PACE Clarification Amendment Act of 2025

COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA The John A. Wilson Building 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20004
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Statement of Introduction PACE Clarification Amendment Act of 2025 November 17, 2025 Today, I am proud to introduce the PACE Clarification Amendment Act of 2025, along with Councilmembers Anita Bonds, Brooke Pinto, Janeese Lewis George, and Robert White. This bill would ensure that all District of Columbia Public Schools (“DCPS”) facilities are assessed and ranked according to the prioritization process required in the Planning Actively for Comprehensive Education Facilities Amendment Act of 2016 (“PACE”). The bill would also amend reporting requirements and require collaboration among District agencies regarding schools with historic designations. This bill reflects our shared belief that every student deserves access to a high-quality learning environment. In the late 1990s, many of the District’s public school buildings were in a state of disrepair. By 1998, there were more than 20,000 open work orders and 70% of the District’s schools were in poor condition. Under the Fiscal Year 1999 District of Columbia Appropriations Act, Congress authorized the Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) to assist the District by providing the school system with modernizations including engineering and construction work. Unfortunately, many school facilities that received Corps renovations now face quality and safety issues. Alongside Corps efforts, in 2001, the DC Board of Education approved a Facility Master Plan which aimed to modernize DCPS facilities over a 10–15-year period, prioritizing the modernization of one elementary from each ward first. A combination of financial pressures and unexpected construction challenges strained the modernization process and timeline for many schools outlined in the Facility Master Plan.1 Accordingly, the current conditions in many of the school facilities that were modernized in the early 2000’s do not align with the District’s modern standards for high quality learning environments. In 2016, the PACE Amendment Act was enacted to address many of these issues by creating a comprehensive capital improvements model for education facilities and increasing the transparency, effectiveness, and efficiency of public education facilities modernizations. PACE requires a facility condition assessment based on a consistent and equitable application of factors including facility condition, demand, community need, and equity, and these assessments guide modernization prioritization. PACE facilitates the school modernization planning process through empirical evaluations of each facility, thereby ensuring that District resources are directed according to need. 1 https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-02-628t.pdf
Christina Henderson Committee Member Councilmember, At-Large Facilities Chairperson, Committee on Health Human Services Transportation and the Environment
COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA The John A. Wilson Building 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20004
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While PACE has successfully restructured the DCPS facility prioritization and modernization process, current agency implementation prioritizes the capital needs of schools that have never been modernized. Consequently, schools that received modernizations which do not meet current education specifications, such as those modernized in the early 2000’s, are not ranked for modernization priority. This bill would clarify that DCPS must calculate the prioritization score of all school facilities, regardless of whether it has previously been modernized. This change would ensure that priority rankings for the capital improvements plan reflects the capital needs of the entire portfolio. Additionally, PACE does not require data collection for school facilities with historic designations or historical significance. Several schools throughout the District have rich historical significance and have been designated as historical landmarks or are eligible for historic designation. Any school facility with a historic designation or historic eligibility must undergo a more rigorous modernization process to ensure compliance with local and federal historic preservation laws. The District’s education agencies do not maintain a database of schools with historic designations nor proactively evaluate the ways historic designations may impact redevelopment. This information gap limits engagement between DCPS and the school community before final renditions have been developed. This amendment would require education and historic preservation agencies to establish an inventory of schools with historic designations or eligibility and compile a reference of the laws and policies that may impact development to promote transparency and encourage proactive planning. This bill aims to ensure an equitable approach to school modernizations and ensure each school facility’s rich history can be recognized and preserved without sacrificing the quality of the learning environment. I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance this legislation.

1 ______________________________ ______________________________ 2 Councilmember Anita Bonds Councilmember Christina Henderson 3 4 5 ______________________________ ______________________________ 6 Councilmember Brooke Pinto Councilmember Janeese Lewis George 7 8 9 ______________________________ 10 Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. 11 12 A BILL 13 14 __________ 15 16 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 17 18 _________________________ 19 20 21 To amend section 1104 of the School Based Budgeting and Accountability Act of 1998 to revise 22 prioritization metrics and data collection reporting requirements imposed on education 23 agencies. 24 25 BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this act 26 may be cited as the “PACE Clarification Amendment Act of 2025”. 27 Sec. 2. Section 1104 of the School Based Budgeting and Accountability Act of 1998, 28 effective March 26, 1999 (D.C. Law 12-175; D.C. Official Code § 38-2803), is amended as 29 follows: 30 (a) Subsection (b)(2)(F) is amended as follows: 31 (1) Sub-subparagraph (i) is amended by striking the phrase “; and” and inserting a 32 semicolon in its place. 33 (2) Sub-subparagraph (ii) is amended by striking the semicolon and inserting the 34 phrase “; and” in its place. 35

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(3) A new sub-subparagraph (iii) is added to read as follows: 36 “(iii) The facility’s status as a historic landmark, designation, or 37 contribution within a historic district;”. 38 (b) Subsection (d) is amended as follows: 39 (1) Paragraph (3) is amended as follows: 40 (A) Subparagraph (B) is amended by adding a new sub-subparagraph (iv) 41 read as follows: 42 “(iv) DCPS shall not exercise discretion to calculate prioritization 43 scores in a manner that does not include the prioritization of all school facilities in its portfolio.”. 44 (B) Subparagraph (C) is amended to read as follows: 45 “(C) By September 30, 2017, and every 5 years thereafter, DCPS shall 46 transmit to the Council all of the prioritization scores and raw data; provided, that beginning with 47 the September 30, 2027, report, DCPS shall also include a priority ranking for each school in its 48 portfolio. DCPS shall make the information publicly available online.”. 49 (2) Paragraph (4) is amended by adding a new subparagraph (D) is added to read as 50 follows: 51 “(D) By September 30, 2027, and every 5 years thereafter, DCPS, in 52 coordination with the Office of Planning and Department of General Services, shall provide a 53 current school facility inventory of facilities with a historic landmark, historic designation, or 54 contribution within historic district and publish appropriate modernization procedures, including an 55 analysis of: 56 “(i) All laws and regulations governing the maintenance of the 57 facility; 58
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“(ii) A list of limitations on structural improvements; and 59 “(iii) Any applicable legal or regulatory restrictions to pursuant to the Historic 60 Landmark and Historic District Protection Act of 1978, effective March 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2-144; 61 D.C. Official Code § 6-1101 et seq.)”. 62 Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 63 The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal impact 64 statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved 65 October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 66 Sec. 4. Effective date. 67 This act shall take effect after approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the Mayor, 68 action by the Council to override the veto) and a 30-day period of congressional review as provided 69 in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 70 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)). 71