6148071 Education, Office of the State Superintendent of - Notice of Emergency and Proposed Rulemaking - Amending Section 3501 to add Subsections 3501.3 to 3501.6 to provide OSSE with the authority to grant temporary waivers to pre-K CBOs seeking a ...

OFFICE OF THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION

 

Notice of EMERGENCY AND PROPOSED rulemaking

 

The State Superintendent of Education, pursuant to the authority set forth in Sections 102, 106 and 501 of the Pre-k Enhancement and Expansion Amendment Act of 2008, effective July 18, 2008 (D.C. Law 17-202; D.C. Official Code §§ 38-271.02, 38-271.06, and 38-271.05 (2012 Repl.)); and Mayor’s Order 2009-44, dated  March 27, 2009, hereby gives notice of the adoption, on an emergency basis, of amendments to Chapter 35 (Pre-K Enhancement and Expansion Funding) of Title 5 (Education), Subtitle A (Office of the State Superintendent of Education) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (“DCMR”).  

 

The purpose of the emergency and proposed rulemaking is to further support the community-based organizations providing high quality pre-K programs across the District (“pre-K CBO”) by providing the Office of the State Superintendent of Education  (“OSSE”) authority to grant a temporary waiver, not to exceed twelve (12) months, from certain high quality standards if the pre-K CBO demonstrates hardship and that they are meeting the intent of the high quality standard(s) on which they seek the waiver. The emergency rulemaking action is necessary for OSSE to provide pre-K CBOs who have received pre-K enhancement and expansion funding in the past with limited flexibility in meeting the standards to ensure stability and a continuum of care for children and families currently enrolled in these pre-K CBO programs across the District. 

 

This emergency rulemaking was adopted on July 22, 2016 and became effective on that date.  The emergency rulemaking will remain in effect for up to one hundred twenty (120) days after the date of adoption, expiring on November 28, 2016, or upon earlier amendment or repeal by the State Superintendent of Education or publication of a final rulemaking in the D.C. Register, whichever occurs first.

 

The State Superintendent of Education also hereby gives notice of the intent to take final rulemaking action to adopt these proposed rules in not less than thirty (30) days after the publication of this notice in the D.C. Register and after approval by the Council of the District of Columbia, as specified in Section 501(a) of the Act (D.C. Official Code § 38-275.01(a)).

 

Chapter 35, PRE-K ENHANCEMENT AND EXPANSION FUNDING, of Title 5-A DCMR, OFFICE OF THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION, is amended as follows:

 

Section 3501, HIGH QUALITY STANDARDS, by adding a new Subsection 3501.3 to read as follows:

 

3501.3             The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (“OSSE”) may waive compliance with one or more of the high quality standards in Subsection 3501.1 for no more twelve (12) months if:

 

(a)        The pre-K CBO seeking a waiver received pre-K enhancement and expansion funding from OSSE previous to its request for a waiver;

 

(b)        OSSE determines that the immediate economic impact on the pre-K CBO is sufficiently great to make immediate compliance temporarily impractical;

 

(c)        OSSE determines that the pre-K CBO is meeting or exceeding the intent of the high quality standard(s) for which waiver is requested; and

 

(d)       OSSE determines that granting a waiver to the pre-K CBO is in the best interest of children receiving care at the pre-K CBO.

 

3501.4             A pre-K CBO may apply for a waiver by submitting a written request to OSSE that shall include the following:

 

(a)                Name, address of the pre-K CBO, and its assigned license number;

 

(b)               Citation of each standard for which a waiver is being sought;

 

(c)                Explanation and description of the extent to which the pre-K CBO seeks to be waived from  the standard;

 

(d)               Timeframe in which the pre-K CBO anticipates coming into compliance with the standard;

 

(e)                Proof of the immediate economic impact of compliance on the pre-K CBO;

 

(f)                Proof that the intent of the specific standard shall be achieved in a manner other than that prescribed by the standard; and

 

(g)               All other relevant information regarding the alleged hardship.

 

3501.5             Any waiver of a standard shall be at the discretion of OSSE and may be revoked by OSSE at any time, either upon violation of any condition attached to it or upon the determination of OSSE that continuance of the waiver is no longer in the best interest of children receiving care at the pre-K CBO.

 

3501.6             A determination by OSSE that the pre-K CBO is not in compliance with the terms of the waiver shall void the waiver, require the pre-K CBO to become compliant with the standard, and may be the basis of additional enforcement action.

 

All persons desiring to comment on the subject matter of this proposed rulemaking should file comments in writing not later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register via email addressed to: [e-mail]; or by mail or hand delivery to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, Attn: Jamai Deuberry re: Pre-K Waiver of High Standards, 810 First Street, N.E. 9th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20002. Additional copies of this rule are available from the above address and on the Office of the State Superintendent of Education website at www.osse.dc.gov.