1 of 1 HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2419 FILED ON: 1/19/2023 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 520 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts _________________ PRESENTED BY: Meghan Kilcoyne _________________ To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General Court assembled: The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: An Act relative to equitable accelerated learning opportunities for public school students. _______________ PETITION OF: NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Meghan Kilcoyne12th Worcester1/18/2023David Paul Linsky5th Middlesex3/1/2023Gerard J. Cassidy9th Plymouth3/7/2023James C. Arena-DeRosa8th Middlesex3/13/2023 1 of 3 HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2419 FILED ON: 1/19/2023 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 520 By Representative Kilcoyne of Clinton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 520) of Meghan Kilcoyne and others relative to equitable learning opportunities for public school students. Education. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts _______________ In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court (2023-2024) _______________ An Act relative to equitable accelerated learning opportunities for public school students. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: 1 Section 1B of Chapter 69 of the General Laws as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition 2is hereby amended by inserting after the 25th paragraph the following paragraphs: 3 “The board of elementary and secondary education shall establish regulations regarding, 4in the K-12 public schools of the Commonwealth, the use of whole-grade and content-specific 5academic acceleration designed to match the level, complexity, and pace of instruction of the 6curriculum to the readiness and motivation of the student; enabling accelerated students to 7master knowledge and skills, as they may be capable, at a rate faster or at an age earlier than the 8typical age-average student. Said regulations shall authorize, provide a framework, and direct 9school districts to provide access to appropriate curriculum, instruction and pacing for students 10who demonstrate readiness for academic content, skills or understanding at a level beyond the 11curriculum ordinarily taught to students of a certain age. 2 of 3 12 To ensure equity in education, the acceleration regulations established pursuant to this 13section shall direct that schools evaluate all children to determine the need for acceleration 14accommodations, not only those students recommended for acceleration by teachers and parents. 15Said regulations shall require the use of screening assessments, and an evaluation tool designed 16to take personal bias out of the decision-making process when considering a child for 17acceleration; and to ensure that acceleration decisions are evidence-based, systematic, 18thoughtful, well-reasoned, and defensible. Such regulations shall require that any determination 19made regarding acceleration accommodations for a student shall be documented in a written 20acceleration plan including, at a minimum, relevant academic and social-emotional supports. 21 Said written acceleration plan shall be implemented by administrators, counselors, and 22teachers. All districts shall provide professional development for educators to ensure a 23supportive environment for accelerated students and document it in their plans pursuant to 24Chapter 71 Section 38Q . The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shall 25develop and make available professional development and other assistance for implementation of 26acceleration plans. 27 In developing said regulations, the department shall consider, at a minimum, the 28following acceleration strategies: 29 Single subject acceleration; 30 Combined classes (multi-age); 31 Online courses and open educational resources; 32 Concurrent or dual enrollment, and early college; 3 of 3 33 Curriculum compacting; 34 Credit by examination or prior experience; 35 Credit toward graduation requirements for high-school level courses taken during 36elementary and middle school 37 Competency/mastery-based learning and advancement; 38 Whole-grade acceleration (one or more); 39 Self-paced instruction; 40 Mentoring; 41 Early entrance to first grade; 42 Early graduation” 43