Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

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 Councilmember Mary M. Cheh                                  Councilmember Christina Henderson

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 Councilmember Brooke Pinto                                  Councilmember Janeese Lewis George

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 Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr.                          Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau

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                                               A BILL

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                    IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

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 To establish an Office of Safe Passage to ensure safe passage for students traveling to and from

        LEAs between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday during

        the school year and summer; and to require the Mayor to provide a shuttle bus from the

        metro station to a DCPS and public charter school within a priority area with the fewest

        public transportation options.

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        BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this

 act may be cited as the Safe Passage to School Expansion Act of 2021.

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        Sec. 2. Definitions.

        (a) For the purpose of this act, the term:

                (1) District Agencies means District Department of Transportation, Department

 of Behavioral Health, Department of Parks and Recreation, Department of Youth Rehabilitation

 Services, Deputy Mayor for Education, Office of the Student Advocate, Office of the Deputy

 Mayor for Public Safety and Justice, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human

 Services, Fire and Emergency Medical Services, Metropolitan Police Department, Office of the

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 Chief Technology Officer, Mayors Office of Community Relations and Services, and the Office

 of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement.

                (2) LEAs means Local education agencies.

                (3) Office means Office of Safe Passage.

                (4) Priority area means a census block in ward 7 and ward 8 with the highest

 incidence of violent crime as reported by the Metropolitan Police Department.

                (5) Safe route means a designated route that is monitored by safe passage

 personnel from 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

                (6) Safe Passage means the ability of students to travel safely to and from LEAs

 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday during the school year

 and summer.

        Sec. 3. Office of Safe Passage; establishment.

        (a) Pursuant to section 404(b) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved

 December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 787; D.C. Official Code  1-204.04(b)), the Council establishes an

 Office of Safe Passage within the District of Columbia that is subordinate to the Mayor.

        (b) The mission of the Office is to ensure safe passage for students traveling to and from

 LEAs between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday during the school

 year and summer.

        (c) The Office shall be headed by a director, who shall be appointed by, and serve at the

 pleasure of, the Mayor.

        Sec. 4. Office of Safe Passage; duties and authority.

        (a) The duties of the Office shall be as follows:

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                (1) Create a District-wide and ward-specific five-year strategic plan for safe

 passage that has measurable outcomes and submit it to the Council no later than October 1, 2021

 and every five years thereafter;

                (2) Gather and analyze data to improve safe passage and submit an annual report

 to Council no later than December 31 each year;

                (3) Improve collaboration, problem solving, and cooperation among District

 agencies and community-based organizations, funding, and outcomes;

                (4) Award grants on a competitive basis to community-based organizations that

 participate in the Safe Routes to School program; and

                (5) Provide recommendations, in conjunction with District Department of

 Transportation, on how the District can enhance transportation options to improve safe passage.

        Sec. 5. Office of Safe Passage; requirements for awarding grants.

        (a) The Office shall publish rules to govern award of grants consistent with this section

 and the Grant Administration Act of 2014, effective December 24, 2013 (D.C. Law 20-61; D.C.

 Official Code  1-328.11 et seq.).

        (b) The Office shall award grants on a competitive basis to community-based

 organizations that participate in the Safe Routes to School program.

        (c) Grants shall be awarded in a manner consistent with the Offices strategic plan for

 safe passage programming and funding with particular attention to the strategic plans goals and

 priorities, geographic distribution of safe passage programs and funding, and program quality.

        (d)(1) The Office shall establish a review process for awarding grants, which shall

 include the use of review panels to evaluate each grant application in an impartial manner.

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                 (2) No more than half of a review panels members may be employees or

 contractors of the Office.

                 (3) No member of a review panel may have a conflict of interest that would

 render the reviewer unable to be impartial.

          (e) Grants shall be awarded for terms of at least 5 years, subject to the availability of

 funding.

          (f) The Office may not award a grant under this section in excess of $1 million during a

 12-month period, either singularly or cumulatively, unless the grant is first submitted to the

 council for approval, in accordance with section 451(b) of the District of Columbia Home Rule

 Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 803; D.C. Official Code  1-204.51(b)), or by act.

          (g) In addition to the reporting requirements in section 1097 of the Grant Administration

 Act of 2013, effective December 24, 2013 (D.C. Law 20-61; D.C. Official Code  1-328.16), on

 or before November 1 of each year, the Office shall submit to the Council and make publicly

 available an annual status report for all grants issued by, or on behalf of, the Office in the

 previous fiscal year, which shall include, for each grant:

                 (1) Detailed information about the grantee;

                 (2) A description of the specific services provided by the grantee;

                 (3) The location of services; and

                 (4) The amount of grant funds dedicated to program costs and the amount

 dedicated to other expenditures.

          Sec. 6. Office of Safe Passage; implementation of the Safe Routes to School program.

          (a) The Office shall implement a Safe Routes to School program. At minimum, the Office

 shall:

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                  (1) Designate 10 priority areas;

                  (2) Establish at minimum one safe route in each priority area; and

                  (3) Award grants on a competitive basis to community-based organizations in

 accordance with section (5).

         (b) Each community-based organization that is a recipient of a grant shall manage the

 hiring of safe passage personnel to monitor the safe routes. Every safe passage personnel shall

 meet the minimum requirements for employment:

                  (1) Submit an employment application;

                  (2) Physically stand for long periods of time and tolerate all weather conditions;

                  (3) Read and write incident reports;

                  (4) Commit to working a total of 6.5 hours per day for five days a week for

 minimum wage;

                  (5) Demonstrate knowledge about the community they wish to serve;

                  (6) Attend all required safe passage meetings and trainings to ensure best

 practices; and

                  (7) Reside near the priority area where they wish to serve, to the extent it is

 possible.

         (c) The safe passage personnel shall at minimum have the following duties:

                  (1) Conduct daily monitoring of a designated safe route;

                  (2) Ensure safety of students by identifying potential conflicts and working

 collaboratively with District agencies and the community to peacefully diffuse situations;

                  (3) Support attendance by encouraging students to attend class daily and

 on time; and

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                (4) Build relationships with school administrators, police personnel, parents,

 community residents by increasing their awareness of the program whenever possible.

        Sec. 7. Improving Transportation Options.

        The Mayor shall provide a shuttle bus from the metro station to a DCPS and a public

 charter school within a priority area with the fewest public transportation options.

        Sec. 8. Safe Passage Expansion.

        Nothing in this act shall preclude the Office from establishing safe routes or improving

 transportation options in other wards in the District with a high incidence of violent crime as

 reported by the Metropolitan Police Department.

        Sec. 9. Fiscal impact statement.

        The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal

 impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975,

 approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code  1-301.47a).

        Sec. 10. Effective date.

        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), a 30-day period of congressional review as

 provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December

 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code  1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of

 Columbia Register.

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