§ 38–2608. Supervision of adult education program.

(a) The OSSE shall be the state agency responsible for supervision of adult education and adult literacy.

(b) All positions, personnel, property, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds available or to be made available to the University of the District of Columbia that support state-level functions related to adult education or adult literacy and all of the powers, duties, and functions delegated to the University of the District of Columbia concerning the establishment, development, and institution of state-level functions related to adult education or adult literacy are transferred to the OSSE.

(d) The Office of the State Superintendent of Education shall apply for federal funds as provided in the Adult Education Act, approved April 28, 1988 (102 Stat. 302; 20 U.S.C. § 1201 et seq.).

(e)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the OSSE is authorized to establish fee rates for all adult education courses. The amount to be charged to each adult shall be fixed annually by the OSSE, which shall be the amount necessary to cover the expense of instruction, cost of textbooks and school supplies, and other operating costs associated with each course offered; provided, that the amount fixed is in accordance with § 2-505. Following the adoption of the fee rates, the OSSE shall transmit a copy of the fee schedule to the Mayor and the Council.

(2) All amounts received by the OSSE pursuant to this subsection shall be paid to the District of Columbia Treasurer and deposited in the General Fund of the District of Columbia in a segregated account to be available as a revenue source for the OSSE to fund select adult education courses for which fees will be charged.

(3) Waivers, in whole or in part, of fees for select adult education courses may be granted by the OSSE.

(f) OSSE shall provide funding for all costs associated with the 24-hour vocational education programs at Phelps Architecture, Construction and Engineering High School (“Phelps”), Academy for Construction and Design at Cardozo Senior High School (“Cardozo”), and the Hospitality Public Charter School at Roosevelt High School; provided, that a portion of this funding shall be used to employ 2 career technical educators at Cardozo and Phelps.

(g) OSSE shall deem valid all diplomas awarded to residents who completed the requirements of the National External Diploma Program at any time from January 1, 1980, through February 5, 2016, in the District of Columbia.

(Oct. 21, 2000, D.C. Law 13-176, § 7b; as added June 12, 2007, D.C. Law 17-9, § 302(g), 54 DCR 4102; Sept. 14, 2011, D.C. Law 19-21, § 2023, 58 DCR 6226; Oct. 8, 2016, D.C. Law 21-160, § 4042, 63 DCR 10775.)

Section References

This section is referenced in § 38-2605.01.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 19-21 added subsec. (f).

Short Title

Short title: Section 4051 of D.C. Law 19-21 provided that subtitle F of title IV of the act may be cited as “Adult Literacy Reporting Act of 2011”.

Editor's Notes

Applicability: Section 305 of Law 17-9 provided that this title shall apply upon Congressional enactment of Title IX and inclusion of its effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Congress enacted the provisions of Title IX in Pub. L. 110-33, approved June 1, 2007.

Section 4052 of D.C. Law 19-21 provided:

“Sec. 4052. Adult literacy reporting.

“(a) The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education shall report to the Mayor and the Council, on an annual basis on or before the start of the third quarter of fiscal years 2012 through 2016, on the capacity of District-funded service providers to meet the need and demand for adult literacy services in the District. The report shall:

“(1) Cover the current and the preceding fiscal year;

“(2) Identify the office’s metrics used for measuring the need and demand for adult literacy support, state the office’s quality standards, and measure the performance of District-funded providers of adult literacy services;

“(3) Provide an accounting of the total number of adults needing literacy support in the District and by ward;

“(4) Provide an accounting of the total number of District-funded providers of adult literacy support services that provide services to District residents, broken down by ward;

“(5) Provide an accounting of the total number of openings available for literacy support services from District-funded service providers during the fiscal year reported, broken down by ward and by service provider;

“(6) Provide a gap analysis that measures the capacity of District-funded service providers to meet the need and demand for adult literacy services in the District and by ward; and

“(7) Propose an adult literacy plan for the next fiscal year to ensure that District-funded programs are meeting the needs of adult learners District-wide and by ward.

“(b) To prepare for the adult literacy report, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education, shall seek information and support for the development of quality standards and performance measures from community-based providers of adult education and family literacy services, adult learners, funders, District and federal agencies, representatives from the business community, and adult education experts.”