Charter Schools

If you leave the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) to go work for a school that is a member of the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board (DCPCSB), you may be able to continue your participation in the District of Columbia Teachers’ Retirement Plan. To be eligible you must have held a position covered under the Washington Teachers Union (WTU) collective bargaining agreement or a school administrator covered under the Council of School Officers (CSO) collective bargaining agreement.

If you terminate your employment with DCPS, you have 60 days from the effective date of your termination to submit your request for continued participation in the Plan. If you are on an approved leave of absence (LOA) from DCPS for the purpose of working at a charter school, you have 90 days to submit your application to continue your participation in the Plan.

If you terminate your DCPS employment and begin your employment with a charter school, and wish to continue participating in the Teachers’ Retirement Plan, you must complete and return the Continuation of Participation in Teachers’ Retirement Plan form to your charter school administrative office within 60 days of your DCPS separation date. This form can be obtained from your charter school administrative office or DCPS.

If you are on an approved LOA from DCPS and you go to work at a charter school, you must begin your employment within 90 days of the effective date of your leave from DCPS. To be eligible to continue participating in the Plan, you must submit a copy of your personnel action and an official DCPS notification letter listing the dates of the approved LOA to the charter school administrative office.

If you are eligible to continue participating in the Teachers' Retirement Plan and do not elect to continue your participation or fail to notify your charter school of your continued participation within the timeframes outlined, you will cease to accrue creditable service towards retirement under the Plan

Yes, if you terminate your employment with DCPS and elect to continue participation in the Plan, you will be required to continue making your mandatory employee contributions throughout your employment with the charter school.

Your contribution rate will remain the same as it was when you were at DCPS. If you were hired prior to November 16, 1996, your mandatory contribution rate is 7 percent of your gross annual salary, while employees hired on or after November 16, 1996 contribute 8 percent of their gross annual salary.

All mandatory contributions will be deducted each pay period on a pre-tax basis.

No. Once the contributions are deducted from your paycheck, you cannot change your election or stop making contributions. The terms of the Plan continue to apply.

If you elect to remain in the Teachers’ Retirement Plan, you cannot elect to participate in the charter school’s retirement plan if it is a 401(a) defined contribution, defined benefit plan, or a cash balance plan. You can only participate in the charter school’s 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity program or 457(b) deferred compensation plan.

If you elect not to continue participating in the Teachers’ Retirement Plan, the Plan will proceed as if you terminated employment. If you are vested in the Plan, you may then request either 1) a deferred annuity at 62 years old, 2) a rollover of your Plan contributions into another eligible retirement plan, or 3) a refund of your Plan contributions.

Please call the District of Columbia Charter School Board at (202) 328-2660 to obtain more information about continuing to participate in the Teachers’ Retirement Plan.