Administration of Community Schools Incentive Initiative

*NOTE: This section includes amendments by emergency legislation that will expire on January 18, 2027. To view the text of this section after the expiration of all emergency and temporary legislation, click this link: Permanent Version.* (a) The Mayor shall establish and administer the multiyear Community Schools Incentive Initiative (“Incentive Initiative”) to award multiyear grants to incentivize the establishment of no fewer than 5 new community schools within one year of June 19, 2012, with priority given to schools that have: (1) A focus on mental health prevention and treatment services; (2) A student population where more than 60% of the students are at-risk as defined in § 38-2901(2A); and (3) A focus on improving academic outcomes for students. (b) The Mayor shall promote and encourage the use of public school and public charter school facilities by community and neighborhood groups. (c) Within 60 days of June 19, 2012, the Mayor shall convene a Community Schools Advisory Committee that shall consist of: (1) The Chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools, or designee; (2) The Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, or designee; (3) The Director of the Department of Health, or designee; (4) The Director of the Department of Employment Services, or designee; (5) The President of the State Board of Education, or designee; (6) The President of the University of the District of Columbia, or designee; (7) The President of the University of the District of Columbia Community College, or designee; (8) The Deputy Mayor for Education, or designee; (9) Representatives from at least 4 community-based organizations; (10) Representatives from at least 4 philanthropic or business organizations; (11) The Director of the Public Charter School Board, or designee; and (12) The directors of 2 public charter schools. (d) The Community Schools Advisory Committee shall: (1) Advise the Mayor on the development of the Incentive Initiative, including the development of a results-based framework and accompanying performance indicators with which to measure the success of the Incentive Initiative; (2) Participate in the selection process for Incentive Initiative grantees; (3) Develop recommendations on how all public schools can become centers of their communities by opening school facilities for nonprofit and community use; (4) Identify potential funding sources for the provision of eligible services within the Incentive Initiative; (5) Develop yearly measurable performance goals to assess: (A) How to increase the percentage of families and students receiving services for each year of the Incentive Initiative; (B) The outcomes for students and families, particularly student academic achievement; and (C) The number of public schools and public charter schools that have established formal relationships with community and neighborhood groups to use school facilities; and (6) Meet at least annually to review and evaluate the annual progress of the Incentive Initiative and to make recommendations, if any, to the Mayor and the Council for improvement of the Incentive Initiative; provided, that the Community Schools Advisory Committee shall not convene from August 13, 2026, until after the date on which the Community Schools Task Force submits the report described in subsection (i) of this section. (e) Within 180 days of June 19, 2012, the Mayor shall establish a process for awarding grants of no more than $200,000 a year to successful eligible consortiums and shall require that each application for an Incentive Initiative grant include: (1) An assessment of the local school community, the neighborhood’s needs and assets, and an analysis of the academic, health, and social service needs of the target population of students; (2) A description of the proposed eligible consortium, including the type and number of community partners, as defined in § 38-754.02, and how the eligible consortium shall address the needs and build upon the assets of the community that the eligible consortium will serve; (3) A proposed budget and narrative description of the proposed use of grant funds, which budget shall reflect a core concept of service coordination and integration and the narrative describe how the eligible consortium shall provide at least 4 additional eligible services that did not exist before the establishment of the eligible consortium; (4) The identification of operational funding for eligible services and community partners; (5) A plan for the development of a community advisory board to include members of school leadership, school faculty, parents of school students, community leaders, community-based organizations, and other community members; (6) A narrative description of the program approach, including an implementation action plan and explanation of how the chosen approach is evidence-based either through research or other proven community schools models; and (7) A plan for quarterly qualitative and quantitative program evaluation, including measurable indicators of success in areas such as student academic achievement; graduation and attendance rate; and improvement in student health and socio-emotional well-being. (f) The Mayor shall: (1) Conduct periodic evaluations of the progress achieved with funds allocated under a grant, consistent with the purposes of this section; (2) Use the evaluations to refine and improve activities conducted with the grant and the performance measures for the activities; (3) Make the results of the evaluations publicly available, including providing public notice of the availability; and (4) Identify best practices and lessons learned for the purpose of informing the District-wide community school policy. (g)(1) In Fiscal Year 2020, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education shall award, on a competitive basis, 2 one-year grants in the amount of $300,000 each, to increase attendance and literacy support for students in grades kindergarten through 5, with priority given to eligible consortiums that include: (A) An elementary school with: (i) More than 25% of students in grades kindergarten through 5 who were chronically truant in the 2018-2019 school year; and (ii) More than 25% of students who scored at level 1 or level 2 on the state assessment for English language arts in the 2018-2019 school year; and (B) Three or more community partners that provide at least one of the eligible services described in § 38-754.02(4)(D), (G), and (N). (2) In Fiscal Year 2019, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education may solicit proposals and rank recipients in funding order for the expenditure of grant funds authorized in paragraph (1) of this subsection. (3) The goal of this pilot is to test whether additional resources concurrently focusing numerous community partners dealing with literacy intervention, parental engagement, and social-emotional issues with elementary school students will significantly improve attendance and state assessment outcomes. (4) Any funds awarded pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection but not expended in Fiscal Year 2020 shall be available to the grant recipients until September 30, 2021. (h) In Fiscal Year 2027, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education ("OSSE") shall award the Fiscal Year 2022 Community Schools Incentive Initiative Grant recipients a sixth year of grant funding and the Fiscal Year 2024 Community Schools Incentive Initiative Grant recipients a fourth year of grant funding totaling, for the 2 cohorts, the amount of $2,400,000, which shall be disbursed in equal amounts of $160,000 to each of the 15 participating partnerships in Fiscal Year 2027. (i)(1) There is established a Community Schools Task Force ("Task Force") to provide recommendations on how to design, implement, and scale cohesive, strategic, District-wide community schools programming. (2) The Task Force shall be composed of the Chairman of the Council ("Chairman"), or his or her designee, and 15 individuals, representing the following entities or groups: (A) Three community-based organizations with a history of sustained partnership with schools in providing wraparound services, designated by the Chairman; (B) Two OSSE employees, who are, or who have been, involved in community school programming or policy, designated by the State Superintendent of Education; (C) One person with knowledge of and experience supporting a group of Connected Schools at District of Columbia Public Schools ("DCPS"), designated by the Chancellor of DCPS; (D) One person with knowledge of and experience supporting a community schools initiative in public charter schools, designated by the Chairman; (E) Two DCPS school leaders, one of whom is or has been involved in community school efforts and one who has not been the leader of a community school to date, designated by the Chancellor of DCPS; (F) Two public charter school leaders, one of whom is or has been involved in community school efforts and one who has not been the leader of a community school to date, designated by the Chairman; (G) Three researchers or academics with expertise in education or policy, designated by the Chairman; and (H) One member of the State Board of Education, designated by the Chairman. (3) The Chairman, or his or her designee, shall serve as the Chairperson of the Task Force. (4) The Task Force shall submit a report to the Mayor and the Council by February 28, 2027, that: (A) Provides a common definition for "community school" in the District of Columbia; (B) Describes the following: (i) The differences between the DCPS Connected Schools Program and the Incentive Initiative, including existing performance measures for evaluating the success of District community schools programming and the benefits and challenges of scaling one or both programs; (ii) Different funding and staffing models for community schools programming; (iii) The benefits and challenges for different community schools programming funding mechanisms; (iv) Evidence-based research on community school programming; (v) The national landscape for community schools programming, including adult-to-student ratios and appropriate staffing models at exemplar districts; and (vi) The local landscape for community schools programming including best practices at existing community schools and funding sources at DCPS and public charter schools not receiving funding from the DCPS Connected Schools Program or the Incentive Initiative; and (C) Makes recommendations for the following: (i) How to scale DCPS and public charter school community schools programming under different funding scenarios; (ii) How personnel should be deployed to support community schools programming; (iii) The provision of centralized administrative supports for professional learning, technical assistance, and the coordination of services for schools that integrate community schools programming; (iv) An equitable rubric for identifying schools that would most benefit from community school programming; (v) Common performance measures to evaluate the success of community schools programming in improving academic achievement, student attendance, student health, family engagement; and (vi) The role, composition, and purpose of the Community Schools Advisory Committee. (5) For the purposes of this subsection, the term "community school programming" means programming, curricula, and interventions at a public school or public charter school that integrate coordinated services, supports, and activities offered at and in partnership with the school, during or outside the regular school day, that is informed by a school-community needs and assets assessment, developed and sustained through collaborative leadership structures, and designed to improve academic achievement, student attendance, student health, family engagement, and the skills, capacity, and well-being of the surrounding community's residents.