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Councilmember Kevin P. Chavous
A BILL IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Councilmember Kevin P. Chavous introduced the
following bill, which was referred to the Committee on Education,
Libraries, and Recreation.
To amend the State Education Office Establishment
Act of 2000 to designate the State Education Office as the agency primarily responsible for
state supervision of public elementary and secondary schools in the District of Columbia, to
give the State Education Office the responsibility for supervision of the adult
education program in public schools, and to give the State Education Office expanded responsibility for
citywide data collection and reporting on all District of Columbia schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF
COLUMBIA, that this act may be cited as the "State Education
Office Amendment Act of 2003".
Sec. 2. The State Education Office Establishment
Act of 2000, effective October 21, 2000 (D.C. Law 13-176; D.C. Official Code §
38-2601 et seq.), is amended as follows:
(a) Section 3 (D.C. Official Code § 38-2602) is
amended by adding new subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) to read as follows:
"(c) In addition to the responsibilities
enumerated in subsection (b) of this section, as of the effective
date of the State Education Office Amendment Act of 2003, the SEO
shall be responsible for the following:
"(1) Issuing rules to establish requirements
that govern acceptable credit to be granted for studies completed at independent,
private, public and public charter schools and private instruction, pursuant to section 1 of
Article II of An Act To provide for compulsory school attendance, for the taking of a school census in
the District of Columbia, and for other purposes, approved February 4,
1925 (43 Stat. 806; D.C. Official Code § 38-202)("Attendance
Act");
"(2) Issuing rules regarding enforcement of school
attendance requirements for all schools, including public, public
charter and private schools, pursuant to section 2 of the Attendance Act
(D.C. Official Code § 38-203),
(3) Establishing teacher certification and licensure
requirements for principals, teachers, and other instructional employees
of the public schools in the District of Columbia and promulgating rules
pursuant to title I of the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure
Act, approved October 21, 1968 (82 Stat. 1203; D.C. Official Code, §
2-501 et seq.), to establish the certification process and procedures;
"(4)(A) Collecting data, including statistical,
descriptive, and financial information from the Superintendent of the
District of Columbia Public Schools, each eligible chartering authority,
as defined by section 2002(17) of the District of Columbia School Reform
Act of 1995, approved April 26, 1996 (Pub. L. 104-134; 110 Stat. 1321
[226]; D.C. Official Code § 38-1800.02(17), each independent, private
or parochial school, and each teacher who gives private instruction in
the District of Columbia.
(B) Using the data collected and other applicable
research as it deems appropriate, the SEO shall have the responsibility
for reporting annually on the State of Education in the District of
Columbia to the Mayor and Council, such report shall include data from
all public and public charter schools. Annual funding for District
public and public charter schools shall be directly tied to the timely
submission of all data required by the data collection
reporting mandates outlined in this section; and
"(C) Formulating and promulgating rules pursuant to
title I of the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure Act,
approved October 21, 1968 (82 Stat. 1203; D.C. Official Code, § 2-501
et seq.), establishing standards that define the types of data required
to be collected pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this paragraph and
procedures for collecting and reporting the data;
"(5) Establishing minimum amounts of instructional
time for all schools in the District of Columbia, including all public,
public charter, and private schools; and
"(6) Research activities initiated at its
discretion.
"(d) The SEO shall be designated as the agency
primarily responsible for state supervision of public elementary and
secondary schools in the District of Columbia, and shall be responsible
for supervision of the adult education program in public schools
pursuant to D.C. Law 12-231, effective April 20, 1999. The SEO shall be
responsible for the monitoring and oversight, or the delegation thereof,
of the following administrative functions of public and private
education in the District:
"(1) All state-level responsibilities associated
with the acquisition and administration of federal grants for all
eligible District schools including public, public charter, and private,
including preparation of state plans, applications for competitive
grants, setting of state-wide standards and assessment, allocation of
federal funds among eligible schools, monitoring of compliance with
federal requirements, and submission of reports;
"(2) Establishing and monitoring compliance with the
rules established pursuant to subsection (c)(1) of this section
regarding the requirements governing acceptable credit to be granted for studies completed at independent, private,
public and public charter schools and private instruction;
"(3) Establishing and monitoring compliance with the
rules established pursuant to subsection (c)(2) of this section
regarding enforcement of school attendance requirements for all schools,
including public, public charter and private schools;
(e) The director of the State Education Office shall,
pursuant to title I of the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure
Act, approved October 21, 1968 (82 Stat. 1203; D.C. Official Code, §
2-501 et seq.), issue rules that describe the procedures carry out each
of the functions assigned to the SEO through the State Education Office
Establishment Act, as amended.
"(fe) The SEO may conduct investigations and
inspections to ensure compliance with this section.
(b) Sections 4, 5, and 6 (D.C. Official Code §§
38-2603, 38-2604, and 38-2605) are repealed.
Sec. 3. Conforming amendments.
Section 3 of Article II of An Act To provide for
compulsory school attendance, for the taking of a school census in the District of
Columbia, and for other purposes, approved February 4, 1925 (43 Stat. 806; D.C. Official Code §
38-204), is repealed.
Sec. 4. Fiscal Impact.
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.
Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(3)).
Sec. 5. Effective date.
This act shall take effect following approval by the
Mayor (or in the event of veto by the Mayor, action by the Council to
override the veto), 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. Official Code §1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of Columbia Register.
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