Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H4417 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4417
2	2	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
3	3	________________________________________
4	4	HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, February 26, 2024.
5	5	The committee on Education, to whom were referred the petition
6	6	(accompanied by bill, House, No. 439) of Antonio F. D. Cabral and others
7	7	relative to transparency and accountability in charter school finances, the
8	8	petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 484) of Colleen M. Garry for
9	9	legislation to establish an opt-out admissions lottery process for charter
10	10	schools, the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 545) of James J.
11	11	O'Day and Daniel M. Donahue for legislation to promote collaboration in
12	12	Horace Mann and innovation schools, the petition (accompanied by bill,
13	13	House, No. 573) of Adam Scanlon relative to local approval for charter
14	14	schools, the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 594) of Steven
15	15	Ultrino and Paul J. Donato relative to charter school renewals, the petition
16	16	(accompanied by bill, House, No. 595) of Steven Ultrino and Michelle M.
17	17	DuBois relative to the fiscal impact of charter schools on public education,
18	18	the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 598) of Steven Ultrino and
19	19	Jason M. Lewis relative to the net school spending cap, and the petition
20	20	(accompanied by bill, House, No. 608) of Tommy Vitolo, Steven Ultrino
21	21	and others for legislation to ensure charter school transparency and public
22	22	accountability, reports recommending that the accompanying bill (House,
23	23	No. 4417) ought to pass.
24	24	For the committee,
25	25	DENISE C. GARLICK. 1 of 3
26	26	FILED ON: 2/7/2024
27	27	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4417
28	28	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
29	29	_______________
30	30	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
31	31	(2023-2024)
32	32	_______________
33	33	An Act relative to charter schools.
34	34	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
35	35	of the same, as follows:
36	36	1 SECTION 1. Paragraph (3) of subsection (i) of section 89 of chapter 71, as appearing in
37	37	2the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the third paragraph and inserting in
38	38	3place thereof the following paragraphs:-
39	39	4 If a district is no longer in the lowest 10 per cent, the net school spending cap shall be 9
40	40	5per cent, unless the district net school spending was above 9 per cent in the year prior to moving
41	41	6out of the lowest 10 per cent in which case the net school spending cap shall remain at the actual
42	42	7spending level plus enrollment previously approved by the board; provided, that for the purposes
43	43	8of a regional charter school, enrollment previously approved by the board shall mean the actual
44	44	9enrollment of students from a district as a portion of the total enrollment previously approved by
45	45	10the board for the regional charter school. The department shall determine and make available to
46	46	11the public a list of the school districts in said lowest 10 per cent.
47	47	12 The department shall not approve any additional seats for charter schools that originate
48	48	13from a sending district that moved out of the lowest 10 per cent if the net school spending cap of 2 of 3
49	49	14the sending district was above 9 per cent at the time that the sending school district moved out of
50	50	15the lowest 10 per cent, provided that any district costs related to seats previously approved in
51	51	16contradiction to this paragraph shall be borne by the department.
52	52	17 The department shall provide the total tuition amount owed by the sending district
53	53	18calculated for each enrolled charter school student from a district that is no longer in the lowest
54	54	1910 per cent who was permitted to enroll notwithstanding the net school spending cap. The
55	55	20department shall not require a charter school or the district to reimburse the department for said
56	56	21tuition amount. The state treasurer shall not deduct the tuition amount from the district’s state
57	57	22school aid, as defined in section 2 of chapter 70 of the General Laws.
58	58	23 SECTION 2. Subsection (j) of said section 89 of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is
59	59	24hereby amended by striking the first paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following
60	60	25paragraph:-
61	61	26 The board shall make the final determination on granting charter school status and may
62	62	27condition charters on the applicant's taking certain actions or maintaining certain conditions. The
63	63	28board shall establish criteria for the approval of a charter application and recommendations to the
64	64	29board shall be based upon and reference those criteria. Criteria shall, to the extent possible,
65	65	30include, but not be limited to, (i) the projected impact on enrollment to the sending district or
66	66	31districts and (ii) the projected financial impact to the sending district or districts.
67	67	32 SECTION 3. Subsection (dd) of said section 89 of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is
68	68	33hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-
69	69	34 The decision by the board to renew a charter shall be based upon the presentation of
70	70	35affirmative evidence regarding the faithfulness of the school to the terms of its charter. The 3 of 3
71	71	36presentation of affirmative evidence shall be made available to the public by the board at least 30
72	72	37days prior to the vote to renew a school’s charter. Further, the board shall solicit public
73	73	38comment for a period of at least 30 days prior to the board’s vote to renew a school’s charter.
74	74	39The board shall review all material submitted in support of or in opposition to the charter
75	75	40renewal prior to a renewal vote.