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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3571 FILED ON: 1/17/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 647 |
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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 | | Paul McMurtry |
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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 relative to school start times for middle and high school students. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Paul McMurtry11th Norfolk1/17/2025 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3571 FILED ON: 1/17/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 647 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representative McMurtry of Dedham, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 647) of |
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| 19 | 19 | | Paul McMurtry relative to school start times for middle and high school students. Education. |
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| 20 | 20 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 21 | 21 | | _______________ |
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| 22 | 22 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 23 | 23 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | An Act relative to school start times for middle and high school students. |
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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 SECTION. 1. Chapter 69 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, |
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| 29 | 29 | | 2is hereby amended by striking out section 1G and inserting in place thereof the following:- |
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| 30 | 30 | | 3 Section 1G. (a) The board shall establish the minimum length for a school day and |
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| 31 | 31 | | 4the minimum number of days in the school year. |
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| 32 | 32 | | 5 (b) (i) The school day for all high schools, including high schools operated as |
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| 33 | 33 | | 6charter schools, shall begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m. |
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| 34 | 34 | | 7 (ii) The school day for all middle schools, including middle schools operated as |
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| 35 | 35 | | 8charter schools, shall begin no earlier than 8:00 a.m. |
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| 36 | 36 | | 9 (iii) For purposes of this section, “school day” has the same meaning as defined by |
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| 37 | 37 | | 10the school district or charter school for purposes of calculating average daily attendance in order |
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| 38 | 38 | | 11to compute any apportionments of state funding. 2 of 2 |
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| 39 | 39 | | 12 (iv) The board shall promulgate such rules and regulations as necessary to |
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| 40 | 40 | | 13implement this section in a manner that is fair and equitable. |
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| 41 | 41 | | 14 (v) If the board determines that this section contains costs mandated by the state, |
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| 42 | 42 | | 15reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to |
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| 43 | 43 | | 16chapters 70 and 71. |
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| 44 | 44 | | 17 (vi) This section shall not apply to rural school districts. |
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| 45 | 45 | | 18 SECTION 2. Section 1 shall be implemented by all public schools no later than |
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| 46 | 46 | | 19July 1, 2028, or the date on which a school district’s or charter school’s respective collective |
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| 47 | 47 | | 20bargaining agreement that is operative on January 1, 2026, expires, whichever is later. Section 1 |
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| 48 | 48 | | 21shall apply to all academic years after July 1, 2028. |
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