Additional Information

Flexibility Chart

FY23 Item Catalog

School Health Services (School Nurses)

Purpose

The School Health Services Program (SHSP) is responsible for promoting health and wellness and actively collaborating with students, family members, school personnel, and community-based organizations to ensure that the health needs of the students are being met.

Program Guidance

Staffing (Personnel Services)

All DCPS schools receive full-time school health services coverage at no charge to the school. Staffing is provided through a blended model of nurses and allied health professionals through a contract between DC Health and Children’s School Services (CSS).

Because these nurses and allied health professionals are not DCPS employees, CSS maintains all employer rights and responsibilities for these staff (some specialized schools may receive additional nursing services). If a nurse or allied health professional at a participating school is unable to continue employment, DC Health will provide replacement staffing for that school as soon as possible. Principals may work with the appropriate CSS supervisor to evaluate staffing and request any kind of disciplinary action or removal.

Some schools have students with low-incidence disabilities that require nursing services beyond the capacity of DC Health’s school health services program. The Office of Teaching and Learning’s Division of Specialized Instruction will provide supplemental nursing services to schools serving these students at no cost to the school.

Additional Staffing Recommendations

When a nurse or allied health professional is not in the building, either due to scheduled or unexpected circumstances, schools are still responsible for meeting student health needs. To this end, schools should ensure at least three staff members are trained and prepared to provide medication and first aid as needed. The Office of School Improvement and Supports offers multiple medication administration and CPR/first aid trainings every school year at no charge for school staff.

Goods & Services (Non-Personnel Services)

School Responsibility

It is the school’s financial responsibility to maintain functioning technology for its school nurse(s), including a desktop computer, dedicated printer, phone, and a functioning fax/e-fax line. Health suites must have direct 911 and long-distance access.

Provided to Schools

Medical supplies (bandages, gloves, linens, etc.) for Health Suites are paid for by DCPS through an agreement with DC Health. Schools are not responsible to stock medical supplies within the Health Suite.

Helpful Resources

For additional information on School Based Health centers please reference section 4.1.7.

Points of Contact

Whitney Carrington, Manager, Student Health Services, Office of School Improvement and Supports. Whitney.Carrington@k12.dc.gov

School-Based Health Centers

Purpose

Seven schools (Anacostia High School, Ballou High School, Cardozo Education Campus, Coolidge High School, Dunbar High School, Roosevelt High School, and Woodson High School) host school-based health centers (SBHCs) that provide a full spectrum of primary care services to students attending the school and children of the school’s students, including behavioral, oral, and reproductive health care services.

Allocation Guidance

Staffing (Personnel Services)

SBHC services are provided at no charge to the school. The centers are operated through grants from the DC Department of Health (DC Health) to local providers (Children’s National Medical Center, MedStar Georgetown, and Unity Health Care). As these are not DCPS employees, the SBHC operator maintains all employer rights and responsibilities for these providers and DOH maintains all selection and oversight responsibility.

Principals may work with Whitney Carrington when there are questions or concerns about actions taken by the SBHC team.

Goods & Services (Non-Personnel Services)

It is the school’s financial responsibility to clean and maintain the physical space of the SBHC, including provision of restroom paper products. The school must also ensure the SBHC has functioning technology, internet access, and dedicated telephone and fax lines for the SBHC. In addition, there must be dedicated telephone lines for health service providers and SBHC offices must have direct 911 and long-distance access.

Point of Contact

Whitney Carrington, Manager, Student Health Services. Office of School Improvement and Supports, Whitney.Carrington@k12.dc.gov

Extra Duty Pay and DCPS Employee Stipends

Extra Duty Pay is provided only to ET 15- (including ET 15/12-month, ET 15/11-month, and ET 15/10-month) and EG 9-classified employees in WTU positions. No other employee of DCPS, or non-employee providing services for the benefit of DCPS, is eligible to receive ED. Usually, ED is authorized for services performed beyond the normal tour of duty. See more information on the types of stipends for SY20-21 at https://dcps.dc.gov/publication/additional-compensation-procedures.

The following activities are centrally budgeted:

• Tech POC stipends
• Athletic coaches
• Home visits
• Reading clinic (small set of teachers)
• TLI stipends
• We the Girls leads

Substitute Teachers

Purpose

DCPS substitutes ensure that students receive continuous instruction throughout the school year. Substitutes provide coverage when teachers and educational aides are out on sick leave, administrative leave, extended leave, professional development opportunities, or if there are vacancies.

Budgeting Recommendations

Schools do not specifically budget for substitute teachers during budget development. Substitutes are budgeted for centrally through an “add-on” on the average teacher salary. To ensure that all DCPS students have access to high-quality substitute coverage, schools will receive a DCPS centrally budgeted annual substitute allocation.

Each school will receive a fixed amount of substitute requests to use throughout the school year based on the number of budgeted teachers and educational aides and the size of special education and at-risk populations.

Schools will utilize the DCPS Substitute Reporting tracker in QuickBase to track their substitute usage. Schools that exceed their projected allocation throughout the year will be notified by the Office of Resource Strategy, and a member of Strategic Staffing will follow up with both the Principal and instructional superintendent directly to determine a course of action.

Process and Restrictions

• To secure a substitute, schools are required to submit requests to fill assignments for sick leave, administrative leave, extended leave, professional development opportunities, and vacancies into SmartFind Express for teachers and educational aides.
• If schools are not able to secure a substitute teacher, they will enact internal coverage plans, which typically include internal staff coverage of classrooms paid by administrative premium.
• Schools can create a maximum assignment of 90 days for a substitute. Assignments can be renewed after a 90-day period if coverage is still required.
• Substitute Staffing has collaborated with the Office of Teaching and Learning to offer self-paced training courses for substitute teachers on Canvas and Microsoft Streams.

Point of Contact

Charelle Jeffries, Manager, Temporary Instructional Staffing, Charelle.Jeffries@k12.dc.gov 

Helpful Resources

DCPS Substitute Page

Washington Teachers Union (WTU) Contract and Classroom Requirements

Individualized Education Programs (IEP) Caseloads

The IEP caseload should not exceed 15 IEPs per teacher. In cases where a special education teacher is required or agrees to act as case manager for more than 15 students with IEPs, the WTU Contract provides that the teacher will receive three hours of administrative premium per year for each additional student (WTU Contract 23.13.2.4, 24.5.5). The current administrative premium rate is $40/hour (WTU Contract 36.8.2). For example, if a special education teacher acts as case manager for 16 students with IEPs he/she will receive $120 per year (3 hours of administrative premium pay); for 17 students with IEPs, he/she will receive $240 per year (6 hours of administrative premium pay), and so on.

Acceptable Reasons for Altering Class Sizes

Schools should make a reasonable effort to meet the classroom size requirements set forth in 23.13 of the WTU Contract. However, schools may need to alter class sizes for the following reasons (WTU Contract 23.13.3):

• Lack of sufficient funds for equipment, supplies or rental of classroom space.
• Lack of classroom space and/or personnel available to permit scheduling of any additional class or classes in order to reduce class size.
• Conformity to the class size objective because it would result in the organization of half or part-time classes.
• A class larger than the above is necessary and desirable to provide for specialized or experimental instruction.
• Placement of pupils in a subject class for which there is only one on a grade level; or
• Size of specific classroom space is inadequate.

Early childhood classrooms cannot exceed the ratios and group sizes listed in the Early Childhood section (4.1.2) for any reason.

Helpful Resources

Washington Teachers Union Contract

LSAT Recommendation Departure Form

Rationale Template for Departing from LSAT or Personnel Committee (PC) Recommendation as to a RIF, Abolishment, or Furlough

Instructions

Principals, please list below your reason(s) for departing from:

1. The Local School Advisory Team’s (LSAT) recommendation as to the area of certification to be affected by an excessing division, and/or
2. The Personnel Committee’s (PC) recommendation as to the individual employee to be affected by an excessing decision

Complete one form for each instance in which you have deviated from an LSAT or PC recommendation as it relates to an excessing decision.

Click Here To Download

Principal Name: ____________________________________________

Principal Signature: _________________________________________                             Date: ______________

Upon completion by the Principal, this form should be submitted to the Strategic Staffing team by emailing your staffing coordinator or dcps.staffing@k12.dc.gov.

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