Students in the Care of D.C.’s Juvenile Justice Agency (DYRS): The “Credit Issue”

PROBLEMS:

  • Unapproved Schools: Many students in the care of D.C.’s juvenile justice agency (DYRS) are sent out of the District to secure detention facilities (juvenile jails) that do not have D.C.-approved schools. Because of this practice, D.C. places students in programs where we do not know about quality of education or whether the curriculum aligns with D.C. graduation requirements.

  • Lack of Access to Classes Needed for High School Graduation: Often, students are placed in courses that 1) do not count towards a District of Columbia Public School (DCPS) high school diploma, 2) they have already taken and passed, or 3) only count as electives when they already have all the electives needed for D.C. graduation requirements.

  • Partial Credits Thrown Out: Students often earn partial credits (including when placed at New Beginnings and attending Maya Angelou Academy), yet DCPS and charter schools do not accept partial credits when the student returns home. The student must then retake an entire class (or multiple classes where they have earned up to .75 credits) upon returning to D.C.

POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS:

  • Legislative Fix: Law that requires D.C. education agencies to accept all credits students earn while attending out of District schools.

  • Policy Changes: Change in DCPS and charter school policy to accept partial credits.

  • Cross-Agency Collaboration: Recent legislation created a Students in the Care of DC (SCDC) Coordinating Committee. That committee has not yet been put in place, although there is an SCDC office within the DME’s office. It is critical that the city moves forward with the Coordinating Committee to ensure adequate oversight and monitoring of the education for students in the care of DC.

  • Enforcement of Current Interagency Agreement: A current Memorandum of Agreement between OSSE, DCPS, and DYRS attempts to address the credit issue by placing responsibility for ensuring that students can generate credits on DYRS. However, this provision is not enforced.