Section 5-A5010. NON-RESIDENT STUDENTS: ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW OF CONTESTED RESIDENCY CASE AND FINAL DECISION

 

5010.1  Requests for an administrative review of an OSSE non-resident finding shall be filed with OSSE no later than ten (10) business days after the date the written notification of the non-resident finding is issued. If a request for review is not received within a timely manner, and no corrective actions are confirmed to have been taken on behalf of the student, the finding of non-residency, and the proposed decisions to disenroll the student from the school and assess tuition, shall become the final administrative decision of the agency.

 

5010.2  OSSE shall refer a request for review of a contested residency case to an impartial hearing officer or administrative review office for a final administrative decision. Any hearing shall be conducted pursuant to Section 10 of the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure Act, effective March 25, 1977 (D.C. Law 1-96; D.C. Official Code § 2-509 (2016 Supp.)).  

 

5010.3  OSSE shall refer a request for review of a contested residency case to the designated hearing officer or administrative review office by filing a copy of the request for review that it received, along with a statement that OSSE requests the hearing officer or administrative review office to hear and decide the case.

 

5010.4  In all contested residency cases, the hearing officer or administrative review office assigned to hear the case shall set the hearing date and issue the hearing notice.

 

5010.5  The presiding hearing officer or Administrative Law Judge shall issue a final decision in all contested residency cases assigned to him or her. The hearing officer or Administrative Law Judge’s final decision shall be in writing and shall be the final administrative decision of OSSE. The statement of appeal rights required by Section 5011 shall be attached to or included in the written final administrative decision.

 

5010.6  In contested residency cases, the adult student, self-supporting student, or ward, or the parent, custodian, or guardian of the minor student who is claiming District of Columbia residency has the burden of proving residency status for the purpose of establishing whether the student may enroll in and attend a District public school tuition-free.

 

5010.7  The presiding hearing officer or Administrative Law Judge shall be governed by the Office of Administrative Hearings Rules at 1 DCMR §§ 2905-2909, that are used in DCPS residency cases to address procedural issues, to the extent possible and as appropriate to encourage consistency across District public schools in the residency verification process. Where the Office of Administrative Hearings (“OAH”) rules for DCPS residency cases do not address a procedural issue, the hearing officer or Administrative Law Judge shall be guided by the OAH Rules of Practice and Procedure. Where the OAH Rules of Practice and Procedure do not address a procedural issue, the hearing officer or Administrative Law Judge shall be guided by the District of Columbia Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure to decide the issue.

 

5010.8  The office assigned by OSSE to hear contested residency cases may establish written standard operating procedures to guide parties in contested residency cases through the process of an administrative review before a hearing officer.

 

5010.9  In all contested residency cases, the currently enrolled student shall be allowed to continue to attend school without prepayment of tuition, pending the final administrative decision.

 

 

authority

Section 3(b)(3) of the District of Columbia State Education Office Establishment Act of 2000, effective October 21, 2000 (D.C. Law 13-176; D.C. Official Code § 38-2602(b)(3) (2012 Repl. & 2016 Supp.)); Sections 11 and 16 of the District of Columbia Nonresident Tuition Act, approved September 8, 1960 (74 Stat. 853; D.C. Official Code §§ 38-308(a) and 38-313 (2012 Repl.)); and Mayor’s Order 2017-007; Section 101(d) of the Public School Enrollment Integrity Clarification and Board of Education Honoraria Amendment Act of 2004, effective April 13, 2005 (D.C. Law 15-348; D.C. Official Code § 38-2906.02(c) (2012 Repl. & 2016 Supp.)); and the District of Columbia Public Schools and Public Charter School Student Residency Fraud Prevention Amendment Act of 2012, effective May 9, 2012 (D.C. Law 19-126; D.C. Official Code § 38-312.01(c) (2012 Repl. & 2016 Supp.)).

source

Final Rulemaking published at 64 DCR 3147 (March 31, 2017).