Today the DC Council will hold a public hearing on B24-0254, the "School Police Incident Oversight and Accountability Act," introduced in May of this year. Should this bill be enacted, it would require DC education agencies to report data on school-based disciplinary actions that involve the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) or any other police force operating in the District of Columbia. In addition, the MPD would be required to publish a biannual report highlighting school-involved incidents. The resulting report highlighting school-involved incidents would be disaggregated by race, gender, age, and disability.
The legislation memo notes that in Washington, DC, Black students comprise 71% of all students. The most recent Department of Education Civil Rights Data Collection Data from 2017 found that Black students make up nearly 92% of school-based arrests and Hispanic/Latinx make up the other 8% of arrests. The Department of Education also found that 33% of students receiving referrals to law enforcement were students with disabilities. Black girls are disproportionately targeted as well. The nonprofit Black Swan Academy found that they are 30 times more likely to be arrested than White youth of any gender identity in the city.
Councilmembers Henderson, Pinto, McDuffie, Lewis George, and White introduced this legislation with Councilmember Allen is listed as a co-sponsor. With six out of 13 members of the Council sponsoring and co-sponsoring this legislation before the first public hearing, the chances of this bill being enacted increase. If there are any questions about this bill, please contact any of the bill sponsors.
If you want to watch the hearing, you can do so today, at 9:30 am via: