§ 38-2803 — Multiyear Facilities Master Plan.

District of Columbia § 38-2803

• Jurisdiction: District of Columbia
• Title 38: Educational Institutions.
• Ch. 28: School-Based Budgeting and Accountability.
• Subch. I: General Provisions.

Text

(1) Beginning on December 15, 2017, and every 10 years thereafter, the Mayor shall prepare and submit to the Council for its review and approval a proposed comprehensive 10-year Master Facilities Plan for public education facilities, which shall comply with the requirements of this section. The Mayor's submission shall be accompanied by a proposed resolution to approve the Plan.

(2) The Council shall conduct at least one public hearing on the proposed 10-year Master Facilities Plan before voting to approve or disapprove the Plan.

(3) If the Council disapproves the proposed Plan, it shall state its reasons for disapproval or make recommendations in the disapproval resolution or in an accompanying legislative report. Thereupon, the Mayor shall submit a revised Master Facilities Plan within 180 days after the Council's disapproval.

(4) If the Council approves the Master Facilities Plan, the Plan shall take effect no later than the first day of the succeeding fiscal year.

(5) If, subsequent to Council approval of the Master Facilities Plan, material changes become necessary, the Mayor may modify the Plan; provided, that the modification shall be submitted to the Council, with an accompanying proposed resolution, for consideration in the same manner as specified in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of this subsection.

(6) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Mayor shall prepare and submit to the Council by December 15, 2023, a proposed comprehensive 5-year Master Facilities Plan for public education facilities. The process for its review and approval shall be the same as provided in paragraphs (1) through (4) of this subsection.

(1) The Mayor shall establish an Office of Public Education Facilities Planning (“OPEFP”) within the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education responsible for the development of the Master Facilities Plan, which shall function as a citywide public education facilities plan.

(1A) Repealed.

(2) The OPEFP shall include in the Master Facilities Plan detailed, current analyses and data on:

(A) The facilities condition assessment for each school building and facility under the control and jurisdiction of the District of Columbia Public Schools ("DCPS") and each public charter school campus;

(B) The capacity of existing schools, current level of utilization, projected 10-year facility needs for each local education agency, and recommendations for the utilization or reduction of excess space, including, as appropriate, specific recommendations on:

(i) Consolidation;

(ii) Closure;

(iii) Co-location; and

(iv) DCPS school attendance zone boundaries;

(C) Historical and projected enrollment for each DCPS school and public charter school;

(D) Current and projected demographic information for the surrounding neighborhood;

(E) Other neighborhood issues, in coordination with the Office of Planning;

(F) A school-by-school description relating facility needs and requirements to:

(i) The facility’s programmatic usage with specific linkages and relationships to adopted education plans of a local education agency, school district, or institution, including specific plans for special education, early childhood education, and career and technical education programs; and

(ii) The statewide education and youth development plan described in § 38-191 , and how it enables schools to be centers of the community;

(G) A detailed facility portfolio analysis that will inform any decisions related to alternative financing options, including public/private development partnerships and co-location opportunities;

(H) A communications and community involvement plan for each neighborhood cluster that includes engagement of students, school-based personnel, parents, and key stakeholders throughout the community, including:

(i) Advisory Neighborhood Commissions;

(ii) Local school advisory teams;

(iii) School improvement teams; and

(iv) Ward-based and city-wide volunteer civic groups;

(I) The coordination of the District’s education sector with the District's housing sector and with economic development policies and plans;

(J) The location, planning, use, and design of the District’s educational facilities and campuses;

(K) Any school disposition, including a plan delineating the process through which citizen involvement shall be facilitated, and establishing the criteria that will be utilized in disposition decisions, one of which shall be consideration of the impact of any proposed new use of a school building on the neighborhood in which the school building is located; and

(L) A safety and security assessment of educational facilities based upon a comprehensive examination of the facility's physical environment for crime vulnerabilities, including an analysis of:

(i) Surveillance capabilities, both active and passive;

(ii) Access control, including the ability to securely manage who enters and exits the facility; and

(iii) Facility maintenance.

(2A) Beginning on December 15, 2014, and every year thereafter, the OPEFP shall prepare and make publicly available an annual supplement to the Master Facilities Plan that includes:

(A) Results of the Department of General Services annual survey as set forth in paragraph (3)(E) of this subsection;

(B) Updated information on:

(i) Enrollment projections at the local education agency level and the individual school level for both DCPS and public charter schools; and

(ii) Facility needs for each local education agency;

(C) A plan, including co-location options, to increase utilization at any school facility in use by DCPS with a utilization rate of less than 50%;

(D) A plan to ensure that each school facility in use by DCPS that is at 95% utilization or above does not suffer from overcrowding but can sufficiently meet the facility and academic needs of it students; and

(E) Each school facility's designation as one or more of the following:

(i) In use primarily for classroom instruction;

(ii) In use primarily for swing space;

(iii) In use primarily for DCPS administrative purposes, including storage;

(iv) In use by an entity other than DCPS;

(v) Vacant; or

(vi) Significantly underused.

(3) The following agencies shall work with the OPEFP in the development of the Master Facilities Plan and the annual supplement:

(A) The District of Columbia Public Schools, which shall transmit to the OPEFP:

(i) Educational plans and policies relevant to the facilities planning process;

(ii) Educational specifications for each facility subject to modernization;

(iii) Its 10-year enrollment projections for each school under its jurisdiction; and

(iv) Its 10-year projections of facility needs;

(B) The Public Charter School Board, which shall:

(i) Collect and transmit to the OPEFP educational plans and policies of individual public charter schools, 10-year enrollment growth plans, data on existing public charter school facilities and each public charter LEA's 10-year projection of facility needs, and other information considered relevant to the planning process; and

(ii) Establish a Public Charter School facilities registry in which individual public charter schools will have the opportunity to register to receive facilities planning and technical support from the OPEFP, including the analyses and data compiled pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection;

(C) The Office of Planning, which shall provide demographic and neighborhood data support;

(D) Repealed.

(E) The Department of General Services, which shall:

(i) Implement the Master Facilities Plan consistent with the policy priorities set forth in this subchapter ; and

(ii) In collaboration with the Deputy Mayor for Education, DCPS, and the Public Charter School Board, conduct an annual survey to update information on the condition of each DCPS and public charter school facility, including whether each facility has a working carbon monoxide detector, the results of the most recent water tests at each facility for sources of lead, and potential asbestos hazards at each facility. The survey results shall be disaggregated by facility, made publicly available, and transmitted to OPEFP.

(4) Of the fiscal year 2011 capital funds appropriated to the Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization, it shall transfer:

(A) Up to $500,000 to the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education to support capital planning pursuant to subsection (b)(1) of this section; and

(B) An amount of $100,000 to the District of Columbia Public Schools and $100,000 to the Public Charter School Board to support capital planning activities as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection.

(5) The Mayor may levy a fine against the Public Charter School Board for the failure of a public charter LEA to cooperate in providing the data required pursuant to paragraph (3)(E)(ii) of this subsection for the development of the Master Facilities Plan and annual supplement. The cumulative value of such fines shall not annually exceed $10,000.

(c) In developing the Facilities Master Plan, the Mayor shall consider the facilities needs of all public school students and shall consult with:

(1) The Council;

(2) Repealed.

(3) The Public Charter School Board;

(4) Representatives of public charter schools;

(5) Repealed;

(6) Key stakeholders throughout the community;

(7) The Office of Planning;

(8) The Department of General Services; and

(9) The District of Columbia Public Schools.

(c-1) The Master Facilities Plan shall not affect the duties, powers, or control afforded to public charter schools under § 38-1802.04 , to the extent the Master Facilities Plan is inconsistent with that law.

(1) Beginning in Fiscal Year 2017, a Public School Facility capital improvement plan (“School Facility CIP”) shall be updated each fiscal year as part of the Mayor’s capital improvement plan for all public facilities, as required by § 1-204.44 .

(2) The School Facility CIP shall include:

(A) A description of guiding principles to frame decisions within the School Facility CIP; provided, that these guiding principles shall be revisited with each new School Facility CIP to ensure that they are consistent with the DCPS strategic plan, the Master Facilities Plan, and the needs of the community;

(B) A description of the process and timeline used to develop the School Facility CIP, including community engagement;

(C) A longitudinal and future analysis of DCPS student enrollment and school facility capacity needs;

(D) School-specific project recommendations on the timing and funding for modernization of existing school facilities, new school facility construction, and other school facility capital improvements planned for the next fiscal year and the succeeding 5 fiscal years; and

(E) For each project identified pursuant to subparagraph (D) of this paragraph:

(i) A description of the scope of work to be done, schedule of achieved and projected major milestones, and an explanation for any delay in meeting projected milestones;

(ii) A justification for the modernization, new construction, or other capital improvements supported by the educational specification, student enrollment projections, school facility condition assessment, and assessment of need for use as an educational facility;

(iii) A full-funded cost estimate of improvements, except that for projects slated for modernization, new construction, or other capital improvements in years 4 through 6 of the School Facility CIP, the School Facility CIP may include rough order of magnitude estimates of improvements based on the required general design and feasibility analysis completed pursuant to paragraph (4)(C) of this subsection;

(iv) A cost estimate of improvements planned for the next fiscal year and the succeeding 5 fiscal years and a detailed explanation for any proposed increases over 10% from the prior-year School Facility CIP estimate;

(v) The estimated cost of annual maintenance and operations of the improved school facility;

(vi) The lifetime expenditure for the school facility; and

(vii) The name, address, and ward of each school facility.

(A) Major construction and capital improvements for existing school facilities shall be prioritized for inclusion in the School Facility CIP based on certain objective criteria contained in this paragraph.

(i) By September 30, 2017, and every 5 years thereafter, DCPS shall calculate a final prioritization score for each school facility in its portfolio by assigning each facility a score from one to 10 based on the normal distribution of the raw data obtained for every school facility in each of the following subcategories, multiplying that score by the subcategory weight as follows, and summing the weighted subcategory scores for each school facility: Category Category Total Subcategory Subcategory Weight Facility Condition 0.55 Date and type of last major construction through the preceding fiscal year 0.20 Expenditures for major construction projects for the preceding 10 fiscal years per square feet of the school facility 0.15 School facility condition score based on the most recent assessment completed by the Department of General Services 0.20 Demand 0.20 Average percentage of the school’s enrollment growth over the past 5 school years based on audited enrollment 0.10 Average percent of school facility’s building utilization over the past 5 school years 0.10 Community Need 0.10 Number of in-boundary children who would be served by the school facility’s educational program divided by the school facility’s capacity 0.05 Projected percent change in the number of children who would be served by the school facility’s educational program in the neighborhood cluster over a prospective 6-year time period 0.05 Equity 0.15 Total number of square feet in the school’s feeder pattern that have had a major construction in the preceding 10 fiscal years divided by total square footage of the feeder pattern 0.05 Number of at-risk students enrolled in the school based on the current school year enrollment projection 0.10

(ii) For a school that is considered citywide for the purposes of the enrollment lottery, the entire District shall be considered the school's boundary and neighborhood cluster.

(iii) For a high school that is considered citywide for the purposes of the enrollment lottery, the feeder pattern shall be all other citywide high schools.

(C) By September 30, 2017, and every 5 years thereafter, DCPS shall transmit to the Council all of the prioritization scores and raw data, and shall make the information publicly available online.

(D) In addition to the prioritization score based on criteria outlined in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, DCPS shall consider the following factors when determining the prioritization and inclusion of projects in the School Facility CIP:

(i) Availability of capital funding in the budget;

(ii) Availability of appropriate swing space;

(iii) Immediate life and safety concerns;

(iv) Need for additional planning for a project;

(v) New education program space requirements; and

(vi) Scope and sequence of projects due to planned grade configuration changes, boundary changes, school facility consolidations, or school facility closures.

(E) Within 180 days of the release of the prioritization data pursuant to subparagraph (C) of this paragraph, DCPS shall conduct at least 3 public meetings to discuss school facility modernizations. DCPS shall conduct explicit outreach with the parent and school community for each school facility project likely to be added, removed, or extensively modified in the next fiscal year's 6-year School Facility CIP.

(4) Before adding a school or other education facility project to a School Facility CIP, the project shall have the following completed:

(A) An educational specification approved by DCPS;

(B) A rough order of magnitude estimate, except that for projects slated for modernization, new construction, or other capital improvements in years one through 3 of the School Facility CIP, the project shall have a full-funded cost estimate of improvements; and

(C) A general design and feasibility analysis that is developed with parent, school, and community engagement and is made publicly available, which includes the following:

(i) An analysis of educational programming needs as they relate to the current or projected school facility;

(ii) An evaluation of whether the existing building and site conditions can accommodate the educational specification and programming needs; and

(iii) An evaluation of whether swing space on-site or off-site will be needed.

(1) Within 30 days of the release of the annual supplement to the Master Facilities Plan as required by subsection (b)(2A) of this section, the District shall:

(A) Determine which school facilities will be designated as excess; and

(B) Make a list of these properties, and those deemed excess pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, publicly available on its website.

(2) Unless written justification is made publicly available at the time of the publication of the list as required in paragraph (1) of this subsection based on projected operational needs of DCPS or another District agency, a school facility shall be automatically deemed excess if it has been designated in the annual supplement to the Master Facilities Plan as:

(A) Vacant; or

(B) Significantly underused for 2 consecutive years.

Legislative History

Mar. 26, 1999, D.C. Law 12-175, § 1104, 45 DCR 7193; Oct. 20, 2005, D.C. Law 16-33, § 4047, 52 DCR 7503; June 8, 2006, D.C. Law 16-123, § 221, 53 DCR 2843; June 12, 2007, D.C. Law 17-9, § 1009, 54 DCR 4102; Mar. 3, 2010, D.C. Law 18-111, § 4071, 57 DCR 181; Sept. 24, 2010, D.C. Law 18-223, § 4122, 57 DCR 6242; Sept. 20, 2012, D.C. Law 19-168, § 4012, 59 DCR 8025; June 21, 2014, D.C. Law 20-114, § 3(b), 61 DCR 4669; May 2, 2015, D.C. Law 20-271, § 316, 62 DCR 1884