The Office of the Inspector General announced this week that it will conduct an audit of D.C. Public Schools’ distance learning program starting this month.

Inspector General W. Lucas wrote in a letter to D.C. schools chancellor Lewis Ferebee that the office will be evaluating the system based on the availability and equity of online education for DCPS students — two areas of concern that plagued the transition to online learning last spring and continued into this fall.

At a press conference on Thursday, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that about 4,500 fewer students enrolled in D.C. schools this academic year compared to the same time last year. Attendance has also dropped — 85 percent of D.C. public school students attended class this past Monday compared to 92 percent of students on the same day last year.

According to officials, schools have sent personalized letters, hosted virtual open houses, and sent weekly emails and texts to parents in attempts to enroll more students this fall.

Advocates have also worked to bridge the “digital divide” that leaves students without adequate access to remote learning tools behind. Over the summer, teachers and parents pressured the system to equip all 51,000 DCPS students with the necessary technology for the first day of online school on Aug. 31. As of Sept. 17, the city has distributed 26,091 devices. 

In an effort to further narrow the gap, the city announced a multi-million dollar initiative earlier this month to provide 25,000 low-income D.C. public and charter school households with free broadband internet. According to a report from the Alliance of Excellent Education this summer, more than 20,200 children in D.C. lack high-speed internet at home.

DCPS is slated to continue virtual learning through the remainder of the first quarter. On Thursday, Bowser said she hopes that classes may start in a hybrid of in-person and online learning by the start of the second quarter on Nov. 9.

The OIG’s audit of DCPS is one of a handful outlined in the office’s fiscal year 2021 plan, released August 31.