Photo by Karon

>> D.C.’s charter schools may have more flexibility in how they educate students, but they’re also kicking them out at a much higher rate than the city’s traditional public schools. The Post reported yesterday that charter schools have expelled 676 students over the past three years, compared to the 24 kicked out by public schools. Critics argue that charter schools have too much freedom to expel troublesome students, which then end up in traditional public schools or out of the system altogether. Charter school advocates, though, say that the school enroll a higher proportion of poor students, many of which come to school with unresolved problems from home.

>> D.C. may soon be getting medical marijuana, but the standard sentences for getting caught with marijuana aren’t any closer to being changed, reports the Examiner. Neither Mayor Vince Gray nor D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier have shown any interest in the decriminalization of marijuana, a step taken by a number of states over the years. The issue could well get some attention over the next few weeks, though: Paul Zukerberg, an Adams Morgan attorney who is running in the April 23 At-Large special election, has made decriminalization one of his main platform points.

>> The Virginia legislature will convene on Wednesday for its annual 46-day-long legislative session, writes WTOP, where delegates and senators will consider measures on everything from whether teachers should be armed to whether home-schooled students should be able to play on public school sports teams. Gov. Bob McDonnell, who is in the final year of his term, will use the session to push broader reforms in education and transportation.

Briefly Noted: Three injured in D.C. shooting yesterday … Potential closure of 20 D.C. public schools pushes parents to consider charter schools … Conviction of man found guilty in attack of Foggy Bottom vendor thrown out … Cycling advocates trying to get more women on bikes … Trial of D.C. cop for death of woman and child starts this week … Vultures invade Leesburg.

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2011, Sekou Biddle was selected to be the interim At-Large councilmember and a Metro rider was violently attacked in a station—and no one did anything to stop it. In 2010, it became more and more evident that Chocolate City was getting milkier.