Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H728 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 827 FILED ON: 1/13/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 728
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Steven Ultrino and Paul J. Donato
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act relative to charter school fiscal impact and accountability.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Steven Ultrino33rd Middlesex1/13/2025Paul J. Donato35th Middlesex1/13/2025 1 of 3
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 827 FILED ON: 1/13/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 728
18	18	By Representatives Ultrino of Malden and Donato of Medford, a petition (accompanied by bill,
19	19	House, No. 728) of Steven Ultrino and Paul J. Donato relative to charter school projected fiscal
20	20	impact on enrollment. Education.
21	21	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
22	22	_______________
23	23	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
24	24	(2025-2026)
25	25	_______________
26	26	An Act relative to charter school fiscal impact and accountability.
27	27	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
28	28	of the same, as follows:
29	29	1 SECTION 1. Paragraph (3) of subsection (i) of section 89 of chapter 71, as appearing in
30	30	2the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the third paragraph and inserting in
31	31	3place thereof the following paragraphs:-
32	32	4 If a district is no longer in the lowest 10 per cent, the net school spending cap shall be 9
33	33	5per cent, unless the district net school spending was above 9 per cent in the year prior to moving
34	34	6out of the lowest 10 per cent in which case the net school spending cap shall remain at the actual
35	35	7spending level plus enrollment previously approved by the board; provided, that for the purposes
36	36	8of a regional charter school, enrollment previously approved by the board shall mean the actual
37	37	9enrollment of students from a district as a portion of the total enrollment previously approved by
38	38	10the board for the regional charter school. The department shall determine and make available to
39	39	11the public a list of the school districts in said lowest 10 per cent. 2 of 3
40	40	12 The department shall not approve any additional seats for charter schools that originate
41	41	13from a sending district that moved out of the lowest 10 per cent if the net school spending cap of
42	42	14the sending district was above 9 per cent at the time that the sending school district moved out of
43	43	15the lowest 10 per cent, provided that any district costs related to seats previously approved in
44	44	16contradiction to this paragraph shall be borne by the department.
45	45	17 The department shall provide the total tuition amount owed by the sending district
46	46	18calculated for each enrolled charter school student from a district that is no longer in the lowest
47	47	1910 per cent who was permitted to enroll notwithstanding the net school spending cap. The
48	48	20department shall not require a charter school or the district to reimburse the department for said
49	49	21tuition amount. The state treasurer shall not deduct the tuition amount from the district’s state
50	50	22school aid, as defined in section 2 of chapter 70 of the General Laws.
51	51	23 SECTION 2. Subsection (j) of said section 89 of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is
52	52	24hereby amended by striking the first paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following
53	53	25paragraph:-
54	54	26 The board shall make the final determination on granting charter school status and may
55	55	27condition charters on the applicant's taking certain actions or maintaining certain conditions. The
56	56	28board shall establish criteria for the approval of a charter application and recommendations to the
57	57	29board shall be based upon and reference those criteria. Criteria shall, to the extent possible,
58	58	30include, but not be limited to, (i) the projected impact on enrollment to the sending district or
59	59	31districts and (ii) the projected financial impact to the sending district or districts.
60	60	32 SECTION 3. Subsection (dd) of said section 89 of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is
61	61	33hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:- 3 of 3
62	62	34 The decision by the board to renew a charter shall be based upon the presentation of
63	63	35affirmative evidence regarding the faithfulness of the school to the terms of its charter. The
64	64	36presentation of affirmative evidence shall be made available to the public by the board at least 30
65	65	37days prior to the vote to renew a school’s charter. Further, the board shall solicit public
66	66	38comment for a period of at least 30 days prior to the board’s vote to renew a school’s charter.
67	67	39The board shall review all material submitted in support of or in opposition to the charter
68	68	40renewal prior to a renewal vote.