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DC students urge more mental‑health staff, fairer charter funding and fixes to school facilities
Summary
Dozens of District students and adult learners told the Council’s Committee as a Whole that mental‑health services, transportation, school sanitation and equitable funding for charter and adult‑education programs need urgent attention. Witnesses described chronic counselor shortages, broken bathrooms and gaps in charter funding.
More than a hundred young people testified at a Committee as a Whole hearing on March 19, asking the Council to boost mental‑health staffing, protect funding for youth programs and charter schools, and fix school facilities.
Chair Phil Mendelson opened the session and told the packed hearing that 185 witnesses had signed up. "The record will close in 2 weeks — that is 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 2," he said, and added that because of the number of witnesses he would limit follow‑up questions.
Why it matters: students said that fragile or inconsistent access to counselors, poorly maintained facilities and uneven funding are harming learning and driving absenteeism. Multiple students urged sustained investments in school‑based mental‑health clinicians, outpatient supports and preventive instruction so crises do not escalate.
"If the city invests in these conversations, it shows that students in DC public schools are being seen and their well‑being is a priority," said Maclete Hoptab, a 17‑year‑old…
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