B 24-0403 — Protecting Our Children Emergency Amendment Act of 2021

_____________________________ENROLLED ______________________________ORIGINAL CouncilmemberAN RobertACT White Chairman Phil Mendelson 4 _____________________________ ______________________________ Councilmember Mary Cheh Councilmember Janeese Lewis-George 7 _____________________________ ______________________________ Councilmember Christina Henderson Councilmember Charles Allen _____________________________ ______________________________ Councilmember Brianne Nadeau Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie A BILL __________ IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ____________________ To require, on an emergency basis, that the District of Columbia Public SchoolSchools (DCPS)(“DCPS”) systemand or any public charter school local education agencyagencies (LEA) provide a distance learning program that complies with the Individual with Disabilities Education Act and Sectionsection 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ifto recommendeda bycertain number of students who are ineligible for the COVID-19 vaccine and for whom a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant torecommends studentsthat withthe certainstudent high-risknot attend in-person school either because the student has a medical conditionscondition orthat toplaces studentsthe whostudent liveat withhigh individualsrisk withof certainsevere high-riskillness from COVID-19 infection or an individual in the student’s household has a medical conditions,condition asthat wellplaces asthe individual at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 infection, to make clear that those students who attend distance learning are to be considered enrolled in the LEAlocal foreducation agency (“LEA”)for the purposes of the enrollment audit, school payment process, and other reasons as determined by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, even if the student is not physically attending the LEA;LEA, to mandate progressive COVID-19 asymptomatic testing in public and public charter schools, to require that each DCPS school and public charter school provide certain notifications to parents, guardians, and school staff when there is a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the school or classroom, to require certain reporting requirements related to COVID-19 cases by the Department of Health and certain reporting by the Department of General Services and DCPS on school facility issues, to direct the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs to waive fines if it fails to approve an LEA’s applications for permits for outdoor eating and learning structures within 3 weeks of receiving the application;

and to mandateamend an Act To provide for compulsory school attendance, for the taking of a tieredschool census in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes to define excused absences for DCPS schools and public charter schools as including certain absences related to COVID-19 asymptomaticinfections testingduring program;School Year 2021-2022.

toBE provideIT thatENACTED eachBY DCPSTHE andCOUNCIL publicOF charterTHE schoolDISTRICT shallOF notifyCOLUMBIA, parentsThat wheneverthis aact studentmay attending,be orcited aas staff member working at, the school“Protecting testsOur positiveChildren forEmergency theAmendment COVID-19Act virus;of 2021”.

to require certain reporting requirements related to COVID-19 cases by the Department of Health and certain reporting by the Department of General Services and DCPS on DCPS facility issues;

to direct the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) to expedite the permitting process for LEAs that request permits for outdoor eating and learning structures and equipment and to waive any associated fines if DCRA does not issue the permits within 3 weeks of receiving the permit application;

and to amend an Act To provide for compulsory school attendance, for the taking of a school census in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes to define excused absences as including certain absences related to COVID-19 infections during school year 2021-22.

1 BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this act may be cited as the “Protecting Our Children Emergency Amendment Act of 2021”.

COVID-19 PUBLIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS ENROLLED ORIGINAL Sec.

(1) “DCPS”“Classroom” means Districta group of Columbiastudents Publicand Schools.school personnel assigned to or opting to partake in school-authorized educational or enrichment activities in-person together, including combinations of students and school personnel participating together in core subjects, specials, extracurricular activities, or aftercare.

(2) “Distance“DCPS” learning” means virtualDistrict instructionof providedColumbia throughPublic simulcasting,Schools. streaming a classroom, or another mechanism that provides a student with instruction while the student is not physically present in school.

(3) “Enrollment“Distance audit”learning” means thevirtual processinstruction byprovided whichthrough thesimulcasting, Officestreaming ofa theclassroom, Stateor Superintendentanother ofmechanism Educationthat determinesprovides the number of students enrolled in DCPS or a publicstudent charterwith schoolinstruction LEAwhile pursuant to section 107(d) of the Uniformstudent Peris Studentnot Fundingphysically Formulapresent forin Publicschool. Schools and Public Charter Schools Act of 1998, approved March 12, 1999, (D.C.

(4) “Elementary school student” means a student enrolled in pre-kindergarten 3 through grade 5 during School Year 2021-2022.

(5) “Enrollment audit” means the process by which the Office of the State Superintendent of Education determines the number of students enrolled in DCPS or a public charter school LEA pursuant to section 107(d) of the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula for Public Schools and Public Charter Schools Act of 1998, approved March 12, 1999, (D.C.

(4)(6) "LEA" means local education agency, which is the District of Columbia Public School system or any individual or group of public charter schools operating under a single charter in the District.

(5)(7) “School”“Secondary school student” means a schoolstudent enrolled in thegrade DCPS6 systemthrough orgrade anduring individualSchool publicYear charter2021-2022. school.

(6)(8) “School“School” payment process” means thea processschool byin which the annualDCPS paymentsystem foror eachan LEAindividual ispublic determinedcharter pursuantschool. to the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula for Public Schools and Public Charter Schools Act of 1998, approved March 12, 1999, (D.C.

(9) “School payment process” means the process by which the annual payment for each LEA is determined pursuant to the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula for Public Schools and Public Charter Schools Act of 1998, approved March 12, 1999, (D.C.

(7)(10) “Special education school” shall have the same meaning as provided in section 102(11D) of the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula for Public Schools and Public Charter Schools Act of 1998, approved March 12, 1999, (D.C.

Official Code § 38-38-2901(11D)). 2901(11D)).

(a)(a)(1) During School Year 2021-2022,2021‐2022, an LEA shall provide distance learning to a student who is enrolled in the LEA if:and who is ineligible for a vaccine that is approved and authorized in the United States to prevent COVID‐19 if a licensed physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant has recommended that the student participate in distance learning and not in‐person school because:

(1)ENROLLED AORIGINAL licensed“(A) physician,The nurse practitioner, or physician assistant has recommended that the student participate in distance learning and not in-person school because the student has a documented medical condition that puts the student at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19,COVID‐19, consistent with the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;

or (2)(A)“(B) The studentstudent’s isin‐person ineligibleattendance forwould endanger an individual in the student’s household because the individual has a vaccinedocumented thatmedical iscondition, approvedas defined by the Centers for Disease Control and authorizedPrevention, inthat places the Unitedindividual Statesat tohigh preventrisk COVID-19;of severe illness from COVID‐19.

and(2) (B)DCPS Amay licensedlimit physician,the nursetotal practitioner,number orof physicianstudents assistantwho hasreceive recommendeddistance thatlearning thepursuant studentto participateparagraph in(1) distanceof learning and notthis in-personsubsection schoolto because200 theelementary student’sschool in-personstudents attendanceand would150 endangersecondary anschool individualstudents in theaddition student’sto householdthose becausestudents thealready individualenrolled hasin aits documentedvirtual medicallearning condition,academy as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that places the individual at high risk of severeOctober illness5, from2021. COVID-19.

(3) A public charter school LEA may limit the total number of students who receive distance learning instruction pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection;

provided, that the limit shall be no less than 3% of the total number of students enrolled in the public charter school LEA.

90 20 U.S.C.

§ 1400 et seq.), Sectionsection 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (87 Stat.

and (C) BeginningFrom November 15, 20212021, through January 15, 2022, at least 20% of its students attending in-person learning.

ENROLLED ORIGINAL (b) A special education school may seek a waiver from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education for the testing requirements required in subsection (a) of this section.

(2) AAfter a confirmed COVID-19 case of a student attending in-person learning or a school employee assigned to a classroom, a school shall besend deemednotice to haveall compliedparents withor paragraphguardians (1) of thisstudents subsectionin ifthe affected classroom and to all school personnel known to have spent at least one 15-minute period in the school’sprior LEA3 providesdays in the notificationsame onclassroom as the school’sstudent behalf.or school employee.

(3) The identitynotice ofshall disclose the individualfact whoof hasa tested positive fortest the COVID-19 virus shall not be disclosed in the notificationclassroom providedand pursuantprovide toinformation paragraphon (1)COVID-19 oftesting thislocations. subsection.

(b)(3) TheA notificationschool requiredshall inbe subsectiondeemed (a)to have complied with paragraphs (1) and (2) of this sectionsubsection mayif bethe electronic.school’s LEA provides the notification on the school’s behalf.

(4) The identity of the individual who has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus shall not be disclosed in a notification provided pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection.

(b) The notifications required in subsection (a) of this section may be electronic.

(2) If, when broken out by LEA, school, or grade, the number of individuals required to be reported pursuant to paragraph (1)(A)(1)(A), through(B), (C), (D), (E), or (F) of this subsection ENROLLED ORIGINAL is less than 10, the actual number shall be suppressed, and the Department of Health shall report the number as “n<10”.

Official Code § 38-201 et seq.)seq.), is amended as follows:

“(3) The absence of a minor from a District of Columbia Public Schools school or a public charter school shall be deemed excused if:

or “(B) For School Year 2021-2022:

“(ii) The minor did not have access to distance learning, as defined in section 101(2)101(3) of the Protecting Our Children Emergency Amendment Act of 2021, passed on ENROLLED ORIGINAL emergency basis on October 5, 2021 (Bill 24-___)24-403) (“the act”) but would have been eligible to receive distance learning pursuant to section 102(a)(2)102(a)(1)(B) of the act, had the act been in effect during the period of the minor’s absence from the school;

This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), and shall remain in effect for no longer than 90 days, as provided for emergency acts of the Council of the District of Columbia in section 412(a) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat.