For the purposes of this subchapter, the term:
(1) "Board" means the District of Columbia Board of Education.
(2) "District" means the District of Columbia.
(3) "Minor" means a person who has not reached 18 years of age, pursuant to § 46-101.
(3A) "School-based student support team" means a team formed to support the individual student by developing and implementing action plans and strategies that are school-based or community-based, depending on the availability, to enhance the student's success with services, incentives, intervention strategies, and consequences for dealing with absenteeism.
(4) "School year" means the period from the opening of regular school programs, typically in September, until the closing of regular school programs, typically in June.
(Feb. 4, 1925, ch. 140, Art. I, § 1, as added Mar. 8, 1991, D.C. Law 8-247, § 2(a), 38 DCR 376; Oct. 26, 2010, D.C. Law 18-242, § 3(a), 57 DCR 7555; June 7, 2012, D.C. Law 19-141, § 302(a), 59 DCR 3083.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 31-401.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 18-242, in par. (4), deleted ", established by the Board," following "period".
D.C. Law 19-141 added par. (3A).
Temporary Amendments of Section
For temporary (225 day) law authorizing the Superintendent of D.C. Public Schools to remove a student involved in a dangerous crime, see § 2 of Attendance and School Safety Temporary Amendment Act of 2001 (D.C. Law 14-7, June 14, 2001, 48 DCR 3516).
Section 8(b) of D.C. Law 14-7 provides that the act shall expire after 225 days of its having taken effect.
Emergency Act Amendments
For temporary (90 day) law authorizing the Superintendent of D.C. Public Schools to remove a student involved in a dangerous crime, see § 2 of Attendance and School Safety Emergency Amendment Act of 2001 (D.C. Act 14-24, March 28, 2001, 48 DCR 3315).
Legislative History of Laws
Law 8-247 was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 8-239, which was referred to the Committee on Education and Libraries. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on December 4, 1990, and December 18, 1990, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on December 27, 1990, it was assigned Act No. 8-331 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review.
Law 14-7, the "Attendance and School Safety Temporary Act of 2001", was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 14-85, which was retained by Council. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on February 6, 2001, and March 6, 2001, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on March 22, 2001, it was assigned Act No. 14-37 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 14-7 became effective on June 13, 2001.
Law 18-242, the "Safe Children and Safe Neighborhoods Educational Neglect Mandatory Reporting Amendment Act of 2010", was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 18-529, which was referred to the Committee on Human Services. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on June 15, 2010, and July 13, 2010, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on July 30, 2010, it was assigned Act No. 18-493 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 18-242 became effective on October 26, 2010.
Law 19-141, the "South Capitol Street Memorial Amendment Act of 2012", was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 19-211, which was referred to the Committee of the Whole. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on March 6, 2012, and March 20, 2012, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on April 10, 2012, it was assigned Act No. 19-344 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 19-141 became effective on June 7, 2012.
(a) Every parent, guardian, or other person, who resides permanently or temporarily in the District during any school year and who has custody or control of a minor who has reached the age of 5 years or will become 5 years of age on or before September 30th of the current school year shall place the minor in regular attendance in a public, independent, private, or parochial school, or in private instruction during the period of each year when the public schools of the District are in session. This obligation of the parent, guardian, or other person having custody extends until the minor reaches the age of 18 years. For the purpose of this section placement in summer school is not required.
(b) Any minor who has satisfactorily completed the senior high school course of study prescribed by the Board and has been granted a diploma that certifies his or her graduation from high school, or who holds a diploma or certificate of graduation from another course of study determined by the Board to be at least equivalent to that required by the Board for graduation from the public senior high schools, shall be excused from further attendance at school.
(c) Any minor who has reached the age of 17 years may be allowed flexible school hours by the Superintendent of Schools provided he or she is actually, lawfully, gainfully, and regularly employed, but in no case shall he or she be excused entirely from regular attendance or excused to the extent that his or her timely graduation would be jeopardized or prevented.
(d) The Board shall, pursuant to subchapter I of Chapter 5 of Title 2, issue rules to establish requirements to govern acceptable credit for studies completed at independent or private schools and private instruction, to govern the validity of applications for permission to be absent from school, to govern the selection and appointment of appropriate staff members to carry out the provisions of this chapter under the direction of the Superintendent of Schools, pursuant to Chapter 6 of Title 1, and in respect to other matters within the scope of authority of the Board that relates to this subchapter.
(Feb. 4, 1925, 43 Stat. 806, ch. 140, Art. I, §§ 1, 2; renumbered as Art. II, § 1 and amended, Mar. 8, 1991, D.C. Law 8-247, § 2(a), 38 DCR 376; July 18, 2008, D.C. Law 17-202, § 604, 55 DCR 6297.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 31-402.
1973 Ed., §§ 31-201, 31-202.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 17-202, in subsec. (a), substituted "September 30th" for ''December 31st".
Temporary Addition of Section
Section 2 of D.C. Law 17-8 added provisions to read as follows:
"Sec. 1a. Establishment of standards for class exclusions and suspensions.
"(a) The Board of Education ("Board") shall adopt uniform disciplinary standards:
"(1) To determine when class exclusions will be the appropriate disciplinary measure for students;
"(2) To promote the education of students in the school, except for those students who may be a danger to the school's faculty, students, or others, where the student was placed prior to disciplinary action, and that prioritize consideration of the student's academic standing, the educational needs of the students, and the number of previous offenses.
"(b) The standards adopted under subsection (a) of this section shall include a progressive schedule of discipline which promotes the goal of in-class education for students subject to disciplinary action, beginning with in-class intervention strategies and ending with expulsion as the final and most extreme form of discipline, and to the extent consistent with this progressive schedule, it shall be the policy of the District of Columbia to prefer in-school disciplinary action, except for those students who may be a danger to the school's faculty, students, or others.
"(c) The Board shall require a monthly report of disciplinary measures taken by each school regarding class exclusions and suspensions, including the rationale for the particular choice of discipline.
"(d) The Mayor shall provide for comprehensive inter-agency collaborative support programs, such as programs offered by the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Human Services, the Child and Family Services Agency, and the Department of Parks and Recreation, to assist the student subject to class exclusion at the school, except for those students who may be a danger to the school's faculty, students, or others, where the student was placed prior to the disciplinary action.
"(e) The Mayor shall make resources available to support the programs in subsection (d) of this section within the context of appropriated funds within the budget and financial plan."
Section 4(b) of D.C. Law 17-8 provides that the act shall expire after 225 days of its having taken effect.
Emergency Act Amendments
For temporary (90 day) addition, see § 2 of Class Exclusion Standards Emergency Amendment Act of 2007 (D.C. Act 17-23, March 22, 2007, 54 DCR 2784).
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 8-247, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 38-201.
Law 17-202 the "Pre-K Enhancement and Expansion Amendment Act of 2008", was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No.17-537 which was referred to the Committee of the Whole. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on April 1, 2008, and May 6, 2008, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on May 23, 2008, it was assigned Act No. 17-399 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 17-202 became effective on July 18, 2008.
(a) An accurate daily record of the attendance of all minors covered by § 38-202 and this section shall be kept by the teachers of each public, independent, private, or parochial school and by every teacher who gives instruction privately. These records shall be open for inspection at all times by the Board, the Superintendent of Schools, school attendance officers, or other persons authorized to enforce this subchapter.
(b) It shall be the duty of each principal, head teacher, or school administrative officer as designated in each public, independent, private, or parochial school, and of each teacher who gives private instruction to report to the Board the school attendance of any minor covered by § 38-202(a) who is enrolled in a school or who is enrolled for private instruction and who is absent from school or instruction for more than 2 full-day sessions or 4 half-day sessions in any school month, along with a statement of the reasons for the absences.
(c) The absence of a minor covered by § 38-202(a) without valid excuse shall be unlawful.
(d) The parent, guardian, or other person who has custody or control of a minor covered by § 38-202(a) who is absent from school without a valid excuse shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(e) Any person convicted of failure to keep a minor in regular attendance in a public, independent, private, or parochial school, or failure to provide regular private instruction acceptable to the Board may be fined not less than $100 or imprisoned for not more than 5 days, or both for each offense.
(f) Each unlawful absence of a minor for 2 full-day sessions or for 4 half-day sessions during a school month shall constitute a separate offense.
(g) For the 1st offense, upon payment of costs, the sentence may be suspended and the defendant may be placed on probation.
(h) For any person convicted under this section, the courts shall consider requiring the offender to perform community service as an alternative to fine or imprisonment or both.
(i) Within 60 days after the end of a school year, each public, independent, private, or parochial school shall report to the Mayor, or the Mayor's designee, and make publicly available, the following data based on the preceding school year:
(A) The number of minors, categorized by grade, or equivalent grouping for ungraded schools, who had unexcused absences for:
(i) One to 5 days;
(ii) Six to 10 days;
(iii) Eleven to 20 days; and
(iv) Twenty-one or more days;
(A-i) [Not funded]
(B) The number of minors, categorized by grade, or equivalent grouping for ungraded schools, that the school reported to the Child and Family Services Agency pursuant to § 4-1321.02(a-1) and (a-2);
(B-i) [Not funded]; and
(C) The policy on absences, including defined categories of valid excuses, that it used.
(j) [Not funded]
(Feb. 4, 1925, 43 Stat. 806, ch. 140, Art. I, §§ 5-7; renumbered as Art. II, § 2 and amended, Mar. 8, 1991, D.C. Law 8-247, § 2(a), 38 DCR 376; Oct. 26, 2010, D.C. Law 18-242, § 3(b), 57 DCR 7555; June 7, 2012, D.C. Law 19- 141, § 302(b), 59 DCR 3083.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 31-403.
1973 Ed., §§ 31-205 -- 31-207.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 18-242 added subsec. (i).
D.C. Law 19-141 added subsecs. (i)(A-i), (B-i), and (j), but is not in effect. See Miscellaneous Notes.
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 8-247, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 38-201.
For history of Law 18-242, see notes under § 38-201.
For history of Law 19-141, see notes under § 38-203.
Miscellaneous Notes
Section 601 of D.C. Law 19-141, as amended by section 7004 of D.C. Law 19-168, reads as follows: "Sections 302(b)(1), 304, and 502(a) shall apply upon the inclusion of their fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan.".
The fiscal effect of sections 302(b)(1), 304, and 502 of D.C. Law 19-141 has not been included in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore, the provisions of this section, enacted by Law 19-141, are not in effect.
The Board, or its designee, shall conduct annually, or as frequently as may be found necessary or desirable, a complete census of all minors 3 years of age or more who permanently or temporarily reside in the District. The census record shall be amended from day to day as changes of residence occur among minors within the age group, as other persons come within or leave the age group, and as other persons within the age group become residents of or leave the District. The census record of minors shall give the full name, address, sex, and date of birth of each minor, the school attended by him or her and, if the minor is not at school, the name and address of his or her employer, if any, and the name, address, telephone numbers, if any, and occupation of each parent or guardian.
(Feb. 4, 1925, 43 Stat. 807, ch. 140, Art. II, § 1; renumbered as Art. II, § 3 and amended, Mar. 8, 1991, D.C. Law 8-247, § 2(a), 38 DCR 376.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 31-404.
1973 Ed., § 31-208.
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 8-247, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 38-201.
The principal or head teacher of each public, independent, private, or parochial school, and each teacher who gives private instruction, shall, in accordance with the rules adopted by the Board pursuant to subchapter I of Chapter 5 of Title 2, report to the Board the name, address, sex, and date of birth of each minor who resides permanently or temporarily in the District who transfers between schools or who enrolls in or withdraws from his or her school.
(Feb. 4, 1925, 43 Stat. 807, ch. 140, Art. II, § 2; renumbered as Art. II, § 4 and amended, Mar. 8, 1991, D.C. Law 8-247, § 2(a), 38 DCR 376.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 31-405.
1973 Ed., § 31-209.
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 8-247, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 38-201.
(Feb. 4, 1925, 43 Stat. 807, ch. 140, Art. II, § 3; renumbered as Art. II, § 5 and amended, Mar. 8, 1991, D.C. Law 8-247, § 2(a), 38 DCR 376.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 31-406.
1973 Ed., § 31-210.
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 8-247, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 38-201.
(Feb. 4, 1925, 43 Stat. 807, ch. 140, Art. III, § 1; Mar. 8, 1991, D.C. Law 8-247, § 2(b), 38 DCR 376.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 31-411.
1973 Ed., § 31-211.
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 8-247, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 38-201.
(Feb. 4, 1925, 43 Stat. 808, ch. 140, Art. III, § 2; July 21, 1945, 59 Stat. 500, ch. 321, title V, § 21; Mar. 8, 1991, D.C. Law 8-247, § 2(b), 38 DCR 376.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 31-412.
1973 Ed., § 31-212.
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 8-247, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 38-201.
The Family Division of the Superior Court is hereby given jurisdiction in all cases arising under this subchapter.
(Feb. 4, 1925, 43 Stat. 808, ch. 140, Art. III, § 3; May 29, 1928, 45 Stat. 1006, ch. 908, § 26; July 29, 1970, 84 Stat. 578, Pub. L. 91-358, title I, § 159(g).)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 31-413.
1973 Ed., § 31-213.
