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School Governance Companion Amendment Act of 2000
Bill 13-470; D.C. Act 13-336

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ENROLLED ORIGINAL

AN ACT IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

APRIL 24, 2000

To amend An Act To fix and regulate the salaries of teachers, school officers, and other employees of the Board of Education of the District of Columbia to set the term of office for the members of Board of Education, including the president of the Board, to 4 years, to stagger the terms of the elected and appointed members of the Board, to provide for the expiration of the terms of the current Board members upon election of the new Board members, to provide the procedure for appointing Board members, to provide for filling Board vacancies, to require that candidates for the Board of Education be residents of the District of Columbia for one year, to clarify the roles and responsibilities of Board members, and to provide for the establishment of the education reform benchmarks; and to amend the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955 to provide dates for electing members of the Board of Education.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this act may be cited as the "School Governance Companion Amendment Act of 2000".

Sec. 2. Section 2 of An Act To fix and regulate the salaries of teachers, school officers, and other employees of the board of education of the District of Columbia is amended as follows:

(a) Subsection (b) is amended as follows:

(1) Paragraph (1) is amended to read as follows:

"(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (3)(C) and (3)(D) of this subsection, the term of office of a member of the Board of Education, including the President, shall be 4 years.".

(2) Paragraph (2) is amended by striking the phrase "Members may serve more than one term" and inserting the phrase "Members may serve 2 consecutive terms" in its place.

(3) Paragraph (3) is amended by adding new subparagraphs (C) and (D) to read as follows:

"(C) The terms of office of the members of the Board of Education to be sworn in during the year 2001 and 2003, shall be as follows:

"(i) 2000 Elections: Four-year terms for the elected members from School Districts I and II and for 2 Mayoral appointees; and 2-year terms for the elected members from School Districts III and IV, for 2 Mayoral appointees, and for the President, who is elected at large. The Mayor shall designate the appointed members who shall serve 2-year terms and the appointed members who shall serve 4-year terms.

"(ii) 2002 Elections: Four-year terms for the President, the elected members from School Districts III and IV, and 2 Mayoral appointees.

"(D) The Board of Education established pursuant to the School Governance Charter Amendment Act of 2000 shall not assume office until 5 Board members have been elected and at least 2 members have been appointed by the Mayor. At that time, terms of the members of the Board of Education elected in 1996 and 1998 shall expire.".

(b) Subsection (c) is amended as follows:

(1) Paragraph (1) is amended by striking the phrase "have, for the 90-day period immediately preceding his nomination, resided in the school election ward from which he is nominated" and inserting the phrase "have, for one year immediately preceding the election, resided in the special school district from which he or she is nominated" in its place.

(2) Paragraph (2) is amended as follows:

(A) Strike the phrase "have, during the 90-day period next preceding his nomination" and insert the phrase "have, during the one year period immediately preceding the election" in its place.

(B) The last sentence of the paragraph is amended by striking the phrase "his office" and inserting the phrase "his or her office" in its place.

(c) Subsection (d) is amended by inserting the phrase "and (g)" before the period at the end of sentence.

(d) Subsection (e) is amended by striking the first sentence.

(e) A new subsection (f) is added to read as follows:

"(f) Members appointed by the Mayor shall serve 4 year terms, except as provided in subsection (a)(3)(C) of this section, and may serve 2 consecutive terms. Members appointed by the Mayor shall be District residents. The persons appointed by the Mayor shall have competencies in education, finance or business management The Mayor shall forward 2 candidates for Council confirmation 45 days before April 15 of the first year of a Mayoral term and 2 candidates 45 days before April 15 in the third year of the Mayoral term. The 2 confirmed appointed members shall be sworn in on April 15 or as soon as practical thereafter, except for those appointed in 2000 whose terns shall commence January 2, 2001, pending confirmation by the Council. A majority of the sworn members of the Board of Education shall constitute a quorum.".

Sec. 3. Section 2(h) of An Act To fix and regulate the salaries of teachers, school officers, and other employees of the board of education of the District of Columbia is amended to read as follows:

"(h)(1) The Board of Education shall determine all questions of general policy relating to the schools and the Superintendent shall implement such-policy. The Board of Education shall appoint and evaluate the Superintendent who shall be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the schools.

"(2) The Board of Education shall, at least every 2 years, adopt and publish an Education Policy Agenda that establishes spending priorities, goals and objectives; that establishes the organizational chart for the District of Columbia Public Schools; and that recognizes the policy-setting role of the Board and the management role of the Superintendent. In the course of preparing the Agenda, the Board of Education and the Superintendent shall take into account the recommendations of the Mayor, community and parent organizations, and recognized experts in the fields of education and finance. The Agenda shall be published in the D.C. Register and newspapers of general circulation.

"(3) The Board of Education shall hire the Superintendent of Schools who shall be the chief executive officer for District of Columbia Public Schools, serve as a nonvoting member of the Board, and be responsible for the operations of the schools. The Board and Superintendent shall negotiate a performance contract setting forth the specific responsibilities of the Superintendent and shall make the contract available to the public on request. The Board shall have the authority to remove the Superintendent.

"(4) The Board of Education shall establish personnel policies and guidelines for the hiring of principals and other personnel by the Superintendent, but shall not make or approve personnel decisions or negotiate with representatives of employee organizations.

"(5) The Board of Education shall establish guidelines and goals for academic achievement.".

Sec. 4. Section 143 of the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1995 is amended by adding a new subsection (e) to read as follows:

"(e) On August 1 of each year, starting in 2000, the Superintendent shall report to the Board and the Board shall forward to the Mayor and Council the following information to serve as a measure of improvement in District of Columbia Public Schools:

"(1) Standardized test scores by school and grade level for the preceding school year;

"(2) Drop out rate in the preceding school year;

"(3) Average daily attendance rate for the preceding school year by school for all junior, middle and senior high schools;

"(4) Number of safety incidents by school and type for the preceding school year;

"(5) Teacher and principal turnover rate for the preceding 12 months and the top 3 reasons for departures;

"(6) Teacher and principal evaluation ratings for the preceding 12 months;

"(7) Scores on tests used for certification and college grade point average for teachers hired in the preceding 12 months;

"(8) Number and proportion of students whose parents or other caregiver attended one or more parent-teacher conferences by school and grade level during the preceding school year; and

"(9) Number and percent of graduates who entered college during the previous 12 months.".

Sec. 5. The District of Columbia Election Code of 1955 is amended as follows:

(a) Section 8 is amended as follows:

(1) Subsection (m) is amended to read as follows:

"(m) The election of the members of the Board of Education shall be conducted on a nonpartisan basis and in accordance with this act.".

(2) Subsection (n) is amended by striking the word "ward" wherever it appears and inserting the phrase "school district" in its place.

(b) Section 10 is amended as follows:

(1) Subsection (e) is amended as follows:

(A) The existing text is designated as paragraph (1). The newly designated paragraph (1) is amended by striking the phrase "a vacancy on," and inserting the phrase "a vacancy of an elected member of in its place.

(B) A new paragraph (2) is added to read as follows:

"(2) When the office of the President becomes vacant, the Board of Education shall select one of the members of the Board to serve as the interim President until the election of a new President.".

(2) The first sentence of subsection (f) is amended by striking the phrase "a vacancy on" and inserting the phrase "a vacancy of an elected member of in its place.

(3) A new subsection (g) is added to read as follows:

"(g) A vacancy among the appointed Board members shall be filled within 45 days of its occurrence. The Mayor shall submit a nominee to the Council for confirmation within 30 days of the vacancy. Any Board member appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve until the end of the original term.".

Sec. 6. Fiscal impact statement.

The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal impact statement required by section 602(c)(3) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Code § 1-233(c)(3)).

Sec. 7. This act shall apply upon the effective date of the School Governance Charter Amendment Act of 2000.

Sec. 8. This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the Mayor, action by Council to override the veto), approval by the Financial Responsibility Management Assistance Authority as provided in section 203(a) of the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Act of 1995, approved April 17, 1995 (109 Stat. 116; D.C. Code § 47-392.3(a)), a 30-day period of Congressional review as provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Code § 1-233(c)(1), and publication in the District of Columbia Register.

Chairman, Council of the District of Columbia

Mayor, District of Columbia

APPROVED: April 24, 2000

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