Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 118.djvu/171

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118 STAT. 141 PUBLIC LAW 108–199—JAN. 23, 2004 in third party cases, grievances, and dispute resolution, pursuant to an intra District agreement with OLRCB. These amounts shall be available for use by OLRCB to reimburse the cost of providing the representation. SEC. 432. None of the funds contained in this Act may be made available to pay— (1) the fees of an attorney who represents a party in an action or an attorney who defends an action, including an administrative proceeding, brought against the District of Columbia Public Schools under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) in excess of $4,000 for that action; or (2) the fees of an attorney or firm whom the Chief Financial Officer of the District of Columbia determines to have a pecu niary interest, either through an attorney, officer or employee of the firm, in any special education diagnostic services, schools, or other special education service providers. SEC. 433. The Chief Financial Officer of the District of Columbia shall require attorneys in special education cases brought under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) in the District of Columbia to certify in writing that the attorney or representative rendered any and all services for which they receive awards, including those received under a settlement agreement or as part of an administrative proceeding, under the IDEA from the District of Columbia: Provided, That as part of the certification, the Chief Financial Officer of the District of Columbia shall require all attor neys in IDEA cases to disclose any financial, corporate, legal, mem berships on boards of directors, or other relationships with any special education diagnostic services, schools, or other special edu cation service providers to which the attorneys have referred any clients as part of this certification: Provided further, That the Chief Financial Officer shall prepare and submit quarterly reports to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and Senate on the certification of and the amount paid by the government of the District of Columbia, including the District of Columbia Public Schools, to attorneys in cases brought under IDEA: Provided further, That the Inspector General of the District of Columbia may conduct investigations to determine the accuracy of the certifications. SEC. 434. Section 603(e)(3)(C)(iv) of the Student Loan Mar keting Association Reorganization Act of 1996 (20 U.S.C. 1155(e)(3)(C)(iv)) is amended as follows— (1) by inserting ‘‘for a fiscal year’’ after ‘‘this subparagraph’’; and (2) by inserting ‘‘for the fiscal year’’ before the period. SEC. 435. Chapter 3 of title 16, District of Columbia Code, is amended by inserting at the end the following new section: ‘‘SEC. 16–316. APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION OF COUNSEL; GUARDIAN AD LITEM. ‘‘(a) When a petition for adoption has been filed and there has been no termination or relinquishment of parental rights with respect to the proposed adoptee or consent to the proposed adoption by a parent or guardian whose consent is required under D.C. Code section 16–304, the Court may appoint an attorney to rep resent such parent or guardian in the adoption proceeding if the individual is financially unable to obtain adequate representation.