D.C. Code § 38-2501
D.C. Code § 38-2501
Application of D.C. Law 12-175: Section 604 of D.C. Law 12-175 provided that the act shall apply upon enactment by the United States Congress of legislation authorizing 120 days for the Board of Education and the District of Columbia Public Schools to assess and place special education students.
Special Education Assessment and Placement Act of 1998: Section 601 of D.C. Law 12-175 provided that title VI of the act may be cited as the "Special Education Assessment and Placement Act of 1998."
Section 141 of Public Law 106-113 provided: "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not later than 120 days after the date that a District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) student is referred for evaluation or assessment-
"(1) the District of Columbia Board of Education, or its successor, and DCPS shall assess or evaluate a student who may have a disability and who may require special education services; and
"(2) if a student is classified as having a disability, as defined in section 101(a)(1) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (84 Stat. 175; 20 U.S.C. 1401(a)(1) ) or in section 7(8) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (87 Stat. 359; 29 U.S.C. 706(8) ), the Board and DCPS shall place that student in an appropriate program of special education services."
Section 2722 of D.C. Law 13-172, as amended by D.C. Law 13-226, § ,4(c) and D.C. Law 13-313, § ,24, provided:
"It is District of Columbia policy that there shall be no limit on the fee payment for attorneys in special education matters in any way that is different than federal law applying to the 50 states, unless the Mayor, the Council, the Board of Education, and the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority concur in a Memorandum of Understanding setting forth a rate and amount of compensation; provided, that the District of Columbia Public Schools shall work with the Mayor and Council to resolve any concerns regarding attorney-related costs of special education."
Establishment-State Advisory Panel on Special Education, see Mayor's Order 2001-28, February 14, 2001 ( 48 DCR 2192). Placement in Special Education Services. Section 121 of Pub. L. 107-96 provided:
"Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not later than 120 days after the date that a District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) student is referred for evaluation or assessment-
"(1) the District of Columbia Board of Education, or its successor, and DCPS shall assess or evaluate a student who may have a disability and who may require special education services; and
"(2) if a student is classified as having a disability, as defined in section 101(a)(1) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (84 Stat. 175; 20 U.S.C. 1401(a)(1) ) or in section 7(8) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (87 Stat. 359; 29 U.S.C. 706(8) ), the Board and DCPS shall place that student in an appropriate program of special education services."
Payment of Attorney Fees. Section 140(a) of Pub. L. 107-96 provided:
"(a) Notwithstanding 20 U.S.C. 1415 , 42 U.S.C. 1988, 29 U.S.C 794a , or any other law, none of the funds appropriated under this Act, or in appropriations Acts for subsequent fiscal years, may be made available to pay attorneys' fees accrued prior to the effective date of this Act that exceeds a cap imposed on attorneys' fees by prior appropriations Acts that were in effect during the fiscal year when the work was performed, or when payment was requested for work previously performed, in an action or proceeding brought against the District of Columbia Public Schools under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.)"
Sections 3452 to 3456 of D.C. Law 14-190 provided:
"Sec. 3452. No later than December 31, 2002, Superintendent of the District of Columbia Public Schools shall submit to the Chief Financial Officer of the District of Columbia a multiyear financial plan which details the projected cost of services for the Special Education program for fiscal years 2003 through 2006, and shall be based on a performance plan for the same fiscal years. The multiyear financial plan shall specify reasonable assumptions for inflation, personal service levels, and wage increases, and identify all budgetary assumptions being used. The multiyear financial plan shall calculate and specify the cost per fiscal year to achieve the objectives and goals set forth in the performance plan.
"Sec. 3453. In developing the multiyear financial plan, the Superintendent of the District of Columbia Public Schools shall work as closely as possible with the Special Education Task Force established pursuant to section 2303(b)(5)(A)(ii) of the Tobacco Settlement Trust Fund Establishment Act of 1999, effective October 20, 1999 (D.C. Law 13-38; D.C. Official Code § 7-1811.03(b)(5)(A)(ii) .
"Sec. 3454. The Chief Financial Officer shall have the authority to require greater specificity in the multiyear financial plan. When the Chief Financial Officer is satisfied with the quality and detail of the multiyear financial plan, but in any event no later than March 1, 2003, the Superintendent of the District of Columbia Public Schools shall submit the multiyear financial plan for special education to the Council.
"Sec. 3455. The multi-year financial plan shall include all funds, including local and federal funds.
"Sec. 3456. (a) For the purposes of this subtitle subtitle C of Title XXXIV, §§ ,3451 to 3457, of D.C. Law 14-190, ~performance plan' is a detailed statement that includes:
"(1) A mission statement -a broad statement of central purpose;
"(2) Objectives -less broad statements of desired outcomes resulting from accomplishing the mission; and
"(3) Goals -target levels of performance expressed in tangible, measurable terms, against which actual achievement of objectives can be compared; a goal may be expressed as a population target, or as a quantitative standard, value, or rate.
"(b) The performance plan shall describe the strategy for how the mission (including its needs assessment goals and service delivery goals and objectives) will be accomplished. This description of strategy shall include all of the functions, activities, operations, and projects required for effective implementation of the performance plan. There shall be one or more measures of performance, that address both quantity and quality, for each goal. The performance plan shall state measurable or objective performance goals and objectives for all significant activities of the agency or program. The plan shall identify (describe and quantify) the classes of persons to be served and how (qualitatively and quantitatively) those classes will change as a result of the mission, objectives, and goals.
"(c) The performance plan shall also provide national norms, industry standards, typical benchmarks, performance measures from other cities, or other relevant comparative data.
"(d) The performance plan shall detail how the agency or program will provide improved service delivery that:
"(1) Fulfills its mission (including objectives and goals);
"(2) Reduces expenditures over the time frame of the plan, especially from local funds; and
"(3) Creates operational efficiencies to accomplish this."