(1) There is established within the District of Columbia Government a Public Charter School Board (in this section referred to as the “Board”).
(2) The Board shall consist of 7 members, appointed by the Mayor, with the advice and consent of the Council. Members shall be selected so that knowledge of each of the following areas is represented on the Board:
(A) Research about and experience in student learning, quality teaching, and evaluation of and accountability in successful schools;
(B) The operation of a financially sound enterprise, including leadership and management techniques, as well as the budgeting and accounting skills critical to the startup of a successful enterprise;
(C) The educational, social, and economic development needs of the District of Columbia; and
(D) The needs and interests of students and parents in the District of Columbia, as well as methods of involving parents and other members of the community in individual schools.
(3) Vacancies. — Where a vacancy occurs in the membership of the Board for reasons other than the expiration of the term of a member, the Mayor shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the Council, an individual to serve in the vacant position, taking into consideration the criteria described in paragraph (2) of this subsection. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term of a predecessor shall be appointed only for the remainder of the term. Such an appointment shall not be considered an initial term of appointment for the purposes of paragraph (5)(B) of this subsection if fewer than 3 years remain in the term at the time of appointment.
(4) Repealed.
(A) Members of the Board shall serve for terms of 4 years, except that, of the initial appointments made under paragraph (2) of this subsection, the Mayor shall designate:
(i) Two members to serve terms of 3 years;
(ii) Two members to serve terms of 2 years; and
(iii) One member to serve a term of one year.
(B) Members of the Board shall be eligible to be reappointed for one 4-year term beyond their initial term of appointment.
(6) No person employed by the District of Columbia public schools or a public charter school shall be eligible to be a member of the Board or to be employed by the Board.
(1) The members of the Board shall elect from among their membership 1 individual to serve as Chair. Such election shall be held each year after members of the Board have been appointed to fill any vacancies caused by the regular expiration of previous members’ terms, or when requested by a majority vote of the members of the Board.
(2) A majority of the members of the Board, not including any positions that may be vacant, shall constitute a quorum sufficient for conducting the business of the Board.
(3) The Board shall meet at the call of the Chair, subject to the hearing requirements of §§ 38-1802.03 , 38-1802.12(d)(3) , and 38-1802.13(c)(3) , and all meetings of the Board shall be open to the public and shall provide a reasonable time during the meeting for public comment.
(c) Members of the Board shall serve without pay, but may receive reimbursement for any reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by reason of service on the Board.
(1) Subject to such rules as may be made by the Board, the Chair shall have the power to appoint, terminate, and fix the pay of an Executive Director and such other personnel of the Board as the Chair considers necessary. The Executive Director shall be a District resident throughout his or her term and failure to maintain District residency shall result in a forfeiture of the position.
(2) The Board is authorized to use the services, personnel, and facilities of the District of Columbia.
(i) Notwithstanding the provisions of Unit A of Chapter 14 of Title 2 , the Board shall use a ranking system based on a scale of 100 points for all employment decisions for positions within the Board.
(ii) An individual who is a District resident at the time of application shall be awarded a 10-point hiring preference over a nonresident applicant; provided, that the individual claims the preference. This 10-point preference shall be in addition to any points awarded on the 100-point scale.
(iii) At the time of appointment, an individual who claimed the 10-point residency preference shall agree, in writing, to maintain District residency for a period of 7 consecutive years from the effective date of appointment into the position for which the individual claimed the residency preference and shall provide proof of residency annually to the Director of Personnel for the first 7 years of employment.
(iv) An individual who claimed the residency preference and who fails to maintain District residency for 7 consecutive years from the individual's effective date of appointment shall forfeit the individual's District government employment.
(v) Each applicant for a position covered by this paragraph, shall be informed in writing of the provisions of this paragraph at the time of application.
(B) All persons hired after February 6, 2008, shall submit proof of residency upon employment in a manner determined by the Board.
(C) By November 1 of each year and pursuant to § 1-515.06 , the Board shall submit to the Mayor an annual report detailing, for the previous fiscal year, compliance with residency requirements.
(e) Any expenses of the Board shall be paid from such funds as may be available to the Mayor; provided, That within 45 days of April 26, 1996, the Mayor shall make available not less than $130,000 to the Board.
(f) The Board shall maintain its accounts according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The Board shall provide for an audit of the financial statements of the Board by an independent certified public accountant in accordance with Government auditing standards for financial audits issued by the Comptroller General. The findings and recommendations of any such audit shall be forwarded to the Mayor, the Council of the District of Columbia, and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer of the District of Columbia.
(g) For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section and conducting the Board’s functions required by this subchapter, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Board $300,000 for fiscal year 1997 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 3 succeeding fiscal years.
(1) There is established as a special fund the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board Fund (“Fund”), which shall be administered by the Board in accordance with paragraph (3) of this subsection.
(2) There shall be deposited into the Fund:
(A) All fees authorized by § 38-1802.11 ;
(B) Appropriations as authorized by subsection (g) of this section; and
(C) Any other revenues, including grants or gifts, dedicated to the Fund.
(3) The Fund shall be used to pay for goods, services, property, capital improvements, or any other permitted use as authorized by this section or § 38-1802.11 .
(A) The money deposited into the Fund, and interest earned, shall not revert to the unrestricted fund balance of the General Fund of the District of Columbia at the end of a fiscal year, or at any other time.
(B) Subject to authorization in an approved budget and financial plan, any funds appropriated in the Fund shall be continually available without regard to fiscal year limitation.
(h) The Board shall have the authority to solicit, award, and execute contracts independently of the Office of Contracting and Procurement and the Chief Procurement Officer.
(h-1) Repealed.
(i) The Board shall comply with all provisions of subchapter II of Chapter 5 of Title 2 [ § 2-531 et seq.].
(j) The Board shall consult with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, established by § 38-2601 , to ensure that the requirements and the goals of Chapter 2A of this title [ § 38-271.01 et seq.] are met, in accordance with that chapter.
(k) School governance mandatory training .
(1) Beginning in School Year 2026-2027, the Board shall, in coordination with the Office of the State Superintendent as appropriate, offer governance training to all public charter school Boards of Trustees at no cost to a public charter school or its Board of Trustees members. The Board shall require each member of a public charter school Board of Trustees to successfully complete an approved structured training offered pursuant to this subsection annually and shall require a newly elected or appointed member of a public charter school Board of Trustees to complete an initial training within 90 days after the member's election or appointment to the Board of Trustees. The Board shall designate which topics identified in paragraph (2) of this subsection are required for a member's initial training and which are required for the refresher training.
(2) At a minimum, the training offered pursuant to this subsection shall include training on:
(A) The State and Authorizer Academic Accountability System;
(B) Hiring, management, and evaluation of public charter school leadership;
(C) Organizational fiscal management;
(D) Nonprofit and public charter school governance, including the role of a fiduciary;
(E) Obligations of a charter school and the responsibilities of a school governing body under federal and District laws and regulations; and
(F) Updates to relevant federal and District laws and regulations.
(3) The training offered pursuant to this subsection may be administered through any modality that ensures accessibility and effective participation, as determined by the Board.