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District of Columbia Code Division VI. Education, Libraries, and Cultural Institutions. § 38-3103. Safe Blocks Program.

Current as of January 01, 2024 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

<Text of section applicable upon the date of inclusion of the fiscal effect of D.C. Law 24-285 in an approved budget and financial plan.>

(a) The DME or the DME's designee shall establish a Safe Blocks Program (“program”). Under the program, by June 1 of each year, DME shall, for the upcoming school year:

(1) In consultation with the School Safety and Safe Passage Working Group, designate priority areas for the upcoming school year;

(2) In consultation with DDOT, produce on the program website an interactive map or similar digital tool as required by subsection (f) of this section; and

(3) Award grants to CBOs in accordance with subsection (b) of this section;

(b)(1) The DME shall award annual and multi-year grants on a competitive basis to CBOs for the purposes of providing safe passage services on behalf of the District.

(2) The Mayor shall issue rules to govern award of grants under this subsection consistent with this section and part B of subchapter XII-A of Chapter 3 of Title 1.

(c) Each CBO that is a recipient of a grant under this section shall be responsible for:

(1) The recruitment, hiring, training, and management of personnel to provide safe passage services in priority areas; and

(2) Collecting, tracking, and reporting data, including incident reports, as required by the DME.

(d) Personnel hired by a CBO under this section shall:

(1) Be responsible for providing safe passage services for students traveling to and from school during designated hours, such as:

(A) The daily monitoring of an assigned Safe Blocks priority area, including developing relationships with students, families, businesses, civic associations, institutional facilities, and community members within the priority area;

(B) Working collaboratively with schools, relevant District agency staff, and the surrounding community to identify and intervene to diffuse

(C) Supporting attendance by encouraging students to attend class daily and on time; and

(D) Building relationships with school administrators, police personnel, parents, and community residents by increasing their awareness of the Safe Blocks Program whenever possible; and

(2) Receive at least the following trainings:

(A) Bystander intervention training;

(B) Training on racial and implicit bias; and

(C) Any other trainings required by the DME.

(e) In addition to the reporting requirements in § 1-328.16, on or before November 1 of each year, DME shall submit to the Council and make publicly available an annual status report for grants issued by or on behalf of DME under this chapter in the previous fiscal year, which shall include, for each grant:

(1) The name, business address, and primary point of contact for the CBO;

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

(3) The priority areas served by the CBO; and

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

(f) The DME, in consultation with DDOT, shall make available an interactive map or similar digital tool as part of the Safe Blocks Program. The DME shall coordinate with DDOT to populate the map with:

(1) The bounds of priority areas;

(2) Within priority areas, the location of sidewalks, marked crosswalks, and stops signs and signals; and

(3) All locations at which a crossing guard has been assigned.

(g) The DME shall have grant-making authority for the purpose of the implementation of safe passage programming.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - District of Columbia Code Division VI. Education, Libraries, and Cultural Institutions. § 38-3103. Safe Blocks Program. - last updated January 01, 2024 | https://codes.findlaw.com/dc/division-vi-education-libraries-and-cultural-institutions/dc-code-sect-38-3103/

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