State Education Laws Enacted in 2017

Sharing a document from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education: the following laws relate to the Department and were enacted in 2017 (in chronological order):

LEGISLATION

An Act relative to the Mohawk Trail Regional School District and the Hawlemont School District: Chapter 31 of the Acts of 2017 (see H.2859), effective June 30, 2017. This is follow-up legislation to a 1993 law filed to confirm the Mohawk Trail Regional School District's budget process and their right to approve future amendments in accordance with law and the terms of their agreement after the participating towns approved a change in their regional agreement.

An Act relative to language opportunity for our kids (LOOK): Chapter 138  of the Acts of 2017 (see H.4032), Sections 47-54 inclusive, shall take effect on May 1, 2018. 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 EL 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.

Increased input from Parents and Guardians 

• 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 of ELs 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 EL program is properly endorsed for that program.

Benchmarks, Guidelines, and Templates

• Requires 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.

FY18 BUDGET LAWS

An Act Making Certain Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2018 Before Final Action on the General Appropriation Bill: Chapter 25 of the Acts of 2017 (see H.3775), effective June 26, 2017. Directs the State treasurer to make advance payments for some or all of periodic local reimbursement or assistance programs to any city, town, regional school district or independent agricultural and technical school that demonstrates an emergency cash shortfall, as certified by the Commissioner of Revenue and approved by the Secretary of Administration and Finance, pursuant to guidelines issues by the Secretary.

FY18 General Appropriations Act (GAA): Chapter 47 of the Acts of 2017 (see H.3800) effective July 17, 2017. The GAA includes total state spending of $39.4 billion, representing a $652 million (1.7%), increase over FY17 spending. This spending recommendation is based on a projected 3.4% increase in tax revenue for FY18.

• The Department's recommended appropriations total $5.324 billion, which represents an increase of $113.5 million (2.2%) over FY17 spending. The GAA affirms a commitment to fund education aid for our Districts but does include reduced spending to a number of the Department's accounts due to the lowered revenue forecast for FY18. In signing the budget, the Governor vetoed spending of $5.6 million in Department 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%) over FY17. The increase is designed to allow for a minimum aid increase of $30 per pupil over FY17 for every school District and provides $25M to begin addressing the increased costs of employee and retiree healthcare.
• GAA funding for the Special Education Circuit Breaker account (7061-0012) is increased by $4M over FY17. Regional School Transportation (7035-0006) has a $500,000 increase. The METCO grant program (7010-0012) and Charter School Tuition Reimbursements (7061-9010) are level funded. The Department estimates the latter will cover 100% reimbursement for the capital facility component of Charter Tuition ($893 per student) and 69.3% 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 FY17 levels.

II. Student Assessment

• The GAA funding for the Student Assessment account (7061-9400) was insufficient to meet the Department's planned program spending for the upcoming school year. The Governor made a reserve draw to bring the account total to $31.1M.

III. Departmental Grant & Targeted Support Programs

• The majority of Department grant and targeted support programs were either level funded or reduced.
  • Targeted Assistance (7061-9408) reduced by $183,955 from FY17.
  • Copnnecting Activities (7027-0019) increased $555,250 for both earmarks and additional grant funding.
  • Adult Basic Education (7035-0002) increased $829,289 for both earmarks and additional grant funding.
  • ELT Grant Program (7061-9412) reduced by $197,685 from FY17.
  • After-School Grant Program (7061-9611) funded at $3.5M to fund both earmarks and additional grants.
  • Consolidated Literacy Program (7-1--0033) is $76,907 higher than FY17 spending, while Bay State Reading received an increase of $206,167.
  • Special Education in Institutional Settings account (7028-0031) received an increase of $4M over FY17 level.
  • Safe and Supportive Schools Grant Program (7061-9612) is funded at $500,000, an increase of $101,400 over FY17.
  • The GAA transfers of the WPI Schools of Excellence (7061-9624) account from the Department of Higher Education to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, funded at $1.4M.

IV. Administrative & Operational Resources

• The GAA reduces the Department's administrative funding below its 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 $267,067
• 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. Requires a feasibility study to be conducted by the Executive Office of Education on minimum number of instructional hours substituted 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. Requires a feasibility study to be conducted by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on rural school district aid.

Fair Share Amendment

The Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) heard arguments yesterday on the Fair Share Amendment. Opponents of the measure want the justices to determine whether or not the proposal falls within the scope of ballot initiatives, as specified in Article 48 of our state's constitution.

Our schools lack the foundation funding necessary to provide all students with a well-rounded, quality education that includes the arts, civics and media literacy, and athletics; those who face the greatest challenges require even more support. When they graduate, students are forced to take on enormous debt for a degree from our public colleges and universities. We need to reinvest in quality public education so that all students have access to the well-rounded education and affordable college they need to succeed.

I was proud to be asked by the Raise Up Massachusetts coalition to be one of ten original signers of the Fair Share Amendment because improving the quality of the education our young people receive, and providing a sound future for them and our Commonwealth, requires up-front investments for the long-term. The Fair Share Amendment would amend the Massachusetts Constitution to create an additional tax of four percentage points on annual income above one million dollars, so only those with the highest incomes would pay a little more. The new revenue generated by this tax could only be spent (subject to appropriation) on quality public education, affordable public colleges and universities, and for repair and maintenance of roads, bridges, and public transportation.

To ensure that the tax continues to apply only to the highest income residents, who have the ability to pay more, the one million dollar threshold would be adjusted each year to reflect cost-of-living increases.

As an original signer, and one of thousands of activists to gather petition signatures for it to improve transportation infrastructure and public education, I believe we can make those investments by asking our highest income residents, who currently pay less of their income in state and local taxes than the rest of us, to pay a little more on their income over $1 million.

Revenue raised by the Amendment will go a long way to making sure we are educating our children in high-quality programs, providing affordable higher education for students, and building a transportation system that works. These investments are critical to ensuring every resident in the Bay State has a shot at getting ahead.

Charter School Redux

We're nearing the end of "charter school season" and await the recommendations of the Acting Commissioner to see if any are advanced to the Board for approval later this month.

Some criticize charter schools for not educating all children, those with special needs or who are English language learners, in particular. Others say that charters and core public schools shouldn't be compared because the rules are different. Still others say the problem is with how charters are funded.

But if you go back to the original law (and it's been amended several times since enacted) one thing is clear: Where core public schools have always been about taking in and educating all children, charter schools never were -- and that was supposed to provide their edge.

"Labs of innovation" meant that they were not going to take everyone on purpose. Instead, they would take a small number of students so that they could try something new and different from what was offered in the home public school -- and then -- share back with them the findings of their innovations for student success. But few charter schools have lived up to this notion.

It’s reasonable that families want a personalized education for their child, but the answer isn’t charter schools, because that’s not what they’re about. Ultimately, it’s competition for funding that charters offer, and this turns the whole thing into a resource problem because charters drain money and resources from schools and districts, thus increasing class sizes, resulting in fewer educators necessary to address student needs in the home core district. Considered another way, such a condition contributes to the very problem everyone says they are trying to solve - that of closing gaps. It's an unhealthy cycle.

We should be so judicious, so scrupulous in our authorization, that we opt only for proposals with truly innovative and proven models not offered in the home districts. Why are we taking proposals for expansion or for new charter school authorization, when the state is falling down on its commitment to reimburse districts? Or when numbers of districts report time and again the impact that expansion has had, or authorization will have, on strapped budgets and an out of date state funding formula?

We all have a stake in the solid education of all our people, least of which are countless situations where our personal interests depend on others' competence, empathy, and compassion. Charter schools have become a powerful wedge for privatizing a public good and Massachusetts voters said that was the wrong way to go when they voted 2:1 to oppose charter expansion (Ballot Question 2). Nevertheless, unimpeded expansion of charter schools continues to represent a threat to adequate funding of core public schools.

A personal connection with the arts

My parents were musicians.

Mom was a concert pianist and organist. One of her gifts was that she could read any piece of music put in front of her. She loved playing Debussy, Schumann, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Bach, and Franck. She was frequently called upon to accompany vocalists and instrumentalists for upcoming recitals and auditions.

Dad was a sax, clarinet, and boom-chick piano-player who played in a dance band in high school, gigging on weekends with pals from his small town school. One of his gifts was that he could play anything by ear. He played at the piano during down time, weekends mostly, after he had finished chores with my younger brothers in tow. He enjoyed writing original vocal and instrumental compositions, including vocal arrangements for his barber shoppe quartet and for the religious in the convent on the far side of the fairgrounds in the small rural coal-mining town in Pennsylvania where we lived until I was ten.

I grew up in a time when arts education was the pride of every community, whether in public schools or in the public square, and I was encouraged to participate in all of it: music; drawing and painting; poetry and creative writing; dance; photography. I began with piano lessons in first grade. Over time, I added to my portfolio the needle arts; calligraphy & book arts; ceramics; cooking; costumery; collaborative arts. When I had worked for a while on a calligraphy project, a writing project beckoned; after working on that for a time, a knitting or sewing project next.

We moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio when I was ten, into a bigger pool of arts offerings, with more and different things to try. I was in my element. We moved again when I was fourteen, just before beginning high school, from Ohio to Massachusetts. The nascent arts and music programming in the school was lacking, left me wanting, and my heart sank as I came to realize that I wouldn't be expanding my arts education there. I felt defeated and frustrated and, initially, resentful, what with no big choruses to sing in or musicals to perform in.

But what ended up happening was that I became part of the group that built and led the music program there. Singing in newly established a capella and concert choral groups and learning to play a range of styles and instruments: piano in jazz band; oboe in concert band; trombone in the marching band. I took every music elective that was offered and invited others to join me. Ultimately, we took part in every musical we were finally able to produce in my last two years. I became student conductor for concert band and took to arranging and transcribing Bach two- and three-part keyboard Inventions for brass and woodwind ensembles. I sang in District and All-State Choruses and was a founding member of an elite ensemble of high school vocal and instrumental musicians that met every Sunday at Northeastern University for an afternoon of rehearsing original arrangements that were then performed in Symphony Hall and in other venues across the Commonwealth.

The affect the arts has had on me throughout my life has been boundless, but it was in those early, formative years that I developed an attachment to the arts and they became a lifeline to me as we relocated from the rural mountains of PA, to urban, central OH, and then to the quiet, reserved community in MA. Despite the paucity of music and arts programming offered in my high school (lo those many years ago), what was offered got me up and to school on the rainiest of days.

And, that still holds true today. Since the November 2016 election I have sat at my piano nearly every day, finding solace in patriotic and popular songs, and in the compositions of Debussy, Bartok, Haydn, and Bach. (I now have a little set that I would consider playing before a small group of friends).

A personal connection with arts, culture, or creativity has an immeasurable impact on one's life and well-being, place, and view of community. Among other things, my engagement has taught me patience, perspective, sequencing, problem-solving, persistence, and the joy of self-expression.

But, children in many public schools and communities are losing so much, whether due to shrinking budgets or the focus on standardized testing in schools or loss of national and state funding for community arts programming. The arts are designated a core academic subject, yet access to arts education in our schools is eroding. And this at a time when parents, employers, and civic leaders are demanding improvements to teaching and learning that will make our schools places where each learner will access a complete education and opportunities to succeed.

Our children will need to be creative thinkers and makers prepared to face and solve the challenges awaiting them in their future. To help them get there they will need many things, including an arts education. 

Economy in the Commonwealth

Reports on public transportation (specifically, the breakdown of public transit), appear in local and regional news on a regular basis. Most people see economic growth as the number one reason to invest in our transportation system. A comprehensive public transit system for all communities would include improvements to our existing transit infrastructure, as well as expanding smart, transit-oriented development that's affordable.

Transportation infrastructure isn't just about economic growth, it also overlaps with our affordable housing, education, climate change, and energy goals and we should seek to adopt the holistic model of "complete streets" when considering what those community goals should be.

Employers argue that a strong economy doesn't exist without a strong workforce and see investment in vocational technical education as a key to keeping the Commonwealth competitive.

We need an energy infrastructure that reduces pollution, promotes clean energy, reduces greenhouse gasses, and protects our natural climate and environment.

We need sustainable and holistic practices for healthy natural and built environments that provide ample open space and reduced pollution, improving our communities and nurturing all of our residents.

Affordable housing is a difficult, multi-layered issue, too. We have an increasing, aging population. Seniors want to maintain social relationships and connections in their communities to maintain quality of life and there is limited housing, limited affordable housing, available for downsizing. Luxury condos are being built with incentives for builders, not for people.

We should all be concerned about the mounting crisis in privatization and corporatization of, not only our public transit system, but of our public education system, as well.

For many years already we have all seen a crisis in healthcare (and every developed nation -- and poor countries -- are working toward national healthcare, so why aren't we?) Solving it is part of the solution to the Commonwealth's economic problems, in addition to better healthcare for all.

We want flexible jobs? An innovative economy? Address income inequality? We are squandering those opportunities if we don't address transportation, affordable housing, public education, and healthcare now.

We have choices and the decisions that need to be made need to be made together. If it's important, let's make a plan and fund it. In my experience, when people get together, the best ideas come forward, so let's keep these issues front and center in this and the governor's race and see who has the vision and is willing to work with us to achieve it.

The State's FY18 Budget

We're less than halfway through the Fiscal Year (FY18), and, as I was re-reading MassBudget's FY18 budget analysis, I thought it worth noting a few of their key points.

Early Education: Quality early education and care helps prepare our young children for success in K-12 education and allows them to thrive more generally. Early education and care is also a critical work support for parents with young children, by offering safe and reliable care for kids while parents provide for their families. Funding for early education is -22% since 2001.

K-12 Education: Providing an excellent education to all children in Massachusetts supports future generations in the Commonwealth while contributing to our economy over the long term. Chapter 70 education aid is the main program for delivering state support to local districts across Massachusetts, and ensuring that schools have sufficient resources to provide the necessary services to all students.* The current (FY18) budget increased Chapter 70 Aid by $118.9 million (2.6%) to $4.75 billion.^ The FY18 Chapter 70 budget also includes a modest step to implement recommendations made by the Foundation Budget Review Commission (FBRC) in 2015.** The FBRC noted that current underfunding reduces the capacity of schools across the state to provide services to help all children succeed.

Higher Education: Higher education helps the people of our state contribute to their communities and gain the skills to succeed in a knowledge-driven economy. Our public higher education institutions – including the University of Massachusetts (UMass), the state universities, and our community colleges – educate a majority of Massachusetts high school graduates who go on to college. Graduates from public higher education are also more likely to stay in-state after graduation, contributing to our economy over the long term. Higher education funding is -15% since 2001, which has contributed to a doubling of tuition and fees between 2001-2016.

Environment & Recreation: The state budget funds programs that keep our air, water, and land clean, maintain fish and wildlife habitats, and staff and maintain our parks, beaches, pools, and other recreational facilities. The current FY18 budget provides $200.0 million for environment and recreation programs, which is $6.8 million more than in FY 2017. The Governor vetoed $4.8 million from the Legislature’s budget, largely by eliminating funding for specific environment and recreation projects located throughout the state. The Legislature overrode all of these vetoes. Even with this slight increase in funding in FY18, the environment and recreation budget is 35% below FY01 after adjusting for inflation.

Libraries: The state budget supports local libraries; the Boston Public Library, which serves as the primary research and reference service for the Commonwealth; and other library programs in Massachusetts. The current FY18 budget provides $25.5 million for libraries, which is slightly above the FY17 budget. The Governor vetoed $250,000 in funding for libraries, which the Legislature overrode. Even with a slight increase over FY17, funding for public libraries has fallen by 48 percent since FY 2001 after adjusting for inflation.

Unrestricted Local Aid: General local aid helps cities and towns fund vital local services such as police and fire protection, parks, and public works.^^ The current FY18 budget allots $1.06 billion for Unrestricted General Government Local Aid. Also known as UGGA or “general local aid,” the amount is an increase of $39.9 million over FY17 levels. The Commonwealth’s capacity to fund general local aid has been hindered by a series of significant state-level tax cuts during the 1990s and 2000s combined with the Great Recession. While over the past several years, general local aid funding has increased in step with or slightly above inflation, it still remains 40.5 percent below FY 2001 levels, when adjusted for inflation.

Tax Revenue: The budget adopted several “tax modernization” changes that would deliver a mix of both one-time and ongoing revenue. The Legislature did not adopt a number of proposals for additional revenues: higher taxes on flavored cigars, tighter eligibility and salary caps for Film Tax Credits, and extending the room occupancy tax to short-term rentals such as those made through Airbnb. Nor did the Legislature include an earlier proposal for a Tax Expenditure Review Commission to systematically review and make recommendations about many of the tax breaks provided by the Commonwealth. The budget expands the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) by making it easier for married victims of domestic abuse to claim the credit without filing a joint return with their spouses. Along with this change, the budget limits the size of state EITC benefits for part-time residents and eliminates access to the credit for nonresidents. The Legislature also agreed to create a new business tax credit for employers that hire qualified, Massachusetts-based veterans.

- - -
* For further background on the state’s education funding system, see MassBudget's Demystifying the Chapter 70 Formula. 
^ This increase is close to the 2.5% ($113.0 million total) increase from FY16 to FY17. 
** Wherein the Commission found that according to the state’s estimate of what it takes to educate children (called the “foundation budget”), school districts are significantly under-resourced.
^^ For more information on general local aid, please see MassBudget's Demystifying General Local Aid in Massachusetts. 

Announcement

As a longtime activist and Lexington resident, I announce my candidacy for state representative for the 15th Middlesex District.*

We’ve been boldly represented by Jay Kaufman for more than a generation and I heartily thank him for his service. Jay has been an effective leader who has tirelessly stood up for our values. His impact will be felt for many years to come.

The causes Jay supported -- and the issues we face in our district and beyond -- still need a courageous leader who isn't afraid to speak up and make change. I will champion:

• Fair and adequate education funding for each child
• Responsible energy policy that protects and sustains our environment and natural resources
• Improved healthcare for all
• Social justice and equal opportunity for economically disadvantaged, incarcerated, and vulnerable populations regardless of race, gender, religious identity, place of origin, or sexual orientation

I’ve been called upon to play a leadership role in key areas. Beginning in 2007, I worked on the Revenue Working Group with Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts. After holding office in local, state, and national PTA associations, and on the Lexington School Committee, Governor Deval Patrick appointed me as the parent representative on the state Board of Education. The Raise Up Massachusetts coalition asked me to serve as one of the lead signers of its Fair Share Amendment initiative, which establishes a new “millionaires’ tax” to provide needed funding for education and transportation.

Serving as a state representative will allow me to further extend my leadership on issues of critical importance to our families and our future. I am energized and ready to accept this challenge. With the help of voters in the 15th Middlesex, I can succeed.

For information and updates about the campaign, please visit/like the new facebook page.

* Lexington and Wards 1&7 in Woburn