Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 110 Part 2.djvu/256

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110 STAT. 1321-109 PUBLIC LAW 104-134—APR. 26, 1996 of goods, the provision of services, or the loaning of funds to the District of Columbia). (B) EXCEPTION. —The term "District of Columbia Government" neither includes the Authority nor a public charter school. (11) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA GOVERNMENT RETIREMENT SYS- TEM.— The term "District of Columbia Government retirement system" means the retirement programs authorized by the District of Columbia Council or the Congress for employees of the District of Columbia Government. (12) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOL.— (A) IN GENERAL.—The term "District of Columbia public school" means a public school in the District of Columbia that offers classes— (i) at any of the grade levels from prekindergarten through grade 12; or (ii) leading to a secondary school diploma, or its recognized equivalent. (B) EXCEPTION.— The term "District of Columbia public school" does not include a public charter school. (13) DISTRICTWIDE ASSESSMENTS.— The term "districtwide assessments" means a variety of assessment tools and strategies (including individual student assessments under subparagraph (E)(ii)) administered by the Superintendent to students enrolled in District of Columbia public schools and public charter schools that— (A) are aligned with the District of Columbia's content standards and core curriculum; (B) provide coherent information about student attainment of such standards; (C) are used for purposes for which such assessments are valid, reliable, and unbiased, and are consistent with relevant nationally recognized professional and technical standards for such assessments; (D) involve multiple up-to-date measures of student performance, including measures that assess higher order thinking skills and understanding; and (E) provide for— (i) the participation in such assessments of all students; (ii) individual student assessments for students that fail to reach minimum acceptable levels of performance; (iii) the reasonable adaptations and accommodations for students with special needs (as defined in paragraph (32)) necessary to measure the achievement of such students relative to the District of Columbia's content standards; and (iv) the inclusion of limited-English proficient students, who shall be assessed, to the extent practicable, in the language and form most likely to yield accurate and reliable information regarding such students' knowledge and abilities. (14) ELECTRONIC DATA TRANSFER SYSTEM.— The term "electronic data transfer system" means a computer-based process for the maintenance and transfer of student records designed