One of the largest financial sinkholes for the D.C. government is that the city pays for approximately one quarter of its 9,400 special education (SPED) students to attend private school, to the tune of more than $200 million. Why the expense? Because the city’s public and public charter schools have thus far proved incapable of addressing those students’ learning needs. It’s a situation that doesn’t seemed to have improved over the past two years, according to a dismal new report from a federal court monitor who was appointed in 2006 to assess the District’s ability to eliminate a backlog of more than 1,000 SPED cases that were delaying placement for SPED students.

While the city has eliminated that original 1,000, more than 400 new cases have lingered beyond a 150 day deadline that was implemented under the class action suit, Blackman v. District of Columbia. The monitor writes, “the Defendants have not come close to meeting the Consent Decree's objective performance benchmarks,” and points a finger at D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee, suggesting that with her many reform initiatives and “irons in the fire” she was “not able to provide this unifying leadership and management.”

The legal and practical bureaucracy of special education in public schools has long been problematic for the District, and the rising costs of educating SPED students privately led Mayor Fenty to ask the D.C. Council for an additional $9 million in tuition and transportation costs for those students. Without it, and another $6 million for textbooks and maintenance supplies, the school system will be over budget when the fiscal year ends later this month.

Photo by M.V. Jantzen

Contract Negotiations Linger On: In a voicemail to Washington Teachers’ Union members over the weekend, WTU president George Parker announced that negotiations with DCPS over the controversial news teachers’ contract will continue this week, and that a town hall meeting for all WTU bargaining members is being organized to discuss all proposals. Last week, Parker sent another message, backing off of a NBC4 story in which Parker implied that an illegal teachers’ strike isn’t out the question if Rhee imposes accountability reforms without the union.

Last week, Rhee hinted at a “plan B” if the contract didn’t go through, which Education Week blogger Stephen Sawchuk predicts would probably have to do with instituting a system that “provides schools with more flexibility in hiring and placing teachers, and that would tie licensure to a teacher-effectiveness measure.” Such a revision would have to be approved by the D.C. State Board of Education and be open to a public comment period, during which you can expect Nathan Saunders to be crying foul.

Schools Notes: D.C. State Board of Education President Robert Bobb not to seek re-election… Rhee’s back to school letters to teachers and parents… SAT reading, math, and writing scores for area students are released… Anacostia High School football coach Willie Stewart to retire after 40 years and 200 winning games.