In her testimony at the D.C. Council, AJE Education Justice Attorney Nadiya Pope discussed the problem of chronic absenteeism and made a direct connection between student absenteeism and families’ mistrust of the grievance system at DC Public Schools, as well as ongoing, unaddressed issues of school safety.

She explained that when families raise important concerns about bullying, harassment, or professional misbehavior, and thier concerns are not addressed, families lose faith. After being neglected by school officials or not getting any meaningful responses from the DCPS CARE Team or the DCPS Labor Management and Employee Relations (LMER) office, many parents get in touch with AJE seeking support and the resolution that DCPS was unable to provide.

She brought attention to the flaws in the DCPS Grievance system that currently have families in the dark – leaving them distressed and frustrated.   This includes the lack of transparency about the process, the absence of bare minimum communication, insufficient reporting, and frequenly postponing or delaying investigations. Because of this, the pattern has emerged that AJE sees time and time again –  parents will frequently keep their students at home, out of fear for their well-being and safety.

To fix these issues, Nadiya urged and suggested the DC Council and DCPS leadership to:

• Strengthen oversight of the CARE Team to ensure timely, accurate investigations.
• Make LMER more transparent and responsive to families to in touch with them.
• Require immediate safety plans after credible concerns and not leave it for weeks later.
• Fund additional training and support for school staff to build safer, trauma-informed environments.
  

Her final point was straightforward: persistent absences are a signs of distress and distrust, and of unhealthy schools. To make any type of real progress, trust is going to have to be rebuilt through an accountable, transparent grievance procedures that protect all students and families.

Click here to read Nadiya’s full testimony.

Click here to learn more about the CARE team.