D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown plans to introduce legislation Wednesday requiring high school students to take the SAT or ACT and apply to at least one college or trade school before they can graduate. Brown told The Washington Examiner that he plans to introduce another bill, or find a different avenue, to require the District’s public school students to apply for both federal and local financial aid to pay for their post-secondary plans.
The College Preparation Plan Act of 2012 fails to explain who would pay the fees associated with college applications and exams. The SAT costs $49, and the ACT can cost up to $49.50, while some local colleges charge much more simply to apply.
Brown’s staff wants to explore public and private funding options as the bill moves forward.
“We spent millions of dollars building a jail called New Beginnings for our young folks,” Brown said. “I believe this is something we can fund.”
The city is projecting a $42 million surplus as lawmakers look toward the next budget cycle. The council’s docket is already lined with several education bills, covering everything from teacher evaluations and schools’ role in the community, to another bill Brown plans to introduce Wednesday concerning interventions for at-risk students in early grades.
Only 43 percent of D.C. Public Schools and charter school students graduate from high school, and fewer go on to college. The causes are many, from the effects of low-income and single-mother households, to the subsequent influence on academics. At Spingarn Senior High School in Ward 5, for example, just 12.5 percent of students are proficient in math.
Daria Hall, the director of K-12 policy at the Education Trust, a local nonprofit focused on low-income students, said she believes the bill is a step in the right direction but may not cover enough ground to be effective.
“You have to make sure they’re supported academically so they actually perform well on these assessments,” said Hall, stressing that finances should be “decided from the get-go.”
| Examiner Coverage |
|
|
At least 11 states have similar requirements. Colorado, Illinois and Michigan incorporate the ACT into their high school assessments. Delaware and Maine require the SAT and fund the fee.
Brown’s bill instructs D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray’s office to flesh out more details, such as providing materials to parents and helping students pick colleges. It also requires the Office of the State Superintendent of Education to track the number of students who go on to a post-secondary education.
