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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 329 FILED ON: 1/8/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 513 |
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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 | | Michelle L. Badger and Kathleen R. LaNatra |
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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 requiring equitable funding for non-regional school districts with high transportation |
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| 13 | 13 | | costs. |
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| 14 | 14 | | _______________ |
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| 15 | 15 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 16 | 16 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Michelle L. Badger1st Plymouth1/8/2025 1 of 3 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 329 FILED ON: 1/8/2025 |
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| 18 | 18 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 513 |
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| 19 | 19 | | By Representatives Badger of Plymouth and LaNatra of Kingston, a petition (accompanied by |
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| 20 | 20 | | bill, House, No. 513) of Michelle L. Badger relative to funding for non-regional school districts |
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| 21 | 21 | | with high transportation costs. Education. |
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| 22 | 22 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 23 | 23 | | _______________ |
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| 24 | 24 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 25 | 25 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 26 | 26 | | _______________ |
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| 27 | 27 | | An Act requiring equitable funding for non-regional school districts with high transportation |
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| 28 | 28 | | costs. |
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| 29 | 29 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 30 | 30 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 31 | 31 | | 1 Chapter 29 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 2JJJJJJ the |
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| 32 | 32 | | 2following section:- |
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| 33 | 33 | | 3 2KKKKKK. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth |
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| 34 | 34 | | 4a separate fund to be known as the Extraordinary Routes Relief Fund. The fund shall be credited |
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| 35 | 35 | | 5with: (i) appropriations or other money authorized or transferred by the general court and |
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| 36 | 36 | | 6specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) funds from public and private sources, |
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| 37 | 37 | | 7including, but not limited to, gifts, grants and donations; and (iii) any interest earned on the |
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| 38 | 38 | | 8assets of the fund. Amounts credited to the fund shall be expended, subject to appropriation, in |
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| 39 | 39 | | 9grants to eligible non-regional school districts for transportation costs, including but not limited |
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| 40 | 40 | | 10to the purchase and maintenance of buses, fuel costs and driver salaries. Amounts credited to the |
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| 41 | 41 | | 11fund shall be made available for expenditure upon their certification pursuant to section 5I. The 2 of 3 |
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| 42 | 42 | | 12account shall not be subject to section 5C. The comptroller shall certify the balance of the fund at |
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| 43 | 43 | | 13the end of each fiscal year. |
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| 44 | 44 | | 14 (b) There shall be a committee to oversee the fund established in subsection (a). The |
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| 45 | 45 | | 15committee shall consist of 11 members to be appointed by the commissioner of elementary and |
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| 46 | 46 | | 16secondary education, 8 of whom shall be representatives from regional and non-regional school |
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| 47 | 47 | | 17districts, and 3 of whom shall be representatives of the department of elementary and secondary |
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| 48 | 48 | | 18education. The committee shall ensure the fair and transparent allocation of funds through a |
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| 49 | 49 | | 19grant program to eligible non-regional school districts. |
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| 50 | 50 | | 20 (c) Eligible non-regional school districts may apply for grants from the fund to cover a |
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| 51 | 51 | | 21portion of their transportation-related expenses. A non-regional school district shall be eligible to |
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| 52 | 52 | | 22apply for a grant from the fund if its transportation costs per pupil exceed 125 per cent of the |
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| 53 | 53 | | 23average transportation costs per pupil in the commonwealth, as determined by the department of |
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| 54 | 54 | | 24elementary and secondary education. The committee may grant a school district up to 40 per cent |
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| 55 | 55 | | 25of the excess between the school district’s transportation costs per pupil and the average |
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| 56 | 56 | | 26transportation costs per pupil in the commonwealth. |
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| 57 | 57 | | 27 (d) Annually, not later than July 1, each school district applying for a grant shall submit a |
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| 58 | 58 | | 28report to the department of elementary and secondary education that shall include, for the |
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| 59 | 59 | | 29preceding school year, the number of pupils in the district, the district’s actual transportation |
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| 60 | 60 | | 30costs, the number of school busses or other transport vehicles used and the total number of miles |
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| 61 | 61 | | 31traveled for school transport. |
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| 62 | 62 | | 32 (e) Annually, the department of elementary and secondary education shall conduct a |
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| 63 | 63 | | 33review of the effectiveness and impact of the funds expended from the fund and evaluate 3 of 3 |
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| 64 | 64 | | 34whether non-regional school districts are receiving adequate support to address their |
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| 65 | 65 | | 35transportation challenges. Annually, not later than June 30, the department shall submit a report |
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| 66 | 66 | | 36to the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate and the joint committee on education. |
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