2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 38 - Educational Institutions › Chapter 2A - Pre-Kindergarten Education System › Subchapter I - Definitions; Administration; and Funding › § 38–271.01. Definitions

§ 38–271.01. Definitions.
For the purposes of this chapter, the term:
(1) "Child development center" shall have the same meaning as provided in § 4-401(2).
(1A) "Child development facility" shall have the same meaning as provided in in § 7-2031(3).
(1B) “Child-occupied facility” means a building, or portion of a building, which, as part of its function, receives children under 6 years of age on a regular basis and is required to obtain a certificate of occupancy as a precondition to performing that function. The term “child- occupied facility” includes a daycare center, nursery, preschool center, kindergarten classroom, child development center, child development home, child development facility, child-placing agency, infant care center, or similar entity. The location of a child-occupied facility as part of a larger structure does not make the entire structure a child-occupied facility. Only the portion of the facility occupied or regularly visited by children under 6 years of age shall be considered the child-occupied facility.
(1C) “Community-based organization” or “CBO” means a Head Start or early childhood education program operated by a nonprofit entity, faith-based organization, or other entity that participates in federally funded early childhood programs.
(1D) “Coordinating Council” means the State Early Childhood Development Coordinating Council establish pursuant to § 38-271.07.
(1E) “DC Collaborative” means the collaborative of District of Columbia colleges and universities established pursuant to § 38-274.01(a)(3).
(1F) "DCRA" means the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.
(1G) "Early childhood development provider" means a child development facility or CBO.
(1H) “Elementary and secondary education” means education from and including pre-k through the end of high school or their equivalent.
(2) Repealed.
(2A) Repealed.
(3) “HEI program” means the Higher Education Incentive program established pursuant to § 38-274.01.
(3A) “HEI scholarship program” means the scholarship program established pursuant to §§ 38-274.01 and 38-274.02.
(4) “HQ standards” means high-quality content standards and program requirements for pre-k programs established by the OSSE pursuant to § 38-272.01.
(5) “OSSE” means the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, established by Chapter 26 of this title [§ 38-2601 et seq.].
et seq.
(5A) “Out-of-school suspension” means the temporary removal of a student from school attendance to another setting for disciplinary reasons, during which time the student is not under the supervision of the school's personnel and is not allowed on school grounds.
(6) “Pre-k” means the educational gradation available to children of pre-kindergarten age for the 2 years prior to their eligibility for enrollment in kindergarten.
(7) “Pre-k age” means children 3 or 4 years of age, and children who become 5 years of age after September 30th of the upcoming school year.
(8) “Pre-k-education services” means the District-wide educational services provided to the publicly funded CBOs, District of Columbia Public Schools, and Public Charter Schools who provide pre-k care and education services to pre-k age children.
(9) “Pre-k program” means a classroom or a group of classrooms serving pre-k children. A single organization or entity may operate multiple pre-k programs in different locations.
(10) “Professional development” means a data-driven, continuous improvement process that provides a range of formal and informal experiences designed for teaching and administrative staff to increase their knowledge and understanding of research-based, developmentally appropriate content and teaching strategies.
(11) “School readiness” means a child’s mastery of approved early-learning standards in the domains of language and literacy, mathematical thinking, social and emotional development, scientific inquiry, social studies, approaches to learning, and health.
(11A) “Serious bodily injury” means bodily injury that involves a substantial risk of death, unconsciousness, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.
(12) “Technical assistance” means the human and technological resources that support the establishment of age-appropriate classroom environments, provide strategies that develop children’s early language and literacy development and mathematical thinking, aid in the mastery of early-learning standards, and develop appropriate instructional strategies for children with disabilities and for children whose first language is not English.
(13) “Workforce development” means a range of educational and training experiences that support and increase the capacity of individuals to enter and remain a part of the early-care and education-labor market.
(July 18, 2008, D.C. Law 17-202, § 101, 55 DCR 6297; Mar. 8, 2011, D.C. Law 18-285, § 2(a), 57 DCR 11005; Sept. 14, 2011, D.C. Law 19-21, § 9061(a), 58 DCR 6226; Apr. 20, 2013, D.C. Law 19-262, § 303(a), 60 DCR 1300; June 23, 2015, D.C. Law 21-12, § 2(a), 62 DCR 5942; Aug. 25, 2018, D.C. Law 22-157, § 3(b)(1), 65 DCR 7499; Oct. 30, 2018, D.C. Law 22-168, § 4022(a), 65 DCR 9388; Oct. 30, 2018, D.C. Law 22-179, § 202(a), 65 DCR 9569.)
Section References
This section is referenced in § 2-1595, § 7-2031, § 38-1802.14, and § 38-2602.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 18-285 rewrote pars. (1) and (3); and added pars. (1A), (1B), (1C), (2A), and (3A).
D.C. Law 19-21 repealed par. (2), which formerly read:
“(2) ‘Fund’ means the Pre-k Program Assistance Grant Fund established by § 38-272.04.”
The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 19-262 added (1); and redesignated former (1), (1A), (1B), and (1C) as present (1A), (1B), (1C), and (1D), respectively.
The 2015 amendment by D.C. Law 21-12 added (5A) and (11A).
Emergency Legislation
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 4022(a) of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-458, Oct. 3, 2018, 65 DCR 11212).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 4022(a) of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-434, July 30, 2018, 65 DCR 8200).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(a) of Pre-K Acceleration and Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2009 (D.C. Act 18-304, January 28, 2010, 57 DCR 1475).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(a) of Pre-k Acceleration and Clarification Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2010 (D.C. Act 18-602, December 1, 2010, 57 DCR 11039).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(a) of Pre-k Acceleration and Clarification Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2010 (D.C. Act 19-4, February 11, 2011, 58 DCR 1399).
Temporary Legislation
Section 2(a) of D.C. Law 18-142 rewrote par. (1) to read as follows:
“(1) ‘Community-based organization’ or ‘CBO’ means a Head Start or early childhood education program operated by a nonprofit entity, faith-based organization, or organization that participates in federally funded or District-funded early childhood programs, including the child care subsidy program funded by the federal Child Care and Development Fund.”; in par. (3), substituted “pursuant to” for “by”; and added pars. (2A) and (3A) to read as follows:
“(2A) ‘HEIG fund’ means the Higher Education Incentive Grant Fund established by section 403.”.
“(3A) ‘HEI scholarship program’ means the scholarship program established pursuant to sections 401 and 402.”.
Section 5(a) of D.C. Law 18-142 provided that the act shall expire after 225 days of its having taken effect.
Editor's Notes
Section 7101 of D.C. Law 17-219 repealed section 701 of D.C. Law 17-202.
Establishment—District of Columbia Early Childhood Advisory Council, see Mayor’s Order 2010-68, May 21, 2010 ( 57 DCR 4460).