

• Session 1: Wednesday, May 13 | 12:00–1:00 PM (All invited, but a Board member focus) — Register here
• Session 2: Thursday, May 14 | 5:00–6:00 PM (All invited, but a Parent focus) — Register here

📣 Share the Parent Equity Letter. DC charter parents are calling on the Council to fund every public school student equally— and the letter is gaining momentum. Share it with your parent groups and encourage them to add their names here.

Budget Hearing Season: What We Did, What Comes Next

The charter sector showed up this budget season. Across all hearings so far in 2026— including last Thursday's OSSE hearing— our community testified nearly 325 times to support equitable funding of public charter schools.

The sector has been heard. Now we make sure it sticks.

When Councilmembers hear the same coordinated message from a Ward 5 school leader, a Ward 8 parent, and a Ward 1 teacher, it lands differently than a scattered set of individual asks.

Hearing testimony is the beginning of the process, not the end. Here's what the road ahead looks like:

• Wed, May 13— Committee of the Whole Hearing on the FY27 Local Budget Act & Budget Support Act
• May 18–22— Committee Markups
• Fri, May 22— Committee of the Whole Markup— initial education funding recommendations go public
• Tue, June 9— First Council Vote on FY27 Local Budget Act and the FY27 Budget Support Act
• Tue, June 23— Final Council Vote on FY27 Local Budget Act and Federal Portion Budget Request Act
• TBD: Final Council Vote on FY27 Budget Support Act 

The May 22 Committee of the Whole markup is our next major milestone— that's when Chairman Mendelson's initial education funding recommendations become public. We're hopeful that our collective advocacy will be reflected there. But we won't know where things land until then, and the path there requires continued pressure.

As we approach committee budget markups and the remainder of the FY27 budget cycle, we're evaluating whether additional advocacy actions will be beneficial. Stay tuned— we'll be in touch if we determine that additional mobilization is warranted.

What We Said: A Budget Season Recap

Across every FY27 budget hearing that we participated in this season, the charter sector delivered a consistent and multi-front message to the Council. Here's a summary of the key issues our community raised:

Equitable Per-Pupil Funding. The central ask of the season: fund public charter schools and DCPS equitably. The Mayor's proposed budget shifts $59.4 million in DCPS fixed costs to DGS and funds $25 million in educator bonuses outside the formula— while freezing the charter facilities allotment increase. The result is an operating funding gap of roughly $2,000 per student, ballooning to nearly $10,000 per student when capital budgets are factored in.

School-Based Behavioral Health. Charter leaders raised serious concerns about DBH's plan to phase out CBO clinicians in favor of in-house staff on an aggressive timeline— warning of disrupted student relationships, hiring bottlenecks, and gaps in coverage at the start of the school year.

School Health and Nursing. One in three charter schools currently lacks full-time nursing coverage. The sector opposed budget language that would weaken coverage requirements and proposed a direct-funding pilot that would allow schools to hire and retain their own trusted nursing staff.

Adult Learner Supports. Adult schools and their students advocated for increasing the monthly transit subsidy from $70 to $100— a modest fix to a real barrier, as many students exhaust the current allotment by mid-month and face impossible choices. The sector also pushed to increase the adult learner UPSFF weight, restore WIOA match grants, and reverse cuts to the DC Healthcare Alliance.

Level 5 Special Education Funding. Charter advocates renewed their call to permanently implement a Level 5 special education weight within the UPSFF— ending the cycle of ad-hoc Council fixes that leave high-need schools with unpredictable, insufficient resources year after year.

Charter School Parents Taking Charge

One of the most encouraging developments of this budget season started outside the Wilson Building— in school communities themselves.

A group of parents from Mundo Verde  drafted and circulated an open letter to Chairman Mendelson and the DC Council making the case for equitable charter funding— in their own words, on their own initiative. Since then, parents from Latin American Montessori Bilingual, Washington Yu Ying, and other school communities have joined the effort. The message is simple: charter students are receiving roughly $2,000 less per pupil in operating funding than their DCPS peers— not because of the formula, but because of budget maneuvers that shift DCPS costs off the books in ways that can’t be replicated for charter schools. These parents aren't asking for more. They're asking for equity.

Read the letter and add your name here.

If your school has an active parent group, please share this with them. Parent voices carry real weight with Councilmembers— and the more signatures this letter has heading into the markup process, the better.

Councilmember Janeese Lewis George’s Upcoming Public Education Listening Sessions

For those interested in hearing what the Mayoral candidates have to say, consider attending one of these listening sessions hosted by current Ward 4 Councilmember and Mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George this week. Note: These events are sponsored by Lewis George’s Mayoral campaign, not her Councilmember office. 

• May 7 — Facilities and Funding

• May 14 — Tech in Schools

• May 21 — Addressing Chronic Absenteeism

• May 28 — A System Responsive to All Types of Learners

• June 4 — Affordable Child Care

• June 11 — Educators and Workforce

If you choose to attend, use these sessions as an opportunity to make it clear that equitable funding for all public school students must be a priority.

Register here.

SBOE Spotlight

The SBOE's High School Graduation Task Force is finalizing its recommendations, which the full Board will then send to OSSE. The SBOE’s final list includes the vast majority of recommendations made by LEA Leaders, the Alliance and other advocates. Including:

• The capstone project, Practical Studies Diploma, and career preparation courses were voted down. 
• Flexibility for the financial literacy requirement was supported. 
• The postsecondary planning touchpoints increased from 3 to 4, flexibility in the staff who support it was supported.

SBOE will send their final recommendations to OSSE on May 13, and expect to get a final proposal back in July to vote on in August.  The Alliance will focus on advocating for clarity and implementation flexibility with OSSE. 

We also want to recognize a productive recent meeting between State Superintendent Dr. Mitchell and LEA leaders on the Alliance's executive committee. The conversation surfaced meaningful areas of agreement and helped build mutual understanding on issues where perspectives still differ— exactly the kind of dialogue that strengthens the relationship between OSSE and the charter sector over time. We're grateful to Dr. Mitchell for making that conversation happen and look forward to continuing it.

Advocacy Tip:  The Hearing Is Over. The Conversation Isn't: Testimony season is winding down— but the window between now and the May 22 markup is actually one of the most valuable moments in the entire budget cycle. Councilmembers have heard from your community. Now they're deciding what to do with it.

This is the moment for a different kind of advocacy: a short, personal email from a parent. A teacher who follows up with their Councilmember's office directly. A school leader who requests a ten-minute check-in before the markup. These quieter touchpoints— after the hearing room has cleared— are often what helps move the needle.

Showing up once gets you heard. Following up is how you get remembered.