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DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS
NOTICE OF EMERGENCY AND PROPOSED RULEMAKING
The Chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), pursuant to Section 103 of the District of Columbia Public Education Reform Amendment Act of 2007, effective June 12, 2007 (D.C. Law 17-9; D.C. Official Code § 38-172(c) (2012 Repl.)), and Mayor’s Order 2007-186 (August 10, 2007), hereby gives notice of the adoption of the following emergency rulemaking to amend Section 2106 (Out-of-Boundary Transfers) of Chapter 21 (Attendance and Transfers) of Subtitle E of Title 5 (Education) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR).
This rulemaking will amend the language regarding the start and end dates of the out-of-boundary lottery application process. The amendment is necessary because a new Common Lottery process is being instituted for the 2014-2015 school year, which will allow families to enter one lottery and choose from schools within DCPS as well as participating public charter schools. The amendment will ensure that DCPS is able to effectively serve families who choose to use the out-of-boundary lottery process by publicizing it as early as possible.
Emergency rulemakings are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, welfare, or morals, pursuant to 1 DCMR § 311.4(e). The out-of-boundary lottery is utilized by a large number of DCPS parents each year to secure desired spots for their children in a school of their choice. Allowing the amendment to be made as emergency rulemaking will ensure that the amendment is effective as early as possible, but no later than November 1, 2013.
The emergency rules were adopted on October 4, 2013 and took effect at that time. The rules will remain in effect for up to one hundred twenty (120) days, expiring on February 1, 2014, unless earlier superseded by a Notice of Final Rulemaking.
The proposed rulemaking will be submitted to the Council for a forty-five (45) day period of review. The Chancellor also hereby gives notice of the intent to adopt this rulemaking, in final, in not less than thirty (30) days from the publication of this notice in the D.C. Register, or upon approval of the rulemaking by the Council, whichever occurs later.
Chapter 21 (Attendance and Transfers) of Subtitle E (Original Title 5) of Title 5 (Education) of the DCMR is amended as follows:
Section 2106 (Out-of-Boundary Transfers), Subsection 2106.4 is amended to read as follows:
2106.4 Applications for out-of-boundary transfers for the upcoming school year shall be submitted through the DCPS’s formal application. Starting in the 2013-2014 school year application dates will be publicized by DCPS no later than November 1st for the upcoming school year. Application dates will be publicized on the DCPS website, in the D.C. Register, and through mailings to DCPS families. The application period shall last for 30 calendar days. The Chancellor or his/her designee shall send a response to any such request no later than 30 days following the last date of the application period.
Comments on this rulemaking should be submitted, in writing, to Kaya Henderson, Chancellor, DCPS, at 1200 First Street, N.E., 12th Floor, Washington, D.C., 20002, no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register. Additional copies of this rule are available from the above address.
