| 1 | 1 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4408 |
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| 2 | 2 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 3 | 3 | | ________________________________________ |
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| 4 | 4 | | HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, February 20, 2024. |
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| 5 | 5 | | The committee on Education, to whom was referred the petition |
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| 6 | 6 | | (accompanied by bill, House, No. 589) of Chynah Tyler relative to the |
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| 7 | 7 | | establishment of a special commission (including members of the General |
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| 8 | 8 | | Court) to reassess school integration within the Metropolitan Council for |
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| 9 | 9 | | Educational Opportunity (METCO) Program, and the petition |
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| 10 | 10 | | (accompanied by bill, House, No. 590) of Chynah Tyler, Vanna Howard |
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| 11 | 11 | | and Michelle M. DuBois for legislation to establish a special commission |
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| 12 | 12 | | (including members of the General Court) on school segregation, reports |
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| 13 | 13 | | recommending that the accompanying bill (House, No. 4408) ought to |
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| 14 | 14 | | pass. |
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| 15 | 15 | | For the committee, |
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| 16 | 16 | | DENISE C. GARLICK. 1 of 2 |
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| 17 | 17 | | FILED ON: 2/5/2024 |
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| 18 | 18 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4408 |
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| 19 | 19 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 20 | 20 | | _______________ |
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| 21 | 21 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 22 | 22 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 23 | 23 | | _______________ |
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| 24 | 24 | | An Act to assess school integration within the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity |
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| 25 | 25 | | (METCO) program. |
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| 26 | 26 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 27 | 27 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 28 | 28 | | 1 (a) There shall be a task force to reassess school integration within the Metropolitan |
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| 29 | 29 | | 2Council for Educational Opportunity program, hereinafter called the METCO program. |
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| 30 | 30 | | 3 The task force shall consist of 13 members: 2 of whom shall be the chairs of the joint |
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| 31 | 31 | | 4committee on education or their designees, who shall serve as co-chairs; 1 of whom shall be |
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| 32 | 32 | | 5appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives or a designee; 1 of whom shall be |
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| 33 | 33 | | 6appointed by the president of the senate or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the minority leader of |
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| 34 | 34 | | 7the house of representatives or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the minority leader of the senate |
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| 35 | 35 | | 8or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the secretary of education or a designee; 1 of whom shall be |
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| 36 | 36 | | 9the commissioner of elementary and secondary education or a designee; 1 of whom shall be the |
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| 37 | 37 | | 10president of the Black Educators Alliance of Massachusetts, Inc. or a designee; 1 of whom shall |
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| 38 | 38 | | 11be the president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People New |
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| 39 | 39 | | 12England Area Conference or a designee; and 3 of whom shall be appointed by the governor and |
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| 40 | 40 | | 13shall be former participants in the METCO program. 2 of 2 |
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| 41 | 41 | | 14 The task force shall evaluate the historical impact of the METCO program in the |
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| 42 | 42 | | 15commonwealth and make recommendations to the general court regarding school integration and |
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| 43 | 43 | | 16improvements to the program. |
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| 44 | 44 | | 17 (b) The task force shall convene beginning not later than 180 days after the effective date |
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| 45 | 45 | | 18of this act and meet not fewer than 4 times. The task force shall submit its findings and |
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| 46 | 46 | | 19recommendations, including any proposed legislation, by filing the same with the clerks of the |
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| 47 | 47 | | 20house of representatives and senate and the governor not later than 1 year after the effective date |
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| 48 | 48 | | 21of this act |
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