Good morning, Chairman Mendelson and members of the Committee of the Whole. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Caroline Smith, and I am a Master of Social Work candidate at Catholic University and an intern at DC Action, home to the Out-of-School-Time (OST) Coalition. I am here today to advocate for creative transportation solutions to ensure that all students can safely access OST programs.
For many families, OST programs provide critical support, particularly for working parents, giving them peace of mind knowing that their children are safe and engaged while they work. OST is essential not only for the academic and social development of youth, but also for the stability of working families in our city. These programs represent a vital investment in the financial health of the District, especially as we face the challenges of upcoming budget years.
However, transportation continues to be a major barrier to OST access. The cost, time, and effort needed to arrange safe and convenient transportation often prevent many youth from fully participating in valuable OST programs, which offer safe and supportive environments. For working parents, limited transportation options make it even harder to manage their children’s schedules, adding stress and making it more difficult to balance work and family responsibilities.
While programs such as Safe Passages and DC SchoolConnect are valuable, they do not fully meet the needs of the District’s youth and families. Parents do not feel like Safe Passages does enough to make kids feel safe traveling to and from schools or to OST programs and does not cover the time when youth would typically be commuting home after an OST program ends. DC SchoolConnect has an extremely limited number of seats, capped at just 40 students per school.
Youth with special needs who qualify for transportation through OSSE-DOT face unique challenges with OST programs. OSSE buses pick them up at 3:15 without exception, which limits their ability to attend after-school enrichment activities. While the OST Office has provided helpful training on inclusive programming, these efforts won’t lead to increased participation if transportation issues aren’t addressed. Youth with special needs or IEPs cannot safely and reliably commute to and from programs without adjustments to publicly funded transportation support, either through OSSE-DOT or alternative arrangements through the OST Office or OSSE.
To truly ensure that all youth in the District have access to OST programs, we must do more. We need a Universal OST mandate for the District and it must be coupled with access to safe, reliable, and affordable transportation solutions. The OST Office and Commission should collaborate with OST providers and parents in the coming year to create and implement transportation strategies that directly address the specific needs of our diverse communities. Only by doing so can we ensure that every family, in every neighborhood and at any income level, has meaningful access to the support and opportunities that OST programs provide.
In addition to transportation concerns, the OST Coalition has heard that youth, families, and OST staff are deeply worried about ICE raids near schools and OST program sites. So far, the DME’s office has not provided clear guidance or training to OST programs (either alone or with school sites) on how to protect youth if immigration enforcement targets the District. This lack of leadership has led to decreased participation in school and OST programs. Our coalition urgently requests uniform guidance and training for OST providers, DCPS and charter school staff, and school security officers on how to handle ICE requests, ensuring students’ rights to safely access education and enrichment. More details on this issue are included in my written testimony.
Thank you for your time and for considering the importance of safe transportation and fear-free youth development experiences.