(a) The years of service which form the basis for determining the amount of the annuity provided in § 38-2021.05(a) shall be computed from the date of original appointment as a teacher in the public schools of the District of Columbia, including so much of any authorized leaves of absence without pay beginning on May 1, 1952, as does not exceed 6 months in the aggregate in any fiscal year, plus any service credit that may be allowed under the provisions of this section; provided, that deposits equal to 5% of those portions of salary received between July 1, 1949, and May 1, 1952, for which service credit was not earned may be made, and service credit received accordingly. A teacher or former teacher who returns to duty after a period of separation is deemed, for the purpose of this section, to have been on a leave of absence without pay for that part of the period in which he or she was receiving benefits under subchapter I of Chapter 81 of Title 5, United States Code, or any earlier statute on which such subchapter is based. In computing an annuity under § 38-2021.05(a) the total service of a teacher shall include days of unused sick leave credited to him. No deposit may be required for days of unused sick leave included in a teacher's total service under the preceding sentence. Days of unused sick leave shall not be counted in determining a teacher's average salary or his eligibility for an annuity. In computing the length of service of retiring teachers credit may be given, year for year, for: (1) public school service or its equivalent outside the District of Columbia but not to exceed 10 years; (2) continuous temporary service in the public schools of the District of Columbia immediately prior to probationary appointment; (3) service in the government of the District of Columbia or the government of the United States allowable under subchapter III of Chapter 83 of Title 5, United States Code; (4) periods of honorable active service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard of the United States (but not the National Guard except when ordered to active duty in the service of the United States) prior to the date of the separation upon which title to annuity is based; except that, if a teacher is awarded retired pay on account of military service, his military service shall not be included unless such retired pay is awarded on account of a service-connected disability: (A) incurred in combat with an enemy of the United States; or (B) caused by an instrumentality of war and incurred in the line of duty during an enlistment or employment as provided in Veterans Regulation No. 1(a), part 1, paragraph 1, or is awarded under title III of Public Law 810, 80th Congress; (5) all educational leaves of absence with part pay authorized by the Board of Education in accordance with §§ 1-612.01 to 1-612.03; and (6) continuous temporary service as an employee of any cafeteria or lunchroom operated in the public school buildings of the District of Columbia during any period prior to the date on which such cafeteria or lunchroom is placed under the Office of Central Management, Department of Food Services, District of Columbia, and immediately prior to appointment as a teacher in the public schools of the District of Columbia; provided, however, that portion of the annuity which results from credit for service allowable under clauses (1) and (3) of this subsection shall be reduced by the amount of any annuity which the retired teacher is entitled to receive under any federal, state, or municipal retirement or pension system in respect to such service, except that such portion of the annuity after reduction shall not be less than the annuity purchasable with the deposit which the teacher is required to make under the provisions of this section in order to obtain credit for such service; provided further, that no credit for service prescribed in this section, with the exception of periods of honorable service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard of the United States and all educational leaves of absence with part pay authorized by the Board of Education in accordance with §§ 1-612.01 to 1-612.03, shall be given to any teacher entering the said public schools after June 30, 1926, until he shall have deposited to the credit of the Teachers' Retirement and Annuity Fund of the District of Columbia a sum equal to: (1) the accumulated contributions which he would have had credited to his individual account if such service had been rendered on active duty in the public schools of the District of Columbia, said contributions to be based on the average annual salary of the class to which the teacher is appointed; and (2) interest thereon computed in accordance with § 38-2023.14(b); provided further, that all contributions to the retirement fund made by any teacher on education leave with part pay shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of § 38-2021.01, but otherwise no provision of this part shall be interpreted to deprive any teacher employed by the Board of Education of any rights or benefits allowable under §§ 1-612.01 to 1-612.03. If the teacher so elects he may deposit the required sum in the Teachers' Retirement and Annuity Fund in monthly installments, upon making a claim with the District of Columbia Retirement Board. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, this section shall not be construed to allow any teacher more than one year's credit for all services rendered in any one fiscal year.
(b) A teacher who during the period of any war, or of any national emergency as proclaimed by the President or declared by the Congress, has left or leaves his position to enter the military service, as defined in this section, shall not be considered, for the purposes of this part, as separated from his teaching position by reason of such military service, unless he shall apply for and receive a lump-sum benefit under this part, except that such teacher shall not be considered as retaining his teaching position beyond 6 months after June 4, 1957, or the expiration of 5 years of such military service, whichever is later.
(c) Nothing in this part shall affect the right of a teacher to retired pay, pension, or compensation in addition to the annuity herein provided.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, any teacher who is entitled to purchase service credit under the provisions of § 38-1970(d) shall purchase such credit based on the salary received from the Board of Higher Education during the period of service to be credited.
CREDIT(S)
(Aug. 7, 1946, 60 Stat. 879, ch. 779, § 8; Mar. 6, 1952, 66 Stat. 19, ch. 95, § 7; Aug. 5, 1955, 69 Stat. 536, ch. 575, § 2; June 4, 1957, 71 Stat. 47, Pub. L. 85-46, § 1; Dec. 29, 1967, 81 Stat. 748, Pub. L. 90-231, § 1(5); May 22, 1970, 84 Stat. 257, Pub. L. 91-263, § 1(b); Oct. 21, 1972, 86 Stat. 1013, Pub. L. 92-518, title II, §§ 201(3), 202(a)(1), 203(b); Nov. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 866, Pub. L. 96-122, § 253(a)(3); May 10, 1989, D.C. Law 7-231, § 34(a), 36 DCR 492; Apr. 13, 2005, D.C. Law 15-354, § 55(d), 52 DCR 2638.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 31-1230.
1973 Ed., § 31-728.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 15-354, in subsec. (b)(2), substituted “District of Columbia Retirement Board” for “Mayor of the District of Columbia, or his designated agent”.
Legislative History of Laws
Law 7-231 was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 7-586, which was referred to the Committee of the Whole. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on November 29, 1988 and December 13, 1988, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on January 6, 1989, it was assigned Act No. 7-285 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review.
For Law 15-354, see notes following § 38-101.
References in Text
“Veterans Regulation No. 1(a), part 1, paragraph 1,” referred to in subsection (a)(4)(B) of this section, was repealed by the Act of June 17, 1957, 71 Stat. 167, Pub. L. 85-56, title XXII, § 2202(129), (217).
“Title III of Public Law 810, 80th Congress,” referred to in subsection (a)(4)(B) of this section, refers to the Act of June 29, 1948, 62 Stat. 1087, ch. 708, title III, §§ 301 to 313, which was repealed by the Act of August 10, 1956, 70A Stat. 64, ch. 1041, § 53, and the Act of September 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1569, Pub. L. 85-861, § 36A.
“Section 31-1132(d),” referred to in subsection (d), was repealed by D.C. Law 4-78, effective March 16, 1982.
Change in Government
This section originated at a time when local government powers were delegated to a Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia (see Acts Relating to the Establishment of the District of Columbia and its Various Forms of Governmental Organization in Volume 1). Section 401 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967 (see Reorganization Plans in Volume 1) transferred all of the functions of the Board of Commissioners under this section to a single Commissioner. The District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, 87 Stat. 818, § 711 (D.C. Code, § 1-207.11), abolished the District of Columbia Council and the Office of Commissioner of the District of Columbia. These branches of government were replaced by the Council of the District of Columbia and the Office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, respectively. Accordingly, and also pursuant to § 714(a) of such Act (D.C. Code, § 1-207.14(a)), appropriate changes in terminology were made in this section.