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________________________________ ________________________________ 2
Councilmember Anita Bonds Councilmember Zachary Parker 3
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________________________________ ________________________________ 7
Councilmember Janeese Lewis-George Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. 8
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Councilmember Brooke Pinto 12
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A BILL 15
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 19
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To amend the Educational Services for Detained and Committed Youth Act of 2006 to ensure 24
educational continuity and smooth transitions to and from placement for Students in the 25
Care of the District; To amend The State Education Office Establishment Act of 2000 to 26
require the Office of the State Superintendent for Education to create a uniform course 27
catalogue, to require each local education agency implement flexible graduation waivers, 28
conduct a uniform transcript evaluation procedure, and award academic credit for classes 29
taken by students in the Care of the District; and to amend The Students in the Care of 30
D.C. Coordinating Committee Act of 2018 to require the Students in the Care of D.C. 31
Coordinating Committee regularly review and report on the success and impact of the 32
Education Continuity for Students in the Care of D.C. Amendment Act of 2025. 33
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 35
act may be cited as the “Education Continuity for Students in the Care of D.C. Amendment Act 36
of 2025.” 37
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Sec. 2. The Educational Services for Detained and Committed Youth Act of 2006, 38
effective March 2, 2007 (D.C. Law 16-192; D.C. Official Code § 38-3301 et seq.), is amended as 39
follows: 40
(a) A new section 4031(a) is added to read as follows: 41
“Sec. 4031(a). Definitions. 42
“For the purpose of this subtitle, the term: 43
“(1) “Appropriate educational placement” means a learning environment that 44
supports the educational needs of a general education student or student with special needs to 45
enable them to make academic progress towards graduation and implement all aspects of a 46
student’s IEP, if applicable. 47
“(2) “Awaiting placement” means the status of a committed youth under the 48
supervision of DYRS who is waiting to be transferred to the placement DYRS decides is 49
appropriate. 50
“(3) “Certificate of Approval” or “COA” shall have the same meaning as 51
provided in section 101 of the Placement of Students with Disabilities in nonpublic Schools 52
Amendment Act of 2006, effective March 14, 2007 (D.C. Law 16-269; D.C. Official Code § 38-53
2561.01(1A)). 54
“(4) “CFSA” means the Child and Family Services Agency established by 55
section 301a of the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Act of 1977, effective April 4, 2001 56
(D.C. Law 13-1277; D.C. Official Code § 4-1303.01a). 57
“(5) “Change in placement” means a change in the location where a young 58
person committed to the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services resides and receives the 59
recommended rehabilitation services. 60
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“(6) “DCPS” means the District of Columbia Public Schools established by 61
section 102 of the Public Education Reform Amendment Act of 2007, effective June 12, 2007 62
(D.C. Law 17-9; D.C. Official Code § 38-171) and, for the purposes of this Act, the local 63
education agency in the District of Columbia with responsibility for serving District of 64
Columbia youth committed to DYRS who are placed in RTCs, PRTFs, and out-of-state (OOS) 65
group homes. 66
“(7) “DOC” means the Department of Corrections. 67
“(8) “DYRS” means the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. 68
“(9) “FERPA” means the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act of 1974, 69
approved August 21, 1974 (88 Stat. 571; 20 U.S.C. § 1232g et seq.); 70
“(10) “FAPE” means free appropriate public education or special education and 71
related services that: 72
(A) Have been provided at public expense, under public supervision and 73
direction, and without charge; 74
“(B) Meet the standards of the State Education Agency; 75
“(C) Include an appropriate preschool, elementary school, or secondary 76
school education; and 77
“(D) Are provided in conformity with the individualized education 78
program. 79
“(11) “Individualized education program” or “IEP” means a written plan that 80
specifies the special education programs and services to be provided to meet the unique 81
educational needs of a student with a disability, as required under section 614(d) of the IDEA [20 82
U.S.C. § 1414(d)]. 83
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“(12) “Section 504 Plan" means a written plan that specifies the accommodations 84
and services provided to a student pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 85
approved September 26, 1973 (87 Stat. 394; 29 U.S.C. § 794), and its implementing regulations. 86
“(13) “Local education agency” or “LEA” means an educational institution at the 87
local level that exists primarily to operate a publicly funded school or schools in the District of 88
Columbia, including the District of Columbia Public Schools and a District of Columbia public 89
charter school. For the purposes of this chapter, an LEA also includes a state public agency 90
responsible for providing FAPE.” 91
“(14) “OSSE” means the Office of the State Superintendent of Education 92
established by section 2 of the State Education Office Establishment Act of 2000 (D.C. Law 13-93
176; D.C. Official Code § 38-2601). 94
“(15) “Public Charter School Board” or “PCSB” means the Public Charter School 95
Board as established by section 2214 of the District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995, 96
approved April 26, 1996 (110 Stat. 1321; D.C. Official Code § 28-1802.14). 97
“(16) “State education agency” or “SEA” means the Office of the State 98
Superintendent of Education, or any successor agency that has primary responsibility for the 99
state-level supervisory functions for special education that are typically handled by a state 100
department of education or public instruction, a state board of education, a state education 101
commission, or a state education authority. 102
“(17) “Students in the care of D.C.” or “student in the care of D.C.” shall have the 103
same meaning as provided in section 2(5) of the Students in the Care of D.C. Coordinating 104
Committee Act of 2018, effective April 11, 2019 (D.C. Law 22-303; D.C. Official Code § 2-105
1599.01(5)). 106
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“(18) “Students in the Care of D.C. Coordinating Committee” or “SCDC” means 107
the Students in the Care of D.C. Coordinating Committee established by section 3 of the 108
Students in the Care of D.C. Coordinating Committee Act of 2018, effective April 11, 2019 109
(D.C. Law 22-303; D.C. Official Code § 2-1599.02). 110
“(19) “Transfer grade report” means a report created by sending LEA that 111
includes progress in current classes, current grades and course standards.”. 112
(b) Section 4032 (D.C. Official Code § 38-3301) is amended to read as follows: 113
“Sec. 4032. Timely enrollment and transition planning. 114
“(a) A student returning from or transitioning into agency placements shall be enrolled in 115
an appropriate educational placement within 2 days after release or 2 days after transfer. In 116
instances where the LEA is unable to secure an appropriate placement for the student within the 117
timeframe set forth in this subsection despite making their best efforts, the receiving LEA shall 118
provide the student with interim educational services that comport with the student's IEP, if 119
applicable, and allows the student to continue to make academic progress towards graduation, 120
until such time as the student is transitioned to an appropriate educational placement. 121
“(b) A student who is awaiting placement must be enrolled in and attending an accredited 122
school. 123
“(c) The transition team for a student in the Care of D.C. shall meet to establish or update 124
a transition plan at least 30 days before the student’s change in placement or at least 7 days 125
before a Court appearance. If a student is in a placement for less than 30 days, the transition plan 126
shall be created within 7 days before a change in placement. 127
“(d) The student’s transition team shall include: 128
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“(1) The student if the transition plan being created or updated will be in effect at 129
any time after the student turns 14 years old; 130
“(2) A representative of the student’s current educational placement; 131
“(3) A representative of the student’s current LEA; 132
“(4) A representative of the student’s anticipated LEA, where known; 133
“(5) A representative of the student’s anticipated educational placement where the 134
placement is distinct from the LEA, where known; 135
“(6) The student’s parent or guardian or other person with educational decision-136
making rights for the student; and 137
“(7) The student’s education attorney, defense attorney, social worker, and 138
guardian ad litem, as applicable. 139
“(e) The student’s transition plan shall: 140
“(1) Include a clear statement of the student’s appropriate educational placement; 141
“(2) Include the student’s enrollment date for the current placement, past and 142
present academic transcripts and most recent report card, course requirements of previous and 143
prospective anticipated educational placement, documentation of any other supportive activities 144
or services, and any diagnostic, summative, or college assessments as applicable, and graduation 145
requirements; 146
“(3) Include, for students with disabilities, a discussion of appropriate changes to 147
the IEP or 504 Plan, include a copy of the student’s current IEP or 504 Plan, including any prior 148
written notice and the location of service, if applicable; 149
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“(4) List the names and contact information of the persons responsible for 150
developing the student’s transition plan at the student’s current and anticipated educational 151
placement; 152
“(5) List the names and contact information of the persons with responsibility and 153
authority for prompt enrollment; and 154
“(6) Include, if the student is in need of a placement at a school that requires a 155
student interview or school visit prior to acceptance, a description of the efforts to complete the 156
interview process virtually or provide other necessary accommodations. 157
“(f) Within 7 days after the transition meeting, a copy of the student’s transition plan 158
shall be provided to the student and all members of the student’s transition team. 159
(c) New sections 4033 through 4035 are added to read as follows: 160
“Sec. 4033. School points-of-contact for students in the care of D.C. 161
“(a) Each LEA shall designate at least one employee to serve as the point-of-contact for 162
students in the care of D.C. attending the LEA who shall carry out the duties described in 163
subsection (c) of this section. For students in the care of CFSA, the LEA may designate as point-164
of-contact the same employee who is designated as the foster care point-of-contact under as 165
established by section 2214 of the District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995, approved 166
April 26, 1996 (110 Stat. 1321; D.C. Official Code § 28-1802.14). 167
“(b) Up-to-date name and contact information for the point-of-contact shall be published 168
on the LEA’s website. 169
“(c) The point-of-contact described in subsection (a) of this section shall be responsible 170
for: 171
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“(1) Ensuring that the student is immediately enrolled in the student’s new 172
placement even in the absence of records from the student’s previous placement that are 173
normally required for enrollment; 174
“(2) Ensuring that a student’s new educational placement is capable of providing 175
the student with all special education, related services, and accommodations with a direct path 176
towards graduation; 177
“(3) Communicating with the student’s last school attended to obtain relevant and 178
up to date academic and other records, including any necessary course descriptions, within 5 179
days after the student's enrollment in the student’s new educational placement; 180
“(4) Performing a transcript audit, calculating all partial and full credits towards 181
current graduation requirements, including transfer of credits earned by the student at any 182
previous school attended, within 7 days after receiving a transcript; 183
“(5) Providing a copy of the transcript evaluation to the student’s parent or legal 184
guardian, adult student, guardian ad litem, and education attorney, as applicable, within 1 day 185
after the completion of the evaluation; and 186
“(6) Working collaboratively with the prior placement to ensure that the student is 187
scheduled in courses that will enable the student to make academic progress towards a high 188
school diploma or IEP Certificate of Completion, as applicable. 189
“(g) For students transferring out of an LEA, the point-of-contact shall be responsible for 190
providing all student records to the new LEA within 7 days after the transfer. 191
“(h) OSSE shall develop training and guidance and make the materials available to 192
teachers, educational and agency staff with knowledge and skills necessary to respond to the 193
specific needs of students in the Care of D.C., where applicable” 194
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“Sec. 4034. Facilitating records transmission among agencies. 195
“OSSE shall: 196
“(a) Grant DYRS, DOC, and CFSA access to the following information for a student in 197
the care of D.C. for the purpose of enrolling a student in a new school: 198
“(1) The student’s name; 199
“(2) Date of birth; 200
“(3) Race and ethnicity; 201
“(4) Unique student identifiers; 202
“(5) Information on student’s previously attended LEA; 203
“(6) Previous home address; 204
“(7) Assessment data; 205
“(8) Enrollment data, both current and historical; 206
“(9) Last grade completed; 207
“(10) Advanced placement data; 208
“(11) College Board Test data; 209
“(12) ACCESS assessment results for students who have limited English 210
proficiency; 211
“(13) Special education records, including but not limited to assessment data, and 212
the student’s IEP (current and historical), IEP meeting notes or minutes, eligibility 213
determinations, related service records/logs, evaluations, as applicable; and 214
“(14) Section 504 records, including but not limited to assessment data, the 215
student’s 504 plan (current and historical), 504 plan meeting notes or minutes, eligibility 216
determinations, related service records/logs, evaluations, as applicable; 217
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“(15) Transcript, course enrollment prior to transfer, progress reports (or 218
equivalent term grade report). 219
“(b) Provide DYRS, DOC and CFSA with access to the District’s special education data 220
system in order to view the records of the students in their custody in accordance with District 221
and federal law. 222
“(c) Where DYRS or DOC is responsible for FAPE, provide the respective agency with 223
education and special education database access equivalent to access given to other LEAs in the 224
District. 225
“(d) Allow for dual enrollment of students in the care of D.C. in both the sending and 226
receiving school such that each placement can access information necessary to award credits in a 227
timely manner. 228
“Sec. 4035. Identifying an appropriate educational placement and ensuring enrollment in 229
appropriate coursework. 230
“(a) Upon a student’s enrollment in an LEA, a student shall be assigned coursework that 231
the student needs to complete to satisfy unfulfilled graduation requirements. 232
“(b) A student in the care of D.C. shall be provided access to any courses or programs 233
needed to fulfil the student’s graduation requirements, including community service 234
opportunities. 235
“(c) For those students in the care of D.C. who are entering from an educational 236
placement outside the District, OSSE shall pursue reciprocity agreements for the purposes of 237
securing access to necessary student records to complete the transfer. 238
Sec. 3. The State Education Office Establishment Act of 2000 (D.C. Law 13-176; D.C. 239
Official Code § 38-2601 et seq.) is amended by adding new sections 3b-3f to read as follows: 240
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“Sec. 3b. Creation of a Uniform Transcript Evaluation Procedure. 241
“(a) Beginning in school year 2026-2027, OSSE shall develop, publish, and regularly 242
update a general course catalogue and course equivalency table that groups course credits into 243
categories. LEAs shall determine whether courses completed outside of the District fulfill their 244
individual graduation requirements. The course catalogue shall include: 245
“(1) The name of every credit-bearing course approved to be offered to students at 246
any secondary school within the District of Columbia, regardless of whether the course is 247
presently offered; 248
“(2) A brief description of each course named; 249
“(3) A list of course requirements and pre-requisites; and 250
“(4) An indication of which promotion or graduation requirement(s) that each 251
course fulfills. 252
“(b) Beginning in school year 2026-2027, each LEA shall adopt and implement a uniform 253
procedure for evaluating the transcripts of students transferring into the LEA who have 254
completed coursework elsewhere. The evaluation procedure shall: 255
“(1) Be transparent and publicly available a central website managed by OSSE; 256
“(2) Be based upon the OSSE’s published course catalogue; 257
“(3) Ensure credits and partial credits completed outside the District are honored 258
and accepted by the prospective LEA; 259
“(4) Establish methods by which the LEA shall determine equivalent credits 260
within the LEA’s course catalogue for coursework completed elsewhere; 261
“(5) Establish guidelines by which an evaluator may grant quarter or semester 262
credits for coursework completed prior to a student’s transfer; 263
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“(6) Ensure proper course and program enrollment for students transferring into 264
the LEA. 265
“(c) The LEA shall provide a copy of the transcript evaluation to the placing agency, the 266
student, the student’s parent or legal guardian, and the guardian ad litem, as applicable, within 5 267
days after enrollment into a Residential Treatment Center, Psychiatric Residential Treatment 268
Facility, or any other out-of-state placement. 269
“(d) Each LEA shall develop and implement a process by which a student, the student’s 270
parent or legal guardian, or the student’s attorney may appeal a transcript evaluation.” 271
“Sec. 3c. Awarding of credits. 272
“(a) An LEA shall grant credit for academic coursework necessary for high school 273
graduation that were completed by a student in the care of D.C. 274
“(b) Students shall be placed in facilities with accredited schools where they can 275
complete the courses necessary for graduation with a high school diploma, certificate track or 276
GED, depending on the individual student’s completion plan. 277
“(c) An LEA shall provide official copies of a student’s transcript, report card and 278
transfer grade report within 7 days after withdrawal. 279
“(d) For students in the care of D.C. unable to complete an academic course and receive 280
full credit due to the student’s withdrawal or transfer from the school or LEA, a receiving school 281
or LEA shall accept partial credits that are stackable such that they accrue until complete credit 282
for a course is achieved; moreover, the receiving school or LEA shall provide an opportunity for 283
the completion of the course. 284
“(e) An LEA shall: 285
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“(1) Accept partial credits and/or coursework completed granted by the student’s 286
previous school or LEA; 287
“(2) Apply any partial credits to the closest equivalent course and to any 288
graduation requirements fulfilled by that equivalent course as if the student has completed the 289
courses and earn a final grade and credit for courses in which they are enrolled after the start of a 290
grading period without term grades issued by their previous school or LEA. 291
“(3) If the student enrolls in a school or LEA without any credits from the sending 292
school or LEA, the receiving school or LEA shall afford the student the opportunity to complete 293
and earn a final grade and credit for courses in which they are enrolled after the start of a grading 294
period, which they began at their sending school or LEA, or allow for the student to complete a 295
diagnostic assessment to measure their content mastery to award credit. 296
“Sec. 3d. Flexible graduation options and course waivers. 297
“(a) Within 5 days after any change to a student’s schedule of courses, the student's 298
sending LEA shall approve the student’s new courses and, for high school students, identify 299
which outstanding graduation requirements each course will fulfill upon the student’s return. 300
“(b) An LEA responsible for a student placed in an out-of-state placement shall offer 301
options to complete D.C. graduation requirements not offered by the out-of-state placement. 302
“(c) OSSE shall establish a system by which LEAs, upon approval by OSSE, may waive 303
graduation requirements in situations where a student in the care of D.C. was placed outside of 304
D.C. and was thus unable to take a substantially similar course that would fulfill the relevant 305
requirement but instead satisfactorily completed a different course that would not otherwise 306
contribute to that student's D.C. graduation requirements. 307
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“(d) “OSSE shall reduce the community service requirement by the proportion of time a 308
student has been placed out-of-state between the commencement of high school and their 309
expected graduation date.” 310
“(e) OSSE shall establish a system by which LEAs may waive community service 311
requirements in situations where a student in the care of D.C. was not provided access to such 312
opportunities. 313
“(f) Should a waiver be denied by the LEA, the LEA shall provide, in writing, a 314
reasonable justification for the denial of the waiver within 7 days after the request for a waiver. 315
The LEA shall indicate an available alternative means of acquiring the graduation requirements 316
such that the student may graduate on time. 317
“Sec. 3e. Monitoring. 318
“(a) OSSE shall conduct desktop and on-site monitoring of educational programs 319
including local and out-of-state placements inclusive of COA and non-COA facilities where 320
students in the care of D.C. are placed a minimum of 2 times per school year for desktop and on-321
site monitoring. 322
“(b) If the results of desktop and on-site monitoring require corrective actions be taken, 323
OSSE shall ensure the placement takes the steps outlined in the corrective action plan. 324
“(c) Where a placement fails to sufficiently comply with OSSE’s corrective action plan, 325
OSSE shall remove any students in the care of D.C. from the placement and prevent future 326
placements until such time as OSSE is satisfied with the placement’s performance of the 327
corrective action plan. 328
“(d) OSSE shall post the required corrective actions on their website within 30 days after 329
the determination that a corrective action is required. 330
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“(e) The results of all monitoring activities and all corrective action plans in a given 331
school year shall be made publicly available annually on OSSE’s website in the same manner in 332
which OSSE publishes other data and reports.”. 333
“Sec. 3f. Rulemaking authority. 334
“No later than 120 days after the applicability date of this act, OSSE shall promulgate 335
rules to implement the provisions of this act.”. 336
Sec. 4. Section 7 of The Students in the Care of D.C. Coordinating Committee Act of 337
2018, effective April 11, 2019 (D.C. Official Code 2-1599.06), is amended as follows: 338
(a) Sub-subsection (c)(1) is amended to read as follows: 339
“(1) The Students in the Care of D.C. Coordinating Committee shall report: 340
“(A) Within 24 months following the applicability date of this act, and on an 341
annual basis thereafter, on the status and progress of each member agency on fulfilling the goal 342
in subsection (a) of this section and the strategic plan referenced in subsection (d) of this section; 343
and 344
“(B)Within 24 months following the applicability date of the Education 345
Continuity for Students in the Care of D.C. Amendment Act of 2025, and annually thereafter, on 346
the implementation and impact of the Education Continuity for Students in the Care of D.C. 347
Amendment Act of 2025. The report shall include the results of a random case file review at least 348
once every school year. The Students in the Care of D.C. Coordinating Committee shall 349
determine the process for student monitoring and the selection of case files for randomized 350
review. 351
(b) Sub-subsection (c)(2) is amended to read as follows: 352
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“(2) The Coordinating Committee shall make publicly available and transmit the reports 353
in subsection (c)(1) of this section to the Mayor and the Council.”. 354
Sec. 5. Fiscal impact statement. 355
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 356
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 357
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 358
Sec. 6. Effective date. 359
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 360
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as 361
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 362
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 363
Columbia Register. 364