Student Loans

• Co-introduced the Student Loan Debt Forgiveness Act of 2017.
   
• Co-introduced and passed legislation creating a Student Loan Ombudsman to ensure that District residents with student loans are treated fairly by loan servicers.

Budget and School Modernizations

• Secured and protected funding for school modernizations at Ward 1-serving schools
  • Bancroft Elementary School 
  • Raymond Education Campus
  • Marie Reed Elementary School
  • Garrison Elementary School
  • Bruce Monroe Elementary School @ Park View
  • Oyster Adams Bilingual School (Adams Morgan Campus)
  • Harriet Tubman Elementary School
     

• Secured $6.5 million for enhancements to Tubman Elementary School, including roof and sprinkler system replacement, modernizing administration, and installing a new playground.

• Secured $20 million in increased funding for Out-of-School Time Grants and Youth Outcomes. 

• Secured $367,000 to fund the creation of the Office of Multilingual Education in the Office of the State Superintendent. 

DC Student Experience

• Co-introduced the “Reporting Sexual Misconduct in Schools Amendment Act of 2020” which requires the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) to report information about incidents of sexual misconduct in schools. Further, it also requires OSSE develop a model policy for how LEAs report to the school community in a timely manner criminal investigations of sexual misconduct involving school staff. 

• Co-introduced the “African American and Cultural Studies Inclusion Amendment Act of 2021” which requires OSSE to develop an African-American history and cultural studies curriculum for high school students enrolled in a District of Columbia Public or Charter School.

• Introduced and passed a bill creating the Office of Youth Outcomes. The bill reforms how the District funds youth-serving programs so we’re focused on outcomes, not politics.

  • The Office will give out $2 million in grants for the 2017-2018 school year to programs that are most benefitting the District’s youth, with funding that is more equitable and transparent.
     
• Introduced and passed the District of Columbia State Athletics Consolidation Act of 2016.
  • The Act establishes the DC State Athletic Association, creating a unified system of high school athletics competitions like other state-level jurisdictions.
  • This helps District students to apply for college athletic scholarships by allowing them to (rightfully) say that they were the “best in the state.”
     
• Co-introduced the Public School Health Services Amendment Act of 2017, which requires all DC Public Schools to be staffed by a full-time nurse.

• Co-introduced the Reporting Sexual Misconduct in Schools Amendment Act of 2020 which requires the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) to report information about incidents of sexual misconduct in schools. Further, it also requires OSSE develop a model policy for how LEAs report to the school community in a timely manner criminal investigations of sexual misconduct involving school staff.

• Co-introduced the African American and Cultural Studies Inclusion Amendment Act of 2020 which requires OSSE to develop an African-American history and cultural studies curriculum for high school students enrolled in a District of Columbia Public or Charter School.

Shaw Middle School

• Co-introduced successful amendment to the FY20 budget to secure the current Banneker site as the site of a prospective Shaw Middle School once the new Banneker School opens.

• On 10/4/19, signed and sent a joint letter with the Chairman to DCPS emphasizing that any plans, requests for proposal, or educational specifications for a new Shaw Middle School must be created with the 800 Euclid Street NW location in mind.

• On 11/15/19, signed and sent a letter with CMs Allen and Evans that expresses concerns with DCPS’s plans to include a football field in lieu of a track or multi-sport facilities at the future site of Banneker High SChool at 925 Rhode Island Ave NW.