§ 38–1802.14. Public Charter School Board.

(a) Establishment. —

(1) In general. — There is established within the District of Columbia Government a Public Charter School Board (in this section referred to as the “Board”).

(2) Membership. — The Board shall consist of 7 members, appointed by the Mayor, with the advice and consent of the Council. Members shall be selected so that knowledge of each of the following areas is represented on the Board:

(A) Research about and experience in student learning, quality teaching, and evaluation of and accountability in successful schools;

(B) The operation of a financially sound enterprise, including leadership and management techniques, as well as the budgeting and accounting skills critical to the startup of a successful enterprise;

(D) The needs and interests of students and parents in the District of Columbia, as well as methods of involving parents and other members of the community in individual schools.

(3) Vacancies. — Where a vacancy occurs in the membership of the Board for reasons other than the expiration of the term of a member, the Mayor shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the Council, an individual to serve in the vacant position, taking into consideration the criteria described in paragraph (2) of this subsection. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term of a predecessor shall be appointed only for the remainder of the term. Such an appointment shall not be considered an initial term of appointment for the purposes of paragraph (5)(B) of this subsection if fewer than 3 years remain in the term at the time of appointment.

(4) Repealed.

(5) Terms of members. —

(A) In general. — Members of the Board shall serve for terms of 4 years, except that, of the initial appointments made under paragraph (2) of this subsection, the Mayor shall designate:

(i) Two members to serve terms of 3 years;

(ii) Two members to serve terms of 2 years; and

(iii) One member to serve a term of one year.

(B) Reappointment. — Members of the Board shall be eligible to be reappointed for one 4-year term beyond their initial term of appointment.

(6) Independence. — No person employed by the District of Columbia public schools or a public charter school shall be eligible to be a member of the Board or to be employed by the Board.

(b) Operations of the Board. —

(1) Chair. — The members of the Board shall elect from among their membership 1 individual to serve as Chair. Such election shall be held each year after members of the Board have been appointed to fill any vacancies caused by the regular expiration of previous members’ terms, or when requested by a majority vote of the members of the Board.

(2) Quorum. — A majority of the members of the Board, not including any positions that may be vacant, shall constitute a quorum sufficient for conducting the business of the Board.

(3) Meetings. — The Board shall meet at the call of the Chair, subject to the hearing requirements of §§ 38-1802.03, 38-1802.12(d)(3), and 38-1802.13(c)(3), and all meetings of the Board shall be open to the public and shall provide a reasonable time during the meeting for public comment.

(c) No compensation for service. — Members of the Board shall serve without pay, but may receive reimbursement for any reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by reason of service on the Board.

(d) Personnel and resources. —

(1) In general. — Subject to such rules as may be made by the Board, the Chair shall have the power to appoint, terminate, and fix the pay of an Executive Director and such other personnel of the Board as the Chair considers necessary. The Executive Director shall be a District resident throughout his or her term and failure to maintain District residency shall result in a forfeiture of the position.

(2) Special rule. — The Board is authorized to use the services, personnel, and facilities of the District of Columbia.

(3) District residency. —

(A)(i) Notwithstanding the provisions of Unit A of Chapter 14 of Title 2, the Board shall use a ranking system based on a scale of 100 points for all employment decisions for positions within the Board.

(ii) An individual who is a District resident at the time of application shall be awarded a 10-point hiring preference over a nonresident applicant; provided, that the individual claims the preference. This 10-point preference shall be in addition to any points awarded on the 100-point scale.

(iii) At the time of appointment, an individual who claimed the 10-point residency preference shall agree, in writing, to maintain District residency for a period of 7 consecutive years from the effective date of appointment into the position for which the individual claimed the residency preference and shall provide proof of residency annually to the Director of Personnel for the first 7 years of employment.

(iv) An individual who claimed the residency preference and who fails to maintain District residency for 7 consecutive years from the individual's effective date of appointment shall forfeit the individual's District government employment.

(v) Each applicant for a position covered by this paragraph, shall be informed in writing of the provisions of this paragraph at the time of application.

(B) All persons hired after February 6, 2008, shall submit proof of residency upon employment in a manner determined by the Board.

(C) By November 1 of each year and pursuant to § 1-515.06, the Board shall submit to the Mayor an annual report detailing, for the previous fiscal year, compliance with residency requirements.

(e) Expenses of Board. — Any expenses of the Board shall be paid from such funds as may be available to the Mayor; provided, That within 45 days of April 26, 1996, the Mayor shall make available not less than $130,000 to the Board.

(f) Audit. — The Board shall maintain its accounts according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The Board shall provide for an audit of the financial statements of the Board by an independent certified public accountant in accordance with Government auditing standards for financial audits issued by the Comptroller General. The findings and recommendations of any such audit shall be forwarded to the Mayor, the Council of the District of Columbia, and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer of the District of Columbia.

(g) Authorization of appropriations. — For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section and conducting the Board’s functions required by this subchapter, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Board $300,000 for fiscal year 1997 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 3 succeeding fiscal years.

(g-1) Fund.

(1) Establishment. — There is established as a special fund the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board Fund (“Fund”), which shall be administered by the Board in accordance with paragraph (3) of this subsection.

(2) Deposits. — There shall be deposited into the Fund:

(A) All fees authorized by § 38-1802.11;

(B) Appropriations as authorized by subsection (g) of this section; and

(3) Authorized uses. — The Fund shall be used to pay for goods, services, property, capital improvements, or any other permitted use as authorized by this section or § 38-1802.11.

(4) Nonlapsing, no-year appropriation. —

(A) The money deposited into the Fund, and interest earned, shall not revert to the unrestricted fund balance of the General Fund of the District of Columbia at the end of a fiscal year, or at any other time.

(B) Subject to authorization in an approved budget and financial plan, any funds appropriated in the Fund shall be continually available without regard to fiscal year limitation.

(h) Contracting and procurement. — The Board shall have the authority to solicit, award, and execute contracts independently of the Office of Contracting and Procurement and the Chief Procurement Officer.

(h-1) Repealed.

(i) Freedom of Information Act. — The Board shall comply with all provisions of subchapter II of Chapter 5 of Title 2 [§ 2-531 et seq.].

(j) The Board shall consult with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, established by § 38-2601, to ensure that the requirements and the goals of Chapter 2A of this title [§ 38-271.01 et seq.] are met, in accordance with that chapter.

(Apr. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 1321 [251], Pub. L. 104-134, § 2214; Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009 [1471], Pub. L. 104-208, § 5205(g); Nov. 19, 1997, 111 Stat. 2191, Pub. L. 105-100, § 169; Oct. 18, 2004, 118 Stat. 1352, Pub. L. 108-335, § 347; Dec. 8, 2004, 118 Stat. 3343, Pub. L. 108-447, § 103(a)(4); June 12, 2007, D.C. Law 17-9, § 802(f), 54 DCR 4102; Feb. 6, 2008, D.C. Law 17-108, § 214(b), 54 DCR 10993; July 18, 2008, D.C. Law 17-202, § 606, 55 DCR 6297; Mar. 25, 2009, D.C. Law 17-353, § 223(f), 56 DCR 1117; Sept. 24, 2010, D.C. Law 18-223, § 4082, 57 DCR 6242; Oct. 22, 2015, D.C. Law 21-36, § 4182, 62 DCR 10905; Apr. 11, 2019, D.C. Law 22-282, § 4, 66 DCR 1606; May 23, 2019, D.C. Law 22-315, § 13, 66 DCR 1983; Nov. 13, 2021, D.C. Law 24-45, § 7171, 68 DCR 010163; Mar. 23, 2024, D.C. Law 25-143, § 5, 71 DCR 1438.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 31-2853.24.

Section References

This section is referenced in § 38-271.02, § 38-1800.02, and § 38-1835.01.

Effect of Amendments

Pub. L. 108-335, as amended by Pub. L. 108-447, rewrote subsec. (f), and added subsec. (h). Prior to amendment, subsec. (f) had read as follows: “(f) Audit.—The Board shall provide for an audit of the financial statements of the Board by an independent certified public accountant in accordance with Government auditing standards for financial audits issued by the Comptroller General of the United States.”

Pub. L. 108-447 amended Pub. L. 108-335. See Effective Dates note.

D.C. Law 17-9, in subsec. (b)(3), inserted “, and all meetings of the Board shall be open to the public and shall provide a reasonable time during the meeting for public comment”; and added subsec. (i).

D.C. Law 17-108, in subsec. (d)(1), inserted “The Executive Director shall be a District resident throughout his or her term and failure to maintain District residency shall result in a forfeiture of the position.”; and, in subsec. (d)(2), inserted “Notwithstanding the provisions of Unit A of Chapter 14 of Title 2, each qualified District resident applicant shall receive an additional 10-point preference over a qualified non-District resident applicant for all positions within the Board unless the applicant declines the preference. This 10-point preference shall be in addition to, and not instead of, qualifications established for the position. All persons hired after December 21, 2007, shall submit proof of residency upon employment in a manner determined by the Board. An applicant claiming the hiring preference under this section shall agree in writing to maintain bona fide District residency for a period of 7 consecutive years from the effective date of hire and shall provide proof of such residency annually to the Director of Personnel for the first 7 years of employment. Failure to maintain District residency for the consecutive 7-year period shall result in forfeiture of employment. The Board shall submit to the Mayor and Council annual reports detailing the names of all new employees and their pay schedules, titles, and place of residence.”

D.C. Law 17-202 added subsec. (j).

D.C. Law 17-353 designated the former last six sentences of subsec. (d)(2) as subsec. (d)(3).

D.C. Law 18-223 rewrote the lead-in language of subsec. (a)(2); rewrote subsec. (a)(3); repealed subsec. (a)(4); and, in subsec. (d)(1), deleted “, but no individual so appointed shall be paid in excess of the rate payable for level EG-16 of the Educational Service of the District of Columbia” following “necessary”.

The 2015 amendment by D.C. Law 21-36 added (g-1).

Applicability

Applicability of D.C. Law 22-282: § 5 of D.C. Law 22-282 provided that the change made to this section by § 4 of D.C. Law 22-282 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 5 of Term Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2024 (D.C. Act 25-385, Feb. 1, 2024, 71 DCR 1457).

For temporary (90 day) repeal of section 804 of D.C. Law 17-9, see § 4043(b) of Fiscal Year 2008 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2007 (D.C. Act 17-74, July 25, 2007, 54 DCR 7549).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 4082 of Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2010 (D.C. Act 18-463, July 2, 2010, 57 DCR 6542).

For temporary (90 day) addition of section, see § 4052 of Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-383, June 19, 2012, 59 DCR 7764).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of § 4052 of Act 19-383, see § 2 of the District of Columbia School Reform Extension of Time Emergency Amendment Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-410, July 24, 2012, 59 DCR 9137).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of § 4052 of Act 19-385, see § 3 of the District of Columbia School Reform Extension of Time Emergency Amendment Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-410, July 24, 2012, 59 DCR 9137).

For temporary (90 day) addition of section, see § 4052 of Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-413, July 25, 2012, 59 DCR 9290).

For temporary (90 days) addition of this section, see § 4182 of the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2015 (D.C. Act 21-127, July 27, 2015, 62 DCR 10201).

Short Title

Short title: Section 4081 of D.C. Law 18-223 provided that subtitle I of title IV of the act may be cited as the “Public Charter School Board Membership Selection and Staff Compensation Clarification Amendment Act of 2010”.

Effective Dates

Section 103(b) of Div. J, title I, of Pub. L. 108-447, provided: “The amendments made by this section shall take effect as if included in the enactment of the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2005 [Pub. L. 108-335]”.

Editor's Notes

Section 346(d) of Pub. L. 108-335, 118 Stat. 1352, the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2005, provided:

“(d) Hereafter section 2214(f) of Public Law 104-143 ( D.C. Code 38-1802.14(f)), shall apply to the District of Columbia Board of Education Charter Schools Office.”

Applicability: Section 804 of D.C. Law 17-9 provided that section 802 shall apply upon enactment by Congress. Section 804 of Section 804 of D.C. Law 17-9 was repealed by section 4043 (b) of D.C. Law 17-20.

D.C. Law 17-9 was repealed by section 4043(b) of D.C. Law 17-20.