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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1825 FILED ON: 1/15/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 746 |
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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 | | Tommy Vitolo |
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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 to ensure charter school transparency and public accountability. |
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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:Tommy Vitolo15th Norfolk1/15/2025James K. Hawkins2nd Bristol1/22/2025 1 of 8 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1825 FILED ON: 1/15/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 746 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Vitolo of Brookline, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 746) of |
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| 19 | 19 | | Tommy Vitolo and James K. Hawkins for legislation to ensure charter school transparency and |
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| 20 | 20 | | public accountability. Education. |
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| 21 | 21 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 22 | 22 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 608 OF 2023-2024.] |
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| 23 | 23 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 27 | 27 | | _______________ |
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| 28 | 28 | | An Act to ensure charter school transparency and public accountability. |
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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 71 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby |
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| 32 | 32 | | 2amended by adding after Section 89 the following new section: - |
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| 33 | 33 | | 3 Section 89A. Charter School Transparency and Public Accountability |
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| 34 | 34 | | 4 This section shall apply to all charter schools, as defined in Section 89 of this chapter. |
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| 35 | 35 | | 5 (a) Each charter school’s original application and charter agreement shall be available |
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| 36 | 36 | | 6online on the websites of both the individual school and the department of elementary and |
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| 37 | 37 | | 7secondary education. |
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| 38 | 38 | | 8 (b) Within 2 years of a charter school’s founding, at least 50 percent of the members of |
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| 39 | 39 | | 9each charter school governing board shall be representatives from among parents at the school, 2 of 8 |
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| 40 | 40 | | 10elected by parents, and, in the case of high schools, students, elected by students. Non-parent or |
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| 41 | 41 | | 11student members of the governing board should be required to reside in the school district in |
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| 42 | 42 | | 12which the school operates. Each charter school shall list board members with affiliations on the |
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| 43 | 43 | | 13school’s website. Members of charter school governing boards shall file full financial disclosure |
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| 44 | 44 | | 14reports and identify any potential conflicts of interest, relationships with management |
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| 45 | 45 | | 15companies, or other business dealings with the school, its management company, or other charter |
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| 46 | 46 | | 16schools. These documents shall be available online through the department. |
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| 47 | 47 | | 17 (c) Governing boards of charter schools shall hold all meetings in the district in which |
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| 48 | 48 | | 18their school or schools operate and at times that are convenient to parents. All meetings shall be |
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| 49 | 49 | | 19open to the public and publicized in advance according to the same laws that apply to the local |
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| 50 | 50 | | 20school committee, including the state open meeting law. |
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| 51 | 51 | | 21 (d) Minutes from charter school governing board meetings, the school’s policies, |
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| 52 | 52 | | 22information about staff, instructional strategies, curriculum, school rules and behavior codes, |
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| 53 | 53 | | 23school budgets, and information about management companies or other large contracts shall be |
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| 54 | 54 | | 24available online. |
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| 55 | 55 | | 25 (e) Employees of charter schools shall be considered public employees for purposes of |
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| 56 | 56 | | 26tort liability under chapter 258 and for collective bargaining purposes under chapter 150E. |
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| 57 | 57 | | 27These rights must include due process rights for all school employees as a condition for |
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| 58 | 58 | | 28receiving or renewing a charter, including that the employer must provide the employee with |
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| 59 | 59 | | 29evidence of alleged misconduct or reason for termination and that the employer must give the |
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| 60 | 60 | | 30employee a chance to respond to those allegations. 3 of 8 |
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| 61 | 61 | | 31 (f) Charter schools shall be subject to all state laws regarding freedom of information, |
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| 62 | 62 | | 32public records, and public meetings. The board shall impose specific and escalating sanctions for |
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| 63 | 63 | | 33schools that fail to comply with these state laws. |
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| 64 | 64 | | 34 (g) Charter schools shall comply with state laws or district requirements on school-based |
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| 65 | 65 | | 35parent and educator advisory councils or groups to ensure that parents, teachers, and school staff |
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| 66 | 66 | | 36have a voice in school matters. |
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| 67 | 67 | | 37 (h) Complete contracts for management services shall be electronically posted on the |
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| 68 | 68 | | 38schools’ websites within ten days of execution. The posting should include detailed information |
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| 69 | 69 | | 39about the services to be provided by the management company and all financial commitments |
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| 70 | 70 | | 40and compensation, as well as all fees and bonuses to be provided to the management company. |
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| 71 | 71 | | 41 (i) Charter management organizations shall provide full public financial disclosure of |
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| 72 | 72 | | 42their expenditures and profits related to the operation of each school they serve. |
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| 73 | 73 | | 43 (j) Any person with a financial relationship to a charter management organization shall be |
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| 74 | 74 | | 44prohibited from serving on the governing board of any charter school. |
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| 75 | 75 | | 45 (k) The charter school governing board, and not the charter management company, shall |
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| 76 | 76 | | 46directly select, retain, and compensate the school attorney, accountant, and auditing firm. |
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| 77 | 77 | | 47 (l) Charter schools shall be prohibited from utilizing enrollment and registration |
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| 78 | 78 | | 48procedures that directly or indirectly exclude or discourage certain students from enrolling at the |
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| 79 | 79 | | 49school. 4 of 8 |
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| 80 | 80 | | 50 (m) The department shall monitor charter school enrollment and retention practices |
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| 81 | 81 | | 51through uniform and consistent data requirements to ensure that charter schools are enrolling a |
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| 82 | 82 | | 52proportionate share of students across subgroups. |
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| 83 | 83 | | 53 (n) An independent ombudsman office shall be created within the department to allow |
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| 84 | 84 | | 54parents to challenge or appeal enrollment, student classification, or withdrawal decisions by the |
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| 85 | 85 | | 55charter school. The ombudsman’s office shall have the authority to take action against any |
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| 86 | 86 | | 56charter school found to be in violation of a law or regulation. |
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| 87 | 87 | | 57 (o) The department shall establish a charter student identification system that allows the |
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| 88 | 88 | | 58department to track charter student mobility during the course of the school year. |
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| 89 | 89 | | 59 (p) Each charter school shall provide documentation and reporting of student attrition |
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| 90 | 90 | | 60throughout the school year, including date of leaving, reason for leaving, and where the student |
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| 91 | 91 | | 61is now attending school. Reports shall also include all disciplinary actions, including both in- and |
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| 92 | 92 | | 62out-of-school suspensions and referrals to law enforcement, and voluntary and involuntary exits, |
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| 93 | 93 | | 63disaggregated by race or ethnicity, gender, age, grade level, free or reduced meal status, |
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| 94 | 94 | | 64disability status, and English proficiency status. |
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| 95 | 95 | | 65 (q) Before any student withdraws from a charter school, the student, his or her parent or |
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| 96 | 96 | | 66guardian, and school personnel shall sign a document stating that the student is withdrawing |
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| 97 | 97 | | 67voluntarily and that charter school personnel have not prohibited, discouraged, or attempted to |
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| 98 | 98 | | 68discourage the student from continued enrollment in the charter school. |
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| 99 | 99 | | 69 (r) Per pupil funding, provided to schools based on their enrollment, shall be adjusted |
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| 100 | 100 | | 70throughout the school year to accommodate changes in enrollment due to mobility. 5 of 8 |
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| 101 | 101 | | 71 (s) Every charter school shall make its school discipline policy publicly available on the |
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| 102 | 102 | | 72school’s website, so that parents can thoroughly review the policy before enrolling their child. |
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| 103 | 103 | | 73All charter discipline policies should include explicit provisions regarding due process for |
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| 104 | 104 | | 74students, including the right to a hearing before long-term removal, suspension, expulsion, |
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| 105 | 105 | | 75disciplinary or safety transfers, or alternative school placements, as well as parental appeals and |
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| 106 | 106 | | 76notification rights. |
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| 107 | 107 | | 77 (t) Charter schools shall report annually on all disciplinary actions and withdrawals from |
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| 108 | 108 | | 78the school, including the reason for the student’s departure, suspension, or other action and the |
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| 109 | 109 | | 79statement that documentation of due process rights was available. These data shall be |
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| 110 | 110 | | 80disaggregated by race and ethnicity, gender, age, grade level, free and reduced meal status, |
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| 111 | 111 | | 81disability status, and English proficiency status. |
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| 112 | 112 | | 82 (u) The board shall establish standards for charter school disciplinary codes, expressly |
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| 113 | 113 | | 83identifying and defining inappropriate strategies and barring their use and shall ensure that |
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| 114 | 114 | | 84individual charter school discipline policies and practices are promulgated and implemented to |
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| 115 | 115 | | 85avoid discriminatory and/or disproportionate punishments of students based on race, gender, or |
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| 116 | 116 | | 86other characteristics and are consistent with federal school discipline laws and guidance. |
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| 117 | 117 | | 87 (v) The board shall establish minimum qualifications for charter school treasurers. |
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| 118 | 118 | | 88 (w) Legal services, accounting and financial auditing services provided to a charter |
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| 119 | 119 | | 89school shall be independent of any education management company employed by the governing |
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| 120 | 120 | | 90board of the charter school. |
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| 121 | 121 | | 91 (x) Charter school financial documents shall be made available to the public annually on |
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| 122 | 122 | | 92the websites of the school, the department, and any management company. These documents 6 of 8 |
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| 123 | 123 | | 93should include a comprehensive statement of revenues, financial and in-kind donations, state and |
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| 124 | 124 | | 94local funding, New Market Tax Credits, bond issuances, and any and all additional funds or debt |
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| 125 | 125 | | 95service connected to the operation of the school and/or network of schools. |
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| 126 | 126 | | 96 (y) Charter schools shall report on administrative expenses and publish reports on |
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| 127 | 127 | | 97expenses incurred for student recruitment and marketing. |
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| 128 | 128 | | 98 (aa)Charter schools shall document and publicly disclose the owners of any non-public |
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| 129 | 129 | | 99property used to house a charter school, along with documentation of the amount of rent being |
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| 130 | 130 | | 100paid for the facility, to whom payments are being made and verification that there are no |
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| 131 | 131 | | 101conflicts of interest between the school and the holder of the property. |
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| 132 | 132 | | 102 (bb)All vendor or service contracts over $25,000 at any charter school should be |
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| 133 | 133 | | 103available as public information on the department's website. |
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| 134 | 134 | | 104 (cc)Governing charter school board members, administrators, parents, students, |
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| 135 | 135 | | 105educators, school staff, and community members shall be protected from retaliation for |
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| 136 | 136 | | 106whistleblowing. |
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| 137 | 137 | | 107 (dd)The board shall promulgate regulations for implementation and enforcement of this |
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| 138 | 138 | | 108section. |
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| 139 | 139 | | 109 SECTION 2. |
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| 140 | 140 | | 110 (a) The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (hereinafter, the |
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| 141 | 141 | | 111Department) shall gather all charter school waitlist information required by law, including |
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| 142 | 142 | | 112student addresses, telephone numbers, and birthdates, in order to develop and maintain accurate |
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| 143 | 143 | | 113consolidated waitlists. If the Department determines that privacy/child protection considerations 7 of 8 |
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| 144 | 144 | | 114warrant special security measures to protect statutorily mandated information, it shall enhance its |
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| 145 | 145 | | 115data privacy protection measures. |
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| 146 | 146 | | 116 (b) The Department shall develop options for more efficient and accurate waitlist |
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| 147 | 147 | | 117processing, which may include the use of a single consolidated waitlist at the Department with a |
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| 148 | 148 | | 118standardized software system developed and distributed by the Department for use in processing |
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| 149 | 149 | | 119online applications for families wishing to enroll a child in a charter school. |
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| 150 | 150 | | 120 (c) The Department shall routinely conduct verification of charter school waitlist |
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| 151 | 151 | | 121information. |
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| 152 | 152 | | 122 (d) In collaboration with charter and district schools, the Department shall establish |
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| 153 | 153 | | 123detailed guidance regarding standards and expectations for the development, dissemination, and |
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| 154 | 154 | | 124replication of innovative programs and best practices. |
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| 155 | 155 | | 125 (e) During the charter renewal process, the Department shall ensure that charter schools |
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| 156 | 156 | | 126meet all the requirements for the development of innovative programs and best practices and |
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| 157 | 157 | | 127shall establish corrective action requirements for charter schools that do not effectively fulfill |
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| 158 | 158 | | 128this statutory purpose. |
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| 159 | 159 | | 129 (f) The Department shall develop policies and procedures for the verification of charter |
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| 160 | 160 | | 130schools’ reported data. Such procedures shall include a program of on-site data verification as |
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| 161 | 161 | | 131well as a system to ensure that corrective action is taken when problems are identified. DESE |
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| 162 | 162 | | 132should continually adjust its data verification and data quality programs to reflect common data |
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| 163 | 163 | | 133issues that are uncovered. 8 of 8 |
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| 164 | 164 | | 134 (g) The Department shall consistently apply its performance criteria in the charter |
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| 165 | 165 | | 135renewal process, including requiring schools to meet the measures of success shown in their |
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| 166 | 166 | | 136Accountability Plans. |
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