6146325 Resolution 21-553, School Attendance Clarification Congressional Review Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2016

A RESOLUTION

                                                        

21-553

 

IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

 

July 12, 2016        

 

           

To declare the existence of an emergency, due to Congressional review, with respect to the need to amend An Act To provide for compulsory school attendance, for the taking of a school census in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes to clarify agency responsibilities with regard to school attendance, to deem an absence of a minor student from a public school unexcused where the school does not obtain an explanation for the absence from the student’s parent or guardian verifying the reason for an absence within 5 days after a student’s return to school, to prohibit the suspension, expulsion, or unenrollment of a minor from a public school due to an unexcused absence or due to a late arrival to school, to clarify attendance reporting requirements for public, independent, private, and parochial schools, to revise the protocol for a law enforcement officer who comes in contact with a minor and has reasonable grounds to believe the minor is truant, to revise the educational institution referral requirement for the Child and Family Services Administration, the Court Social Services Division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, and the Office of the Attorney General Juvenile Section to only include unexcused full school day absences with regard to attendance, to provide educational institutions with discretion on referrals if a student’s 10th or 15th unexcused absence is accrued within the final 10 school days of the school year, and to require the State Superintendent of Education to provide written notice to each public, independent, private, or parochial school outlining the attendance and reporting requirements by July 1 of each year; to amend the District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995 to conform it to the prohibitions against expulsion and suspension provided in An Act To provide for compulsory school attendance, for the taking of a school census in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes and the Pre-k Enhancement and Expansion Amendment Act of 2008; and to amend Chapter 21 of Subtitle A of Title 5 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations to repeal the requirement that a public school notify the Metropolitan Police Department after each occurrence of a student’s 10th unexcused absence, to require that an educational institution obtain an explanation for a student’s absence within 5 days of the student’s return to school, and to amend the terms “truancy rate” and “chronic absenteeism.”

 

            RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution may be cited as the “School Attendance Clarification Congressional Review Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2016”. 

 

Sec. 2. (a)  Over the past 5 years, the Council of the District of Columbia has passed 3 laws with the goal of reducing chronic truancy: D.C. Law 18-242, the Safe Children and Safe Neighborhoods Educational Neglect Mandatory Reporting Amendment Act of 2010; D.C. Law 19-141, the South Capitol Street Memorial Amendment Act of 2012; and D.C. Law 20-17, the Attendance Accountability Amendment Act of 2013.

(b)  Schools have implemented the various mandates from the 3 different bills over the past 2 years and have worked diligently to reduce the truancy epidemic in the District.  Such efforts have started to result in an annual reduction in truancy in both public education sectors and has shed light on additional areas that need to be addressed in order to continue in a positive trend. 

(c)  To address the issues that have been raised through implementation of the 3 laws referenced in subsection (a) of this section, Chairman Mendelson and Councilmember Grosso introduced Bill 21-508, the School Attendance Clarification Amendment Act of 2015 on December 1, 2015.  The various items in Bill 21-508 have been identified through the work of the Truancy Taskforce’s policy committee.  In some cases, the changes in Bill 21-508 reflect the actual practice occurring in the District, and in other cases the changes allow schools and the various District agencies (e.g. the Child and Family Services Administration, Office of the Attorney General, and the Court Social Services Division) to target resources to those students who need them most as the District continues to identify ways to combat not just truancy but chronic absenteeism.

            (d)  On January 21, 2016, the Committee of the Whole and the Committee on Education held a joint public hearing on Bill 21-508, and on February 24, 2016, the Committee on Education marked up Bill 21-508.  As the bill is a product of collaboration and extensive feedback from the District of Columbia Public Schools, the public charter school sector, the private school sector, and the various District agencies involved with combating truancy in the District, the Committee of the Whole print, which was marked up on April 19, 2016, was virtually identical to the version marked up by the Committee on Education.

(e)  On May 3, 2016, Bill 21-508 was adopted unanimously by the Council on final reading and the bill was signed by the Mayor on June 1, 2016 (D.C. Act 21-411; 63 DCR 8207). The bill was transmitted on Congress on June 13, 2016, and is projected to become law on September 15, 2016.

(f) The Council anticipated that Bill 21-508 would not become law until after the start of school year 2016-2017, making it difficult for schools to make the necessary changes to their attendance systems, student handbooks, and attendance policies to comply with the law. Therefore, on May 3, 2016, the Council passed the School Attendance Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2016, effective May 3, 2016, (D.C. Act 21-410; 63 DCR 8202), to provide schools with ample notice and implementation time. The emergency legislation mirrors verbatim the language in the permanent version. The emergency legislation expires on August 30, 2016, 16 days before the permanent bill is projected to become law. 

(g) A congressional review emergency is needed to prevent a gap in the law. Many schools in the District begin classes in early August and thus will already be implementing the new requirements of Bill 21-508, when the emergency measure expires.

 

Sec. 3.  The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the School Attendance Clarification Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2016 be adopted after a single reading.

 

Sec. 4.  This resolution shall take effect immediately.