Councilmember Vincent B. Orange, Sr.
Councilmember Harold BrazilA
BILL IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Councilmember Vincent B. Orange, Sr.
and Councilmember Harold Brazil introduced the following bill, which was referred to the
Committee on Education, Libraries and Recreation.
To amend An Act to require that the
President of the Board of Education be elected at large from one of the three at large
seats; and to amend the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955 to provide for the
election of the President of the Board of Education to be at large and to define the
duties and responsibilities of the School Board members.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this act may be cited as the "School Board Improvement
Amendment Act of 1999".
Sec. 2. D.C. Code §31-101 (e) is
amended by striking the first sentence and inserting in its place a new sentence to
read-as follows:
"The President and two members
of the Board of Education shall be elected at large and eight members shall be elected 1
each from the 8 election wards, under Chapter 13 of this title, on a nonpartisan basis,
and in accordance with the provisions of the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955,
approved August 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 669; D.C. Code §1-1301 et seq.)."
(2) Subsection (f)(D.C. Code §
31-102) is amended as follows:
(A) Strike the phrase "shall
appoint the executive officers hereinafter provided for, define their duties and direct
expenditures" and insert the phrase"and shall appoint the Superintendent as
provided in section 3" in its place.
(B) Strike the third sentence which
reads as follows: The Board shall appoint all teachers in the manner hereinafter
prescribed and all other employees provided for in [this chapter]".
(b) Section 3 (D.C. Code § 31-107),
is amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 3.(a) The Board of
Education shall hire and evaluate a Superintendent who shall be responsible for the
day-to-day operation of the public schools for the District of Columbia. The Board of
Education shall have the authority to remove the Superintendent at any time for adequate
cause affecting the Superintendent's character or performance as Superintendent. The Board
of Education is authorized to delegate any of its authority to the Superintendent. The
Superintendent is authorized to redelegate any of his or her authority subject to the
approval of the Board.
"(b) The Board of Education
shall establish personnel policies and guidelines for the hiring of principals and other
personnel by the Superintendent, but shall not have authority to make or approve personnel
decisions or to negotiate with representatives of employee organizations.
"(c) The Superintendent shall
recommend to the Board of Education an annual budget, which the Board of Education shall
approve or reject, ensuring that spending priorities are consistent with the goals and
objectives established by the Board of Education and the Superintendent for the operation
of the public schools of the District of Columbia. The Board of Education shall prepare
and make public, within 60 days after an appropriations bill has been enacted, a
reconciled version of the public school budget that is in substantially the same form as
the version approved by the Board of Education.
"(d) The Board of Education
shall establish policies to guide the Superintendent's decisions regarding expenditures,
but the Board of Education may not require that any contract, purchase order or change
order be submitted to the Board for approval except where the amount at issue exceeds a
substantial amount, to be identified in the Memorandum of Understanding between the
Superintendent and the Board of Education, as outlined in paragraph (5) of this
subsection.
"(e) The Board of Education and
Superintendent shall, at least every 2 years, together adopt a Memorandum of Understanding
that establishes the general division of roles and responsibilities between them and
recognizes the Board's policy-setting and the Superintendent's management roles. The
memorandum of Understanding shall be submitted to the Council for approval by resolution.
In the course of preparing such Memorandum, the Board of Education and Superintendent
shall take into account the recommendation of organizations recognized as experts in such
matters, including but not limited to the American Association of School Administrators,
the Institute for Educational Leadership, and the National School Board
Association.".
Sec. 3. The District of Columbia
Election Code of 1955, approved August 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 669; D.C. Code §1-1301 et
seq.), is amended as follows:
(a) Section 8(m)(2) (D.C. Code §
1-1312(m)(2)) is amended to read as follows:
"In the case of the President
and the two at large members of the Board of Education, each such member shall be elected
at large by the duly registered voters of the District.".
(b) Section 10 (D.C. Code §
1-1314(e)) is amended as follows:
(1) The existing text is redesignated
as paragraph (1).
(2) 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 of Education to serve as the interim President until the election of a new
President. A special election shall be held to fill the vacancy of the President in
accordance with paragraph (1)".
(c) Section 15 (D.C. Code §
1-1319(b)) is amended by striking the phrase "member of the Board of Education"
and inserting the phrase "President or member of the Board of Education" in its
place.
Sec. 5. 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 Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973
(87 Stat. 813; D.C. Code §1-233(cX3)).
Sec. 6. Effective date. This act
shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of a veto by the Mayor,
action by the Council to override the veto); approval by the Financial Responsibility and
Management Assistance Authority as provided in section 203(x) 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(x)), 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. |
