State board of education
Who sets D.C.'s statewide education standards, and what the board is working on
The State Board of Education has nine elected, nonpartisan members, one from each of D.C.'s eight wards plus one at-large. Four student representatives sit with them and cast advisory votes. Since the 2007 mayoral control law, the Mayor runs DC Public Schools through the Chancellor, and the Public Charter School Board oversees charters. OSSE, the state education agency under the Mayor, writes education policy. The State Board's binding power is to approve or reject certain OSSE proposals: academic standards, high school graduation requirements, the state accountability plan and teacher licensure rules. It cannot amend OSSE's final proposals, and members often note that it cannot start policy on its own. Everything else it does is advisory: resolutions, letters, Council testimony and public panels. The board also houses two independent offices that help families: the Ombudsman for Public Education and the Office of the Student Advocate.
The board votes up or down on OSSE proposals for standards and graduation requirements. In 2026 it postponed one graduation vote in August, then adopted the final package unanimously on September 16.
There are eight ward seats and one at-large seat with four-year staggered terms, plus four high school student representatives with advisory votes. A Student Advisory Committee of about 150 students reviews resolutions.
Resolutions on AI, cellphones, kindergarten age and school resource officers are recommendations to OSSE, DCPS, the Public Charter School Board or the Council. The board has no authority over individual DCPS or charter schools.
Wards 1, 3, 5 and 6 are up in the nonpartisan general election. The Ward 5 and Ward 6 incumbents are not running.
Limited formal power does not mean little influence. The board's votes were a final check on the 2026 graduation rewrite. Its public panels and testimony shape Council hearings on screen time, special education transportation and teacher retention.
Adopted as SR25-15. Staff described it as about 2.7% below FY2026, with city technology charges up about 32%.
Context figure from the DC Policy Center's State of DC Schools 2024-25, presented at the April 1, 2026 working session. In the same discussion the president estimated about 16% of graduates are college and career ready.
The changes keep 24 credits and: - add financial literacy and yearly postsecondary planning - allow integrated math in place of Algebra 2 - add six optional endorsements - split PE and health - cut community service to 60 hours - allow competency-based world language credit Proposals to cut science and to create a practical studies diploma were dropped after task force votes.
No dedicated appropriation. Schools carry out the requirements within their existing local per-student funding; implementation costs were not stated in the reviewed records.
After parent testimony about content and privacy on school devices, members are drafting principles: parent transparency, student data privacy, blocking inappropriate content, technology equity, and protecting assistive technology. Members said they will not set a fixed hourly cap.
Advisory resolution; no funding attached.
The Educator Excellence Committee commissioned focus groups with early-career teachers and drafted recommendations to keep new teachers in D.C. schools.
State Board operating budget (vendor study); amount not stated in the reviewed records.
Ward 1
Voters in Ward 1 elect their State Board of Education member for a four-year term (2027-2031). Incumbent Ben Williams is the only candidate listed on the ballot. Board races are nonpartisan; write-ins are allowed.
Official source · verified Oct 26, 2026
Ward 3
Voters in Ward 3 elect their State Board of Education member for a four-year term (2027-2031). Incumbent Eric Goulet faces Aaron Wesolowski. Board races are nonpartisan; write-ins are allowed.
Official source · verified Oct 26, 2026
Ward 5
Voters in Ward 5 elect their State Board of Education member for a four-year term (2027-2031). Incumbent Robert Henderson is not on the ballot; Jon Alfuth and Lynn Jennings are running for the open seat. Board races are nonpartisan; write-ins are allowed.
Official source · verified Oct 26, 2026
Ward 6
Voters in Ward 6 elect their State Board of Education member for a four-year term (2027-2031). Incumbent Brandon Best is not on the ballot; Amber A. Williams, David Parker and Joshua Wiley are running for the open seat. Board races are nonpartisan; write-ins are allowed.
Official source · verified Oct 26, 2026
This page is built from the board's official YouTube recordings, which have auto-generated captions, of public meetings, working sessions, committees and the graduation task force from November 2025 to October 2026. It also uses sboe.dc.gov releases, letters and testimony, the official member biographies, and the DC Board of Elections candidate list. The recordings were reviewed in full.
We read every agenda, packet, recording, and set of minutes, and write up the decisions that affect families — each one linked to the document it came from.
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