FILED ON: 3/21/2012

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4151

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Twelve

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An Act relative to promoting excellence and accountability for the education of mobile student populations.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Subject to appropriation, the department of elementary and secondary education shall develop a pilot grant program for school districts with schools with high mobile student enrollment for the purpose of developing and implementing programs to ensure the successful transition and academic success of mobile students. For the purpose of this section, mobile student shall be defined as any student who has transferred into or out of public schools or school districts, and intake rate shall mean the percentage of students that enroll in a public school or school district after the beginning of the school year.  The department shall consider applications from the following:

1)school districts in a Gateway Municipality, as defined in section 3A of chapter 23A of the general laws;

2)school districts with one or more schools that had 150 students or more enroll in the school after October 1 of the previous year; or 

3)a school district with one or more schools that had a student intake rate of 10%  or more for the previous year.

Grants shall be awarded to school districts for programs designed to (a) provide welcome and transition assistance programs for mobile students; (b) provide tutoring in core content and, as needed, English for Speakers of Other Languages; (c) assess the impact of mobile students on non-mobile student academic success; (d) provide guidance and support services targeted to mobile students; (e) provide training on effective instructional strategies for meeting the needs of mobile students; (f) provide support staff to meet the needs of mobile students; (g) identify and support students who make multiple moves in one school year; or (h) other programs determined by the department of elementary and secondary education to meet the needs of mobile students and school districts with high mobility populations. A grant awarded pursuant to this section shall require that recipients report on the programs implemented, the students served by the programs, and the effectiveness of the programs. The department of elementary and secondary education may promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this section.             

SECTION 2. The department of elementary and secondary education shall issue an annual report of MCAS test results by school district comparing test results between (a) the stable student population, provided that stable student population shall refer to students who remain in a district or school throughout the school year and (b) the mobile student population; provided, that mobile student population shall refer to  students transferring into or out of public schools, districts, or the state; and provided, further, that said report shall be provided to the clerks of the senate and house of representatives who shall forward the same to the chair of the senate ways and means committee, the chair of the house ways and means committee, and  the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on education on or before December 1, 2013.