B 26-0420

                  COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
                      The John A. Wilson Building
                     1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
                         Washington, D.C. 20004
Christina Henderson  Committee Member
Councilmember, At-Large  Human Services
Chairperson, Committee on Health  Facilities
                                                         Transportation and the Environment
                              Statement of Introduction
                        Student Identification Card Act of 2025
                                   October 6, 2025
 Today, I am introducing the Student Identification Card Act of 2025 to ensure that every middle
 and high school student in the District is issued a school identification card. Currently, no
 District agency ensures that all public school students receive a student identification card. The
 DC ONE Card program, administered by the Office of the Chief Technology Officer, formerly
 served as a student identification card but has been phased out with no alternative. In other
 jurisdictions, student identification cards allow students to easily provide identification upon
 request, and have proven critical for school staff, first responders, and community partners to
 help keep students safe.
 The DC ONE card functioned as student’s all-in-one District program access card, letting
 students check out books from the DC Public Library, access Department of Parks and
 Recreation facilities, and store their Kids Ride Free Metro benefits. While the DC ONE Card
 program verified the student’s name and displayed a photo of the cardholder, it did not identify
 their school or the school year, and therefore did not function as student identification cards
 typically do. Since the Kids Ride Free program has moved from loading the transit benefits to a
 DC ONE card to issuing Kids Ride Free Metrocards instead, the DC ONE Card has not been a
 necessary resource for students. Few students now obtain a DC ONE Card, and it is issued only
 upon request.
 Students’ access to government-issued identification through the Department of Motor Vehicles
 is not guaranteed due to age and experience limitations. Middle school and high school students
 now do not have a reliable way to verify their age or the school they attend if they are asked to
 produce identification in or outside of school. If the District government were to issue a standard
 school ID card for all middle and high school public school students that displays a student’s
 name, school, the school year, and a photo of the student as required by this legislation, District
 public school students will once again have a standard form of government-issued identification,
 and the District’s public schools would be aligned with most public school districts in the United
 States in this respect.
 This legislation is a straightforward solution to provide students with a basic resource they can
 use every day.
1_____________________________
2Councilmember Christina Henderson
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6A BILL
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10IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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15 To require the Mayor to ensure that local education agencies issue student identification cards to
16middle school and high school students.
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18BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this act
19 may be cited as the “Student Identification Card Act of 2025”.
20Sec. 2. Student identification card issuance.
21(a) By January 5, 2026, the Mayor shall ensure that each local education agency issues a
22 student identification card to each student enrolled in a middle school or high school. The student
23 identification card shall display at least the following information:
24(1) The school’s name;
25(2) The school year;
26(3) A student’s name; and,
27(4) A photo of the student.
28Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement.
29The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal impact
30 statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved
31 October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a).
32Sec. 4. Effective date.
33This act shall take effect after approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the Mayor,
34 action by the Council to override the veto) and a 30-day period of congressional review as provided
35 in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87
36 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)).
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