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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 344 FILED ON: 1/13/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 340
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Pavel M. Payano
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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 enabling all students to thrive: protecting a high quality, diverse educator workforce.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Pavel M. PayanoFirst Essex 1 of 3
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 344 FILED ON: 1/13/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 340
By Mr. Payano, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 340) of Pavel M. Payano for
legislation to enable all students to thrive: protecting a high quality, diverse educator workforce.
Education.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act enabling all students to thrive: protecting a high quality, diverse educator workforce.
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 42 of chapter 71 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition,
2is hereby amended by striking the seventh paragraph, and inserting in the place thereof the
3following:
4 Nothing in this section or section 41 shall affect the right of a superintendent to lay off
5teachers pursuant to reductions in force or reorganization resulting from declining enrollment or
6other budgetary reasons.
7 Except as herein provided, no teacher with professional teacher status shall be laid off
8pursuant to a reduction in force or reorganization if there is a teacher without such status for
9whose position the covered employee is currently certified or if there is a less qualified teacher
10with professional teacher status holding the same or similar position for which the covered
11employee is currently certified. No teacher with professional teacher status shall be displaced in
12accordance with the terms of a collective bargaining agreement or otherwise by a more senior 2 of 3
13teacher with such status unless the more senior teacher is currently certified pursuant to section
1438G and is at least as qualified for the position as the junior teacher holding the position. The
15criteria for determining a qualified teacher under this paragraph shall be subject to the collective
16bargaining provisions of chapter 150E; provided, however, that any such collectively bargained
17for qualifications shall include, as the primary factors, indicators of job performance, including
18overall ratings resulting from comprehensive evaluations conducted consistent with section 38,
19and the best interests of the students in the school or district; and provided further, that for the
20purposes of this paragraph, no distinction shall be made between the overall performance ratings
21established by the board of elementary and secondary education finding that the teacher has met
22or exceeded acceptable performance standards developed under said section 38 and that are
23defined by the board as proficient and exemplary.
24 In a layoff, a school district shall retain a teacher with linguistic proficiency in relation to
25an in-district language or dialect who has less seniority and without regard to the professional
26teacher status or lack thereof of such teacher if the release of the less senior teacher would result
27in a lesser proportion of teachers with such linguistic proficiency compared to the proportion of
28students for whom such language or dialect is their first language or dialect. For purposes of this
29paragraph, linguistic proficiency in relation to an in-district language or dialect shall mean
30proficiency in a language or dialect other than English that is spoken by the greater of (a) by five
31percent or more of the students enrolled at the school where a teacher is assigned or, if the
32teacher is not assigned to a school, of the students enrolled in the district or (b) at five percent or
33more of the homes of the students enrolled at the school where a teacher is assigned or, if the
34teacher is not assigned to a school, of the homes of the students enrolled in the district. 3 of 3
35 A teacher meeting one of the following criteria shall be exempted from layoff based on
36seniority or based on whether or not a teacher has professional teacher status: (a) a teacher who
37is a member of a population underrepresented among certified teachers in the district, (b) a
38teacher who graduated from a so-called grow your own teacher preparation program of the
39district, (c) a teacher who works in a school defined by the district as hard to staff, (d) a teacher
40certified in a subject area for which there is a shortage of teachers in the district, which may
41include without limitation science, technology, engineering, mathematics, computer science,
42special education, English as a second language, and a foreign language, (e) a teacher deemed by
43the department as a Teacher of the Year, (f) a teacher certified by the National Board for
44Professional Teaching Standards, or (g) a teacher who received the highest rating on a
45performance evaluation delivered in either or both of the school years immediately prior to the
46school year in which a layoff is announced.
47 The school committee and the collective bargaining representative may negotiate for
48seniority or length of service only as a tiebreaker in layoffs among teachers whose qualifications
49are no different using the qualifications collectively bargained for in accordance with this
50section.