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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1917 FILED ON: 1/18/2023 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 439 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Antonio F. D. Cabral |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act relative to transparency and accountability in charter school finance. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Antonio F. D. Cabral13th Bristol1/18/2023Christopher Hendricks11th Bristol1/26/2023Carol A. Doherty3rd Bristol1/30/2023Paul A. Schmid, III8th Bristol2/1/2023Vanna Howard17th Middlesex2/1/2023Michelle M. DuBois10th Plymouth2/7/2023 1 of 4 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1917 FILED ON: 1/18/2023 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 439 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Cabral of New Bedford, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 439) of |
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| 19 | 19 | | Antonio F. D. Cabral and others relative to transparency and accountability in charter school |
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| 20 | 20 | | finances. Education. |
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| 21 | 21 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 22 | 22 | | _______________ |
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| 23 | 23 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 24 | 24 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
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| 26 | 26 | | An Act relative to transparency and accountability in charter school finance. |
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| 27 | 27 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 28 | 28 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 29 | 29 | | 1 Section 89 of chapter 71 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, |
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| 30 | 30 | | 2is hereby amended by striking paragraph (ff) and inserting in place thereof the following: |
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| 31 | 31 | | 3 (ff) Commonwealth charter schools shall be funded as follows: the commonwealth shall |
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| 32 | 32 | | 4pay a tuition amount to the charter school, which shall be the sum of the tuition amounts |
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| 33 | 33 | | 5calculated separately for each district sending students to the charter school. Tuition amounts for |
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| 34 | 34 | | 6each sending district shall be calculated by the department using the formula set forth herein, to |
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| 35 | 35 | | 7reflect, as much as practicable, the actual per-pupil spending amount that would be expended in |
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| 36 | 36 | | 8the district if the students attended the district schools. The tuition amount shall be calculated |
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| 37 | 37 | | 9separately for each district sending students to a charter school, and for each charter school to |
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| 38 | 38 | | 10which a district sends students. Each district's per pupil tuition amount for each charter school to |
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| 39 | 39 | | 11which it sends students shall include a per pupil foundation budget component, adjusted to |
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| 40 | 40 | | 12reflect the actual net school spending in the sending district. 2 of 4 |
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| 41 | 41 | | 13 In calculating the per pupil foundation budget component, the department shall calculate |
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| 42 | 42 | | 14a foundation budget for the students from each sending district attending the charter school in the |
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| 43 | 43 | | 15previous fiscal year, pursuant to the provisions of section 2 of chapter 70; provided, that the |
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| 44 | 44 | | 16department shall not include in the said calculation the assumed tuition-out special education |
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| 45 | 45 | | 17enrollment, nor any amounts generated by said assumed enrollment, as defined by said section 2. |
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| 46 | 46 | | 18The per pupil foundation budget component shall be the district's foundation budget for the |
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| 47 | 47 | | 19charter school, as so calculated, divided by the number of students attending the charter school |
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| 48 | 48 | | 20from the sending district in the previous fiscal year. The per pupil foundation budget component |
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| 49 | 49 | | 21shall be calculated separately for each charter school to which a district sends students. The |
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| 50 | 50 | | 22foundation budget for a charter school shall be the sum of the foundation budgets for the charter |
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| 51 | 51 | | 23school for each district sending students to the charter school. |
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| 52 | 52 | | 24 In adjusting the per pupil foundation budget component, the department shall calculate |
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| 53 | 53 | | 25for each sending district an above foundation spending percentage, which shall be the percentage |
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| 54 | 54 | | 26by which the district's actual net school spending exceeds the foundation budget for the district, |
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| 55 | 55 | | 27as calculated pursuant to the provisions of chapter 70. The department shall further calculate the |
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| 56 | 56 | | 28percentage of actual net school spending reported by the sending district associated with tuition |
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| 57 | 57 | | 29costs for tuition-out special education students, including education that occurs in educational |
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| 58 | 58 | | 30collaboratives, and with spending on health care costs for retired employees, for any district for |
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| 59 | 59 | | 31which such costs are included in net school spending, and shall reduce the districts above |
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| 60 | 60 | | 32foundation spending percentage proportionately. The per pupil foundation budget component for |
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| 61 | 61 | | 33each charter school to which the sending district sends students shall be increased by said |
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| 62 | 62 | | 34adjusted above foundation spending percentage. 3 of 4 |
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| 63 | 63 | | 35 The total tuition amount payable by a sending district to a charter school shall be the per |
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| 64 | 64 | | 36pupil tuition amount as defined above, multiplied by the total number of students attending the |
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| 65 | 65 | | 37charter school from that district in the current fiscal year. The total charter school tuition amount |
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| 66 | 66 | | 38for purposes of the following paragraphs shall be the sum of the district's amounts for each |
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| 67 | 67 | | 39charter school to which the district sends students, calculated using the provisions of this section. |
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| 68 | 68 | | 40The receiving charter school's total charter school tuition amount shall be the sum of the tuition |
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| 69 | 69 | | 41amounts calculated for the charter school attributable to each district sending students to the |
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| 70 | 70 | | 42charter school. |
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| 71 | 71 | | 43 If a charter school student previously attended a private or parochial school or was home- |
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| 72 | 72 | | 44schooled, the commonwealth shall assume the first-year cost for that student and shall not reduce |
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| 73 | 73 | | 45the sending district's chapter 70 aid for that student's tuition in that fiscal year. |
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| 74 | 74 | | 46 The state treasurer is hereby authorized and directed to deduct the local share of the total |
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| 75 | 75 | | 47tuition amount payable to a charter school, as calculated herein, from the state school aid, as |
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| 76 | 76 | | 48defined in section 2 of said Chapter 70, of the district in which the student resides prior to the |
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| 77 | 77 | | 49distribution of said aid. For the purpose of calculating the local share amount to be deducted, the |
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| 78 | 78 | | 50total per student foundation budget component for a district, before any adjustment, shall not |
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| 79 | 79 | | 51exceed the statewide average per student minimum required local contribution as defined in |
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| 80 | 80 | | 52section 2 of said Chapter 70 or as otherwise determined for any fiscal year and the amount of any |
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| 81 | 81 | | 53adjustment attributable to above foundation spending shall not exceed the statewide average |
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| 82 | 82 | | 54above foundation spending amount. In the case of a child residing in a municipality that belongs |
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| 83 | 83 | | 55to a regional school district, the local share of the charter school tuition amount shall be deducted |
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| 84 | 84 | | 56from said chapter 70 education aid of the school district appropriate to the grade level of the |
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| 85 | 85 | | 57child. If in a single district, the total of all such deductions exceeds the total of said education 4 of 4 |
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| 86 | 86 | | 58aid, this excess amount shall be deducted from other aid appropriated to the city or town. If in a |
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| 87 | 87 | | 59single district, the total of all such deductions exceeds the total state aid appropriated, the |
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| 88 | 88 | | 60commonwealth shall appropriate this excess amount; provided, however, that said district has |
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| 89 | 89 | | 61exempted itself from the provisions of said chapter 70 by accepting section 14 of said chapter 70, |
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| 90 | 90 | | 62the commonwealth shall assess said district for the said excess amount. |
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| 91 | 91 | | 63 The state treasurer is hereby further authorized and directed to disburse to the charter |
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| 92 | 92 | | 64school an amount equal to the charter school's total charter school tuition amount as defined |
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| 93 | 93 | | 65above. |
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| 94 | 94 | | 66 If more than 1 charter school is managed by a single network or board of trustees, |
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| 95 | 95 | | 67funding shall not be transferred among individual schools within the network unless such schools |
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| 96 | 96 | | 68are located in the same school district. |
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| 97 | 97 | | 69 The department shall, subject to appropriation, provide funding to charter schools for a |
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| 98 | 98 | | 70portion of the per pupil capital needs component included in the charter tuition amount and shall |
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| 99 | 99 | | 71reimburse the sending school districts for said costs. In fiscal year 2011 and thereafter, such |
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| 100 | 100 | | 72funding shall not be less than the per pupil amount provided in fiscal year 2010. |
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| 101 | 101 | | 73 In the event of a charter school closing or eliminating grade levels as required by the |
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| 102 | 102 | | 74board, the school district shall retain chapter 70 allotments for the students who attended those |
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| 103 | 103 | | 75grade levels in the previous year. |
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