Chapter 26A. State Board of Education.

§ 38–2651. State Board of Education; establishment; membership.

(a)(1) There is established a State Board of Education (“Board”) consisting of 9 members. Four members shall be appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Council. Five members shall be elected. Four of the 5 elected members shall be elected from the 4 school districts created pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. One member shall be elected at-large as the President of the Board.

(2) Upon the repeal of §§ 1-204.52 and 1-204.95, the members of the Board of Education established pursuant to § 1-204.95 shall serve as the initial State Board of Education established by this chapter until noon, January 2, 2009.

(b) Beginning at 12:01 p.m. on January 2, 2009, the Board shall consist of 9 elected members. One member shall be elected from each of the 8 school election wards created pursuant to § 1-1011.01 and one member shall be elected at-large. The Board shall select its president from among the 9 members of the Board.

(c) The 4 school districts for the election of Board members, as described in subsection (a)(1) of this section, shall be comprised of the 8 election wards created pursuant to § 1-1011.01:

(1) Wards 1 and 2 shall comprise School District I;

(2) Wards 3 and 4 shall comprise School District II;

(3) Wards 5 and 6 shall comprise School District III; and

(4) Wards 7 and 8 shall comprise School District IV.

(d)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (3)(B) of this subsection, the term of office of a member of the Board, including the at-large member, shall be 4 years.

(2) Members may receive compensation at a rate fixed by the Council, which shall not exceed the amount provided for in § 1-611.10.

(3)(A) The term of office of a member elected in a general election shall commence at 12:01 p.m. on January 2 of the year following the election. The term of office of an incumbent member shall expire at noon, January 2 of the year following the general election.

(B) The initial terms of the members of the Board elected in the general election in November 2008 shall be as follows:

(i) The 4 members elected from Wards 1, 3, 5, and 6 shall serve 2- year terms, ending at noon, January 2, 2011.

(ii) The 4 members elected from Wards 2, 4, 7, and 8 and the member elected at-large shall serve 4-year terms, ending at noon, January 2, 2013.

(e)(1) Each member of the Board, including the at-large member, shall:

(A) Be a qualified elector, as that term is defined in § 1-1001.02, and, except for the at-large member, reside within the school election ward he or she represents;

(B) Satisfy the residency requirement set forth in § 1-1001.08(b);

(C) Not hold another elective office, other than as an official of a political party, as described in § 1-1001.01(1) through (4); and

(D) Not be an officer or employee of:

(i) The Board; or

(ii) With the exception of employees of the District of Columbia Public Schools, the District of Columbia government.

(2) A member shall forfeit the member's office upon failure to maintain the requirements of this subsection.

(f) The election of the members of the Board shall be conducted on a nonpartisan basis and in accordance with subchapter I of Chapter 10 of Title 1 [§ 1-1001.01 et seq.].

(g) If a member of the Board dies, resigns, or otherwise becomes unable to serve or a member-elect fails to take office, the vacancy shall be filled as provided in § 1-1001.10(e) and (g).

§ 38–2652. Functions of the Board.

(a) The Board shall:

(1) Advise the State Superintendent of Education on educational matters, including:

(A) State standards;

(B) State policies, including those governing special, academic, vocational, charter, and other schools;

(D) State regulations proposed by the Mayor or the State Superintendent of Education;

(1A) Oversee the Office of Ombudsman for Public Education and the Office of the Student Advocate in accordance with subsection (d) of this section and Chapter 3A of this title and Chapter 3B of this title), respectively.

(2) Approve state academic standards, following a recommendation by the State Superintendent of Education, ensuring that the standards recommended by the State Superintendent of Education:

(A) Specify what children are expected to know and be able to do;

(B) Contain coherent and rigorous content;

(D) Are updated on a regular basis;

(3) Approve high school graduation requirements;

(4) Approve standards for high school equivalence credentials;

(5) Repealed.

(6) Approve standards for accreditation and certification of teacher preparation programs of colleges and universities or teacher preparation academies;

(7) Approve the state accountability plan for the District of Columbia developed by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education pursuant to section 1111 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, approved January 8, 2002 (115 Stat. 1444; 20 U.S.C. § 6311), ensuring that:

(A) The plan includes a single statewide accountability system that establishes ambitious long-term student achievement goals, which include measurements of interim progress toward meeting those goals; and

(B) The statewide accountability system included in the plan is based on, but is not limited to, challenging state academic standards, academic assessments, and a standardized system of accountability across all local education agencies that will be used to hold local education agencies accountable for student achievement;

(8) Approve state policies for parental involvement;

(9) Approve state policies for supplemental education service providers operating in the District to ensure that providers have a demonstrated record of effectiveness and offer services that promote challenging academic achievement standards and that improve student achievement;

(10) Approve the rules for residency verification;

(11) Approve the list of charter school accreditation organizations;

(12) Approve the categories and format of the annual report card, pursuant to section 1111(h) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, approved January 8, 2002 (115 Stat. 1444; 20 U.S.C. § 6311(h));

(13) Approve the list of private placement accreditation organizations, pursuant to Chapter 29 of this title [§ 38-2901 et seq.];

(14) Approve state rules for enforcing school attendance requirements; and

(15) Approve state standards for home schooling.

(b) The Board shall conduct monthly meetings to receive citizen input with respect to issues properly before it at a location in the District designated by the Board.

(c)(1) The Board shall consider matters for policy approval upon submission of a request for policy action by the State Superintendent of Education within a review period requested by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education.

(2) The Board shall have access to the public comments submitted during the public comment period on matters that the Office of the State Superintendent of Education submits to the Board for policy approval.

(d)(1) The Board shall, by order, specify its organizational structure, staff, operations, reimbursement of expenses policy, and other matters affecting the Board’s functions; provided, that such order shall not impair the exclusive budget and personnel authority granted to the Office of Ombudsman for Public Education pursuant to § 38-351, or the Office of the Student Advocate pursuant to § 38-371.

(2) The Board shall appoint staff members, who shall serve at the pleasure of the Board, to perform administrative functions and any other functions necessary to execute the mission of the Board; provided, that the Board shall have no personnel authority over the staff of the Office of Ombudsman for Public Education or the Office of the Student Advocate, except as provided in § 38-351, and § 38-371, respectively.

(3)(A) Beginning in fiscal year 2013, the Board shall prepare and submit to the Mayor, for inclusion in the annual budget prepared and submitted to the Council pursuant to part D of subchapter IV of Chapter 2 of Title 1 [§ 204.41 et seq.], annual estimates of the expenditures and appropriations necessary for the operation of the Board for the year. All the estimates shall be forwarded by the Mayor to the Council for, in addition to the Mayor’s recommendations, action by the Council pursuant to §§ 1-204.46 and 1-206.03(c).

(B)(i) The Office of Ombudsman for Public Education and the Office of the Student Advocate shall be represented as separate program codes within the Board's budget.

(ii) The Board shall coordinate with the Ombudsman for Public Education and the Chief Advocate of the Office of the Student Advocate to ensure that the annual estimates prepared pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this paragraph reflect the expenditures and appropriations necessary for the operations of those offices.

(4) The Board shall be reflected in the budget and financial system as an agency-level entity.

(5) All assets, staff, and unexpended appropriations of the Office of the State Superintendent of Education or of any other agency that are associated with the Board shall be transferred to the Board by April 1, 2013.

(6) The Board shall provide personnel and resource support to the Office of Ombudsman for Public Education and the Office of the Student Advocate as necessary to facilitate the operations of those offices.

(e) For the purposes of this section, the term “state” means District-wide and similar to functions, policies, and rules performed by states on a state-wide basis.

(June 12, 2007, D.C. Law 17-9, § 403, 54 DCR 4102; Mar. 3, 2010, D.C. Law 18-111, § 4032, 57 DCR 181; Apr. 27, 2013, D.C. Law 19-284, § 4, 60 DCR 2312; Feb. 22, 2014, D.C. Law 20-76, § 301, 61 DCR 39; Apr. 7, 2017, D.C. Law 21-252, § 2, 64 DCR 1656.)

Section References

This section is referenced in § 38-2601 and § 38-2602.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 18-111 rewrote subsec. (d), which had read as follows: “(d) The Mayor shall, by order, specify the Board’s organizational structure, staff, budget, operations, reimbursement of expenses policy, and other matters affecting the Board’s functions.”

The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 19-284 rewrote (d).

The 2014 amendment by D.C. Law 20-76 added (a)(1A).

Applicability

Section 7029 of D.C. Law 22-33 repealed § 6 of D.C. Law 21-252. Therefore the changes made to this section by D.C. Law 21-252 have been given effect.

Applicability of D.C. Law 21-252: § 6 of D.C. Law 21-252 provided that the change made to this section by § 2(d) of D.C. Law 21-252 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) repeal of § 6 of D.C. Law 21-252, see § 7029 of Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2017 (D.C. Act 22-167, Oct. 24, 2017, 64 DCR 10802).

For temporary (90 days) repeal of § 6 of D.C. Law 21-252, see § 7029 of Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2017 (D.C. Act 22-104, July 20, 2017, 64 DCR 7032).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 4032 of Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Support Second Emergency Act of 2009 (D.C. Act 18-207, October 15, 2009, 56 DCR 8234).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 4032 of Fiscal Year Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2009 (D.C. Act 18-260, January 4, 2010, 57 DCR 345).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 3 of the State Board of Education Personnel Authority Amendment Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-46, March 27, 2013, 60 DCR 5453, 20 DCSTAT 545).

Mayor's Orders

Establishment of the State Board of Education’s By laws, see Mayor’s Order 2007-214, October 3, 2007 ( 55 DCR 139).