In a Memorandum from Commissioner Riley to the Board, we received details about the education-related laws enacted in the last legislative session (190th General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts). I'm posting them here; the Memo may be downloaded from the Department's website here:
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The new LOOK law establishes language acquisition programming flexibility for districts and oversight requirements for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Provides districts with flexibility in choosing a language acquisition program that best fits the needs of their English Learner (EL) population, while ensuring accountability through Department oversight.
Requires districts that intend to offer new programs for ELs to submit specific information for review by the Department and the district's parent advisory council. All programs must be based on research and best practices.
Directs the Department to notify a district and provide the corrective steps that a district must take before commencing a program if the Department finds that a proposed program fails to meet the applicable requirements.
Districts that intend to offer a new sheltered English immersion or alternative instructional English learner program in the next academic year must submit the required information to the Department and the district's parent advisory council by January 1 of the current academic year, which means new EL programs may open no earlier than the 2019-2020 school year.
Requires districts that serve a significant population of ELs to create EL Parent Advisory Councils, made up of parents/guardians of ELs in the district.
Requires districts to provide notification to parents/guardians of ELs regarding various topics, including their right to choose a language acquisition program among those offered by the district.
Parents/guardians of ELs may select any language acquisition program offered by the district, provided that the program is appropriate for the age and grade level of the student.
Parents/guardians may request a transfer of the student to another language acquisition program available in the district, subject to approval by the superintendent.
Educator Qualifications
Requires the Department to establish licensure endorsements for various language acquisition program types (for example, Two-Way Immersion Programs).
Requires the Department to annually provide districts with reports of all educators who have current language acquisition program endorsements.
Requires districts to verify, prior to the beginning of each school year, that each educator in an English learner program is properly endorsed for that program.
Benchmarks, Guidelines and TemplatesRequires the Department to establish: (i) benchmarks for attaining English proficiency for ELs; (ii) guidelines to support districts in identifying ELs who do not meet benchmarks; and (iii) an EL success template for use by districts to assist ELs who are not meeting English proficiency benchmarks.
Requires districts to provide a copy of these materials from the Department to parents/guardians of ELs within the timeframes specified in the law.
Requires districts to adopt procedures to identify ELs who do not meet the English proficiency benchmarks and establish various processes relating to them.
Data and Reporting
Expands EL related reporting requirements for districts to the Department.
Establishes a data commission to study the collection and dissemination of data on ELs and to make recommendations on streamlining data reporting.
State Seal of Biliteracy
Directs the Board to establish the State Seal of Biliteracy. Districts may award the seal to students who meet the state criteria in attaining a high level of proficiency in English and at least one other language.
Pre-K English Learners
Expands the student census requirement for districts to include ELs who are in Pre-Kindergarten
An Act relative
to standards of employee safety
Effective: 02/01/19
Chapter 44 of the Acts of 2018 has impact on school employees in Massachusetts, particularly in the context of lab safety in science classes. In brief, Chapter 44 requires that schools comply with federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (“OSHA”) standards of workplace safety by expanding the scope of a statute, G.L. c. 149, § 6½, that currently mandates OSHA compliance only for workplaces within the state government’s executive branch. School employees are already protected by a more general workplace safety statute, G.L. c. 149, § 6; however, § 6 is phrased in broad terms, while Chapter 44 provides a more concrete list of requirements that public sector employers must satisfy.
Chapter 44 does not directly apply to students, although any requirements dealing with the physical work environment of teachers or other school staff would naturally affect them as well. Should they desire more direct guidance, schools will be able to request an inspection by the Department of Labor Standards (DLS).
An Act relative to
criminal justice reform
Effective: 04/13/18; 07/12/18
The Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2018 included several sections that affect schools, districts, and students. The Act:
Establishes a childhood trauma task force to identify school-aged children who have experienced trauma, and to make recommendations on treatment services.Requires certain criteria in the process for school resource officer (SRO) selection.
Establishes standards for the memorandum of understanding between a district and public safety entities for SROs.
Removes potential classification of elementary and secondary students under age 18 as delinquent for disturbing the peace if the conduct occurs in a school building, on school grounds or during a school-related event.
An Act protecting the
rights of custodial and other non-teaching employees of school districts
Effective: 10/31/18
Chapter 160 amends G.L. Chapter 71, Section 59B to require promotion and discipline of non-teaching employees to be conducted in accordance with any collective bargaining agreement.
An Act relative to
economic development in the commonwealth
Effective: 08/03/18
The 2018 Economic Development bill
includes:
a $75M appropriation for a competitive grant to be administered by the Executive Office of Education for the purchase and installation of equipment and facilities upgrades to expand career technical education.
The creation of the Massachusetts Cybersecurity Innovation Fund that can be accessed to promote the development and implementation of educational programs in Massachusetts public schools.
An Act relative to students with dyslexia
Effective: 01/16/19
Chapter 272 requires that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in consultation with the Department and Early Education and Care, issue guidelines to assist districts in developing screening procedures or protocols for students who demonstrate one or more potential indicators of a neurological learning disability. The requirement is subject to appropriation.
An Act relative to the financial condition of the pioneer valley regional school district
Effective: 11/08/18
Chapter 295 allows the Pioneer Valley Regional School District (PVSD) to borrow up to $2 million with approval by the school committee and the elementary and secondary education commissioner to mitigate budget deficits.
The bill also requires the PVSD to contract a fiscal overseer and gives the commissioner authority to approve the appointment, allows the commissioner and DOR to recommend the establishment of a finance control board for the district, and defines parameters for fiscal actions of the PVSD throughout the borrowing period.
An Act to promote and enhance civic
engagement
Effective: 02/06/19
On November 8, 2018, Governor Baker signed into law
Chapter 296 of the Acts of 2018, An Act to promote and enhance civic engagement.
The law is the culmination of extensive efforts by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (Board) and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department) to ensure that Massachusetts students receive meaningful instruction and opportunities for engagement in civics education.
The Board’s Working Group on Civic Learning and Engagement, led by then Vice-Chair David Roach, presented their report to the Board on June 23, 2015. One of the recommendations was to “initiate the process to revise the 2003 History and Social Science Curriculum Framework and, in doing so, consider developments in the field that, if thoughtfully integrated into our existing frameworks, could enhance the effectiveness of civics instruction.” The Board and Department have carried out this charge, resulting in the revised History and Social Science curriculum framework that the Board approved in June 2018. The 2018 framework increases emphasis on civics at all grade levels, including a new grade 8 course on civics. These fundamental aspects are reflected in Chapter 296 of the Acts of 2018.
Chapter 296 codifies many of the recommendations originally made by the Board and expands access to resources for the implementation of the new History and Social Science curriculum framework through the establishment of the Civics Project Trust Fund. The new law, effective February 6, 2019, includes the following provisions:
The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, shall establish a non-partisan high school voter challenge.
Each school district shall include in its three-year improvement plan a description of its implementation of the new civics education requirements.
All public school students shall receive instruction in US history and social science, including civics.
The Department shall provide professional development opportunities for educators on the history and social science framework.
The Department shall develop tools aligned with the framework to support districts in implementing it, subject to sufficient resources in the Civics Project Trust Fund, for the 2020-2021 school year.
Each public school serving students in the eighth grade and each public high school shall provide not less than 1 student-led, non-partisan civics project for each student, consistent with the History and Social Science curriculum framework.
The Department shall establish a Commonwealth Civics Challenge with guidelines for districts that will be implemented in the 2022-2023 school year, subject to appropriation.
The Commissioner is to administer the Civics Project Trust Fund established in Section 1 of Chapter 296 to assist with the development, implementation, professional development, stakeholder engagement, and assessment of the History and Social Science framework. The Commissioner is also responsible for approval and oversight of the private donations made to the Fund to assure that no donation is accompanied by any condition of use.
One additional component of Chapter 296 pertains to a History and Social Science assessment. Section 7 states that any assessment the Board adopts not later than the 2021-2022 academic year that aligns with the History and Social Science framework and includes a “participatory component” will satisfy the requirement that districts provide a student-led civics project to students.
An Act relative to education collaboratives
Effective: April 2, 2019; April 2, 2020
Chapter 437 makes technical corrections to the collaborative law, as well as requiring the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department) to create no more than six regional districts for collaboratives and allowing collaboratives to have access to grants in an effort to promote the use of educational collaboratives as providers of educational programs and services for districts.
An Act relative to financial literacy in
schools
Effective: April 2, 2019
Chapter 438 establishes criteria for financial literacy standards should the Board choose to direct the Department to develop a separate curriculum framework. It also directs the Department to make resources available to districts to assist them in choosing materials and curriculum relative to personal financial literacy.
An Act relative to regional schools
Effective: April 2, 2019
Chapter 440 allows a regional school committee to designate any single member for the purpose of signing payroll warrants and accounts payable warrants with the requirement that that member share such records with the school committee at its next meeting.
FY2018 BUDGET LAWS
Approved: 07/17/17
The
General Appropriations Act (GAA) includes total state spending of $39.4 billion, representing a $652 million (1.7 percent), increase over FY2017 spending. This spending recommendation is based on a projected 3.4 percent increase in tax revenue for FY2018.
The Department’s appropriations total $5.324 billion, which represents an increase of $113.5 million (2.2 percent), over FY2017 spending. The General Appropriations Act affirms a commitment to fund education aid for our districts but reduces spending to a number of ESE accounts due to the lowered revenue forecast for FY2018. In signing the budget, the Governor vetoed spending of $5.6 million in our accounts, most of which represented legislative earmarks for specific local projects. These vetoes were subsequently overridden by the Legislature.
I. Education Local Aid & Reimbursements
Chapter 70 aid (7061-0008) is increased by $118.9M (2.6 percent) over FY2017. The increase is designed to allow for a minimum aid increase of $30 per pupil over FY2017 for every school district and provides $25 million to begin addressing the increased costs of employee and retiree health care.
GAA funding for the Special Education Circuit Breaker account (7061-0012) is increased by $4 million over FY2017. Regional School Transportation (7035-0006) has a $500,000 increase. The METCO grant program (7010-0012), and Charter School Tuition Reimbursements to Districts (7061-9010) are level funded. We estimate the latter will cover 100 percent reimbursement for the capital facility component of charter tuition ($893 per student) and 69.3 percent of first-year tuition increases.
Non-Resident Vocational Student Transportation (7035-0007) and Transportation Reimbursement for Homeless Students (7035-0008) were reduced by $7,500 and $250,500, respectively, from FY2017 levels.
Student Assessment
The General Appropriations Act funding for the Student Assessment account (7061-9400) was insufficient to meet our planned program spending for the upcoming school year. The Governor made a reserve draw to bring the account total to $31.1 million.
III. Departmental Grant & Targeted Support Programs
The majority of our grant and targeted support programs were either level funded or reduced.
The General Appropriations Act reduces Targeted Assistance (7061-9408) by $183,955 from FY2017.
Connecting Activities (7027-0019) received an increase of $555,250 for both earmarks and additional grant funding.
Adult Basic Education (7035-0002) received an increase of $829,289 for both earmarks and additional grant funding.
The Expanded Learning Time Grant Program (7061-9412) was reduced by $197,685 from FY2017.
The After-School Grant Program (7061-9611) is funded at $3.5 million for both earmarks and additional grants.
The Consolidated Literacy Program (7010-0033) is $76,907 higher than FY2017 spending, while Bay State Reading received an increase of $206,167.
The Special Education in Institutional Settings account (7028-0031) received an increase of $4 million over FY2017 level.
The Safe and Supportive Schools Grant program
(7061-9612) is funded at $500,000, a $101,400 increase over FY17.
The GAA transfers the WPI Schools of Excellence
(7061-9624) account from the Department of Higher Education to ESE, funded at
$1.4 million.
IV. ESE Administrative & Operational Resources
The General Appropriations Act reduces ESE’s administrative funding below our maintenance level for FY18. This reduced funding totals $756,764 in the following three accounts that fund agency staff.
7010-0005 Main Administration $256,096
7028-0031 Special Education in Institutional Settings $233,061
7061-9200 Education Data Services $267,607
Outside sections that are of significance to the Department and to elementary and secondary schools:
Section 90. Designates the Secretary of Education as Chair of the Homeless Student Transportation Commission established by Chapter 133 of the Acts of 2017.
Section 126. Directs the Executive Office of Education to conduct a feasibility study on substituting a minimum number of instructional hours for the minimum number of days as required by the board of education. As part of the study, the Executive Office of Education shall determine cost savings associated with an instructional hours based system including, but not limited to, energy costs, administrative costs, and transportation costs.
Section 127. Directs the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to conduct a feasibility study on rural school district aid.
FY2018 Supplemental Budget
Approved: 02/16/18
Chapter 24 appropriated $15M for a reserve to provide extraordinary relief to school districts educating students who are residents of Puerto Rico or the United States Virgin Islands who have enrolled in their schools or in an educational entity to which they pay tuition to educate their students after October 2, 2017 due to the impact of Hurricanes Maria and Irma.
Approved: May 21, 2018
Chapter 90 appropriated $12.5M to line-item 7061-0012, the circuit breaker account, and $2.5M to line-item 7061-9010, the charter school tuition reimbursement to districts account.
FY2019 BUDGET LAWS
FY2019 General
Appropriations Act
Approved: (in part) 07/26/18
The FY2019 GAA provides total state spending of $41.834 billion. The law provides $5.585 billion in spending authority for the Department, most of which goes to cities, towns, and school districts through Chapter 70 and other forms of education aid and reimbursements. This total represents 13.3 percent of the total state budget and 4.1 percent growth over FY2018 spending, an increase of $124.4 million (2.3 percent) above the Governor’s FY2019 request (House 2).
The following summarizes the GAA education spending. More detail for all Department appropriations is available in our budget tracking spreadsheet, which the Board has received.
V. Education Aid & Reimbursements
Chapter 70 aid (7061-0008) is increased by $160.6 million (3.4 percent) over FY2018, including $12.5 million to provide transitional relief to districts related to the change in the reporting metric from low-income to economically disadvantaged. The increase in Chapter 70 maintains the long-standing commitment to foundation level spending in all districts; fully phases in (100 percent) effort reduction for high-effort communities; and provides a minimum aid increase of $30 per pupil to all districts. The General Appropriations Act proposes making a structural change in the foundation budget by shifting the Limited English Proficient (LEP) rate to an LEP increment for each grade category. The law also addresses the rising cost of employee and retiree health insurance by including in foundation budgets 14.2 percent of the increase that the Foundation Budget Review Commission recommended in 2015; the House also recommended 14.2 percent and House 2 proposed 11 percent. Based on the GAA budget, districts are eligible to receive the higher of the amount determined by the GAA or the amount passed by the House; 43 districts receive the aid amount determined by the House. H.4800 also includes another $15 million in the Foundation Reserve “pothole” account (7061-0011) for districts serving Puerto Rican and USVI students displaced by Hurricanes Maria and Irma.
Funding for the Special Education Circuit Breaker account (7061-0012) is increased by $25.6 million over FY2018. Charter School Tuition District Reimbursements (7061-9010) is increased by $7 million over FY2018. Regional School Transportation (7035-0006) is increased by $7.4 million over FY2018. The METCO grant program (7010-0012) is increased by $1.5 million over FY2018. Non-Resident Vocational Student Transportation (7035-0007) is level funded. Homeless Student Transportation Reimbursement (7035-0008) receives a $1 million increase over FY2018.
The General Appropriations Act added two new accounts to provide $1.5 million in additional aid to Rural Schools (7061-9813), as well as $0.5 million for a Summer Learning Grant program (7061-9814).
VI. Literacy Accounts and English Language Acquisition
The General Appropriations Act partially supported the Governor’s proposal and combined Bay State Reading with Consolidated Literacy under the 7010-0033 account but added earmark language to fund Reading Recovery and Bay State Reading at FY2018 levels.
The English Language Acquisition Account (7027-1004) sees an increase of $1.64 M over FY2018, which will fund SEI training for vocational education educators, implement the provisions of the Language Opportunity for Our Kids (LOOK) Act, and provide support for middle and high school students deemed to be at risk of dropping out of school as a result of language barriers or challenges in English language acquisition.
VII. Expansion of Career Technical Education (7027-0019) The General Appropriations Act gives an increase of $1.45 M to School-to-Career Connecting Activities over FY2018, and the account contains $0.5 M of earmarks.
VIII. Program Changes
The General Appropriations Act increases the Adult Basic Education line item (7035-0002) by $3.7 million to reduce the waitlist of students for English language learning slots and to fund the new professional development system to provide training and support for ABE programs.
AP Math and Science Programs (7035-0035) received a $300,000 increase over FY2018.
The General Appropriations Act supports the Governor’s request to fund Student Assessment (7061-9400) at $32.1 million, which includes $1 M of new funding to support the implementation of the new history and social science standards and the development of new assessments in history and social science.
The General Appropriations Act funds Innovation Schools (7061-9011) at $35,000 above FY2018.
Assessment Consortium (7061-9401) is level funded. The Governor vetoed $0.2 M in funding the Conference Report had provided above FY2018.
7061-9408 Targeted Assistance has received an increase of $0.358 M above FY2018.
The General Appropriations Act funds Teacher Licensure (7061-9601) at $1,867,453, an increase of $121,104 to cover the additional volume expected in a license renewal year.
The General Appropriations Act transfers the administration of the Recovery High School Program (7061-9607) from the Department of Public Health to DESE and increases the funding to $3.1 M.
After adjusting for $1.7M of earmarks, the 7061-9611 After-School Grant Program is funded at $2,576,923, which is $0.22 M higher than FY2018 net spending excluding earmarks.
The Safe and Supportive Schools Grant Program (7061-9612) has been increased by $250,000 above FY2018 in the GAA.
The General Appropriations Act adds $650,000 to the YouthBuild Programs line item (7061-9626) over FY2018.
Mentoring Matching Grants (7061-9634) has received an increase of $275,000 above FY2018.
Child Sexual Abuse Prevention (7061-9812) is increased by $0.25 M of earmarks.
The General Appropriations Act has added a new line item for FY2019:
Educational Improvement Project Grants (7010-1192) at $1.625 M. This account represents a collection of legislative earmarks that fund specific local education needs.
In the GAA, The Department’s other accounts are either level funded or receive minor increases/decreases due to payroll changes or with the removal/addition of legislative earmarks.
An Act making
appropriations for fiscal year 2018 to provide for supplementing certain
existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects
Chapter
273 of the Acts of 2018
The October 2018 supplemental budget to the FY2018 GAA appropriated:
$5M additional dollars in the Department’s targeted assistance line-item (7061-9408)
$7.5M to the Executive Office of Education for infrastructure safety grants
$7.5M to the Department for grants to districts that allow for contracts with licensed community based mental and behavioral service providers
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