SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1486        FILED ON: 1/20/2017

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 308

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Michael F. Rush

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act strengthening and investing in our educators, students, and communities.

_______________

PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1486        FILED ON: 1/20/2017

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 308

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)

_______________

An Act strengthening and investing in our educators, students, and communities.

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. Section 1B of Chapter 59 of the General Law, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “standards.”, in line 78, the following words:-

Notwithstanding any other provision of the general or special laws, the board shall not mandate any school district to include as part of an educator evaluation system or as a teacher performance standard the use of student performance data that is intended to measure an individual educator’s impact on student learning, growth, or achievement.

SECTION 2. Section 1 of chapter 69 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 3 and 4, the words “a limited English proficient student” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- an English learner.

SECTION 3. Section 1A of said chapter 69, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 57, the figure “3” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2.

SECTION 4. Section 1G of Chapter 69 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting at the end thereof the following new paragraph:-

All children in grades kindergarten through five attending public schools shall receive one hundred minutes of supervised, safe, and unstructured free-play recess each week so that there are at least twenty consecutive minutes of free-play recess per day. As used herein, the term "free play" means an unstructured environment, but which is supervised by appropriate school personnel or staff. Regulations promulgated by the department may not exclude recess from structured learning time requirements for elementary school children and may not increase the total number of hours required in the school year to meet the provisions of this subsection.

SECTION 5. Section 1I of said chapter 69, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 283, the word “and”.             

SECTION 6. The nineteenth paragraph of said section 1I of said chapter 69, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out clause (j) and inserting in place thereof the following 6 clauses:-

(j) whether there were any complaints filed with a federal or state court or administrative agency since the program's inception concerning compliance with federal or state minimum legal requirements, the disposition of the complaint and the monitoring and evaluation of any agreement or court order relative to the complaint;

(k) opportunities that the district makes available to English language learners for instruction in maintaining or developing proficiency in a student’s native language;

(l) a description of the school district’s plan to evaluate the effectiveness of its English language learner programs relative to:

(i) helping students attain English language proficiency and master academic standards; (ii) measuring student readiness to join mainstream classrooms;

(iii) evaluations and measures provided in addition to department requirements; and

(iv) a description of the steps that the school district plans to take to address an identified deficiency;

(m) a record of: (i) instances in which a parent or guardian requested to withdraw a student from or refused a student’s participation in an English learner program; and (ii) meetings held with parents regarding a student who is not making satisfactory progress toward participating and learning in an integrated classroom;

(n) a description of training provided by the district to staff who work with culturally and linguistically diverse student populations; and

(o) documentation detailing the participation of English language learners in the district’s regular and advanced educational programs and extracurricular activities.

SECTION 7. Section 1J of said chapter 69, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:

(a)(1) Prior to October 1, the commissioner of elementary and secondary education may, on the basis of (i) student performance data collected pursuant to section 1I; (ii) a school or district review performed under section 55A of chapter 15; or (iii) regulations adopted by the board of elementary and secondary education, designate 1 or more schools in a school district other than a Horace Mann charter school as a underperforming or chronically underperforming school. The board shall adopt regulations establishing standards for the commissioner to make such designations on the basis of data collected pursuant to section 1I or information from a school or district review performed under section 55A of chapter 15. Upon the release of the proposed regulations, the board shall file a copy of the proposed regulations with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives who shall forward the regulations to the joint committee on education. Within 30 days of the filing, the joint committee may hold a public hearing and issue a report on the regulations and file the report with the board. The board, pursuant to applicable law, may adopt final regulations making revisions to the proposed regulations as it deems appropriate after consideration of the report and shall immediately file a copy of the regulations with the chairs of the joint committee on education.  Not earlier than 30 days from the filing, the board shall file the final regulations with the state secretary. Schools that score in the lowest 10 per cent statewide among schools serving common grade levels on a single measure developed by the department that takes into account student performance data and improvement in student academic performance, shall be deemed eligible for designation as an underperforming or chronically underperforming school.. Not more than 4 per cent of the total number of public schools may be designated as an underperforming or chronically underperforming school at any given time.

(2) In adopting regulations allowing the commissioner to designate a school as an underperforming or chronically underperforming school, the board shall ensure that such regulations take into account multiple indicators of school quality in making such designations, including, but not limited to: student attendance rates, dismissal rates and exclusion rates, promotion rates, graduation rates or the lack of demonstrated significant improvement for at least 2 consecutive years in core academic subjects, either in the aggregate or among subgroups of students, including designations based on special education, low-income, English language proficiency, and racial or ethnic classifications.

(3) Before a school is designated as chronically underperforming by the commissioner, a school shall have been designated as underperforming and failed to improve. Before a school designation is updated to underperforming or to chronically underperforming, the commissioner shall make funds available for at least three of the following services for a period of not less than two years:

(i) Early childhood services including early childhood education, programs under the federal Head Start Act, or child care services;

(ii) Academic support and enrichment activities, including expanded learning time, summer or after-school enrichment and learning experiences;

(iii) Job training, internship, and apprenticeship opportunities and career counseling services;

(iv) Programs that provide assistance to students who have been truant, suspended, or expelled;

(v) GED programs for youth and community members;

(vi) programs to promote parental involvement, including family literacy programs, parent professional development activities and parenting education activities;

(vii) Mental health counseling services; (viii) youth leadership development opportunities;

(ix) juvenile crime prevention and rehabilitation programs;

(x) primary health and dental care;

(xi) adult education for parents, including instruction in English as a second language, or

(xii) homeless prevention services and mortgage revision services for parents.

(4) In determining which of the services in paragraph 3 of this subsection will be provided, a superintendent shall convene a local stakeholder group of not more than 15 individuals, for the purpose of allocating and overseeing the funding provided by the department. The group shall include:

(i) the commissioner, or a designee;

(ii) the chair of the school committee, or a designee;

(iii) the president of the local teacher's union, or a designee;

(iv) an administrator from the school, who may be the principal, chosen by the superintendent;

(v) two teachers from the school chosen by the faculty of the school;

(vi) two parents from the school chosen by the local parent organization;

(vii) representatives of applicable state and local social service, health and child welfare agencies, chosen by the superintendent;

(viii) as appropriate, representatives of state and local workforce development agencies, chosen by the superintendent;

(ix) for elementary schools, a representative of an early education and care provider chosen by the commissioner of the department of early education and care and, for middle schools or high schools, a representative of the higher education community selected by the secretary; and

(x) a member of the community appointed by the chief executive of the city or town. If the school or district does not have a parent organization or if the organization does not select a parent, the superintendent shall select a volunteer parent of a student from the school.

(5) Funds provided for these purposes shall supplement, not supplant, existing services and funds. Funding provide shall equal two hundred fifty thousand dollars or two percent of the district’s net school spending per year, whichever is greater.

(6) An underperforming or chronically underperforming school described in the following subsections shall operate in accordance with laws regulating other public schools, except as such provisions may conflict with this section or any turnaround plans created thereunder. A student who is enrolled in a school at the time it is designated as an underperforming or chronically underperforming school may elect to remain enrolled in the school while remaining a resident of the district if the student chooses to do so.

SECTION 8. Section 1J of Chapter 69 of the general laws is hereby amended by striking out subsection (d) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(d) (1) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in creating the turnaround plan required in subsection (b), the superintendent may, after considering the recommendations of the group of stakeholders and consistent with the procedures set forth in this section:

(i) expand, alter or replace the curriculum and program offerings of the school, including the implementation of research-based early literacy programs, early interventions for struggling readers and the teaching of advanced placement courses or other rigorous nationally or internationally recognized courses, if the school does not already have such programs or courses;

(ii) reallocate the uses of the existing budget of the school;

(iii) provide additional funds to the school from the budget of the district, if the school does not already receive funding from the district at least equal to the average per pupil funding received for students of the same classification and grade level in the district;

(iv) provide funds, subject to appropriation and following consultation with applicable local unions, to increase the salary of any administrator, or teacher in the school, to attract or retain highly-qualified administrators, or teachers or to reward administrators, or teachers who work in underperforming schools that achieve the annual goals set forth in the turnaround plan;

(v) expand the school day or school year or both of the school;

(vi) for an elementary school, add pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten classes, if the school does not already have such classes;

(vii) require the principal and, following consultation with applicable local unions, all administrators to reapply for their positions in the school, with full discretion vested in the superintendent regarding his consideration of and decisions on rehiring based on the reapplications;

(viii) limit, suspend or change 1 or more provisions of any contract or collective bargaining agreement, as the contract or agreement applies to the school; provided, that the superintendent shall not reduce the compensation of an administrator, teacher or staff member unless the hours of the person are proportionately reduced;

(ix) limit, suspend, or change any provision of a collective bargaining agreement or any rights extended pursuant to sections 7(a) or 9 of chapter 150E, unless the superintendent can demonstrate that the school has implemented the steps identified by the superintendent in coordination with the secretaries of health and human services, labor and workforce development, public safety and other applicable state and local officials identified in clauses 1 through 6 in the second paragraph of this sub-section and that limiting, suspending or changing a provision or provisions of the bargaining agreement is reasonable and necessary to further the rapid academic achievement of students at the school;

(x) limit, suspend or change 1 or more school district policies or practices, as such policies or practices relate to the school;

(xi) include a provision of job-embedded professional development for teachers at the school, with an emphasis on strategies that involve teacher input and feedback;

(xii) provide for increased opportunities for teacher planning time and collaboration focused on improving student instruction;

(xiii) establish a plan for professional development for administrators at the school, with an emphasis on strategies that develop leadership skills and use the principles of distributive leadership;

(xiv) establish steps to assure a continuum of high-expertise teachers by aligning the following processes with a common core of professional knowledge and skill: hiring, induction, teacher evaluation, professional development, teacher advancement, school culture and organizational structure;

(xv) develop a strategy to search for and study best practices in areas of demonstrated deficiency in the school;

(xvi) establish strategies to address mobility and transiency among the student population of the school; and

(xvii) include additional components based on the reasons why the school was designated as underperforming and the recommendations of the group of stakeholders in subsection (b).

(2) If the superintendent does not approve a reapplication submitted by an administrator  pursuant to clause (7) for a position in the school or if an administrator does not submit a reapplication for a position in the school, the administrator shall retain such rights as may be provided under law or any applicable collective bargaining agreement in relation to the his ability to fill another position in the district; provided, however, that the administrator shall not have the right to displace any teacher with professional teacher status in any other school during a school year.

(3) A teacher with professional teacher status in a school declared underperforming or chronically underperforming may be dismissed from the school, but not from the district, for good cause; provided, however, that the teacher receives 5 days written notice of the decision to terminate which shall include, without limitation, an explanation of the reason why the superintendent is not retaining the teacher in the school; provided, further, that the teacher may seek review of a termination decision within 5 days after receiving notice of the teacher’s termination by filing a petition for expedited arbitration with the commissioner; provided, further, that except as otherwise provided herein section 42 of chapter 71 shall apply to a petition filed pursuant to this section; provided, further, that the commissioner shall cause an arbitrator to be selected pursuant to the procedures in section 42 of chapter 71 within 3 days of receipt of petition and shall conduct and complete a hearing within 10 days of receipt of the petition; provided, further, that in reviewing dismissal decisions, the arbitrator shall consider the components of the turnaround plan and shall also consider any personnel evaluations conducted that are consistent with the guidelines established pursuant to section 1B; and provided, further, that the arbitrator’s decision shall be issued within 10 days from the completion of the hearing.

(4) For a school with limited English-proficient students, the professional development and planning time for teachers and administrators identified in clauses (10) to (12), inclusive, shall include specific strategies and content designed to maximize the rapid academic achievement of limited English-proficient students at the school.

SECTION 9. Section 1J of Chapter 69 of the general laws is hereby further amended by striking out subsection (g), and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(g) If, after considering the recommendations of the group of stakeholders and ensuring that the steps identified in clauses (1) through (6) in the second paragraph of section (f) have been implemented, the superintendent considers it reasonable and necessary to maximize the rapid academic achievement of students at the applicable school by altering the compensation, hours and working conditions of the administrators, teachers, principal and staff at the school or by altering other provisions of a contract or collective bargaining agreement applicable to the administrators, teachers, principal and staff, the superintendent shall notify the school committee and the union of his determination, and the school committee and any union shall within 30 days of said notice bargain or reopen the bargaining of the relevant collective bargaining agreement to facilitate such achievement. The bargaining shall be conducted in good faith and completed not later than 30 days from the point at which the parties commenced bargaining. The agreement shall be subject to ratification within 10 business days by the bargaining unit members in the school. If the parties are unable to reach an agreement within 30 days or if the agreement is not ratified within 10 business days by the bargaining unit members of the school, the parties shall submit remaining unresolved issues a joint resolution committee for dispute resolution process on the next business day following the end of the 30-day bargaining period or failure to ratify.

The joint resolution committee shall be comprised of 3 members, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the employee organization within 3 business days following the submission of unresolved issues to the joint resolution committee, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the school committee within 3 business days following the submission of unresolved issues to the joint resolution committee and 1 who shall be selected through the American Arbitration Association who shall forthwith forward to the parties a list of 3 conciliators, each of whom shall have professional experience in elementary and secondary education, from which the parties may agree upon a single conciliator provided, however, that if the parties cannot select a conciliator from among the 3 within 3 business days, the American Arbitration Association shall select a conciliator from the remaining names. The joint resolution committee shall conduct a dispute resolution process to be concluded within 10 business days of selection. This process shall be conducted in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association and consistent with this section. The fee for the process shall be shared equally between the 2 parties involved.

The joint resolution committee shall determine whether the change or changes to the collective bargaining agreement are reasonable and necessary to maximize the rapid academic achievement of students. The burden shall be upon the superintendent to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that such changes are reasonable and necessary. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the decision of the joint resolution committee shall be dispositive of all the issues in dispute and shall be submitted to the parties within 10 business days of the completion of the process. Reasonable extensions of the foregoing timelines may be granted by the joint resolution committee. 

SECTION 10. Section 1J of Chapter 69 of the general laws is hereby further amended by striking out subsection (o), and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(o)(1) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in creating the turnaround plan required in subsection (m), the commissioner may, after considering the recommendations of the group of stakeholders:

(i) expand, alter or replace the curriculum and program offerings of the school, including the implementation of research-based early literacy programs, early interventions for struggling readers and the teaching of advanced placement courses or other rigorous nationally or internationally recognized courses, if the school does not already have such programs or courses;

(ii) reallocate the uses of the existing budget of the school;

(iii) provide additional funds to the school from the budget of the district, if the school does not already receive funding from the district at least equal to the average per pupil funding received for students of the same classification and grade level in the district;

(iv) provide funds, subject to appropriation, to increase the salary of an administrator ,or teacher in the school, in order to attract or retain highly-qualified administrators or teachers or to reward administrators,. or teachers who work in chronically underperforming schools that achieve the annual goals set forth in the turnaround plan;

(v) expand the school day or school year or both of the school;

(vi) for an elementary school, add pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten classes, if the school does not already have such classes;

(vii) limit, suspend or change 1 or more provisions of any contract or collective bargaining agreement, as the contract or agreement applies to the school; provided, that the superintendent shall not reduce the compensation of an administrator, teacher or staff member unless the hours of the person are proportionately reduced; provided further, that the commissioner may require the school committee and any applicable unions to bargain in good faith for 30 days before exercising authority pursuant to this clause;

(viii) limit, suspend, or change any provision of a collective bargaining agreement or any rights extended pursuant to sections 7(a) or 9 of chapter 150E, unless the superintendent can demonstrate that the school has implemented the steps identified by the superintendent in coordination with the secretaries of health and human services, labor and workforce development, public safety and other applicable state and local officials identified in clauses 1 through 6 in the second paragraph of this sub-section and that limiting, suspending or changing a provision or provisions of the bargaining agreement is reasonable and necessary to further the rapid academic achievement of students at the school;

(ix) following consultation with applicable local unions, require the principal and all administrators, teachers and staff to reapply for their positions in the school, with full discretion vested in the superintendent regarding his consideration of and decisions on rehiring based on the reapplications, provided that a teacher or staff member may not be demoted or dismissed from the school district except in accordance with the provisions of section forty-one of chapter thirty-three or section forty-two of chapter seventy-one;

(x) limit, suspend or change 1 or more school district policies or practices, as such policies or practices relate to the school;

(xi) include a provision of job-embedded professional development for teachers at the school, with an emphasis on strategies that involve teacher input and feedback;

(xii) provide for increased opportunities for teacher planning time and collaboration focused on improving student instruction;

(xiii) establish a plan for professional development for administrators at the school, with an emphasis on strategies that develop leadership skills and use the principles of distributive leadership;

(xiv) establish steps to assure a continuum of high expertise teachers by aligning the following processes with the common core of professional knowledge and skill: hiring, induction, teacher evaluation, professional development, teacher advancement, school culture and organizational structure;

(xv) develop a strategy to search for and study best practices in areas of demonstrated deficiency in the school;

(xvi) establish strategies to address mobility and transiency among the student population of the school; and

(xvii) include additional components, at the discretion of the commissioner, based on the reasons the school was designated as chronically underperforming and the recommendations of the local stakeholder group in subsection (m).

(2) If the commissioner does not approve a reapplication submitted by an employee pursuant to clause (7) for a position in the school or if an employee does not submit a reapplication for a position in the school, the employee shall retain such rights as may be provided under law or any applicable collective bargaining agreement, in relation to the employee’s ability to fill another position in the district; provided, however, that the employee shall not have the right to displace any teacher with professional teacher status in any other school during a school year.

(3) A teacher with professional teacher status in a school declared underperforming or chronically underperforming may be dismissed for good cause from the school, but not from the district,; provided, however, that the teacher receives 5 days written notice of the decision to terminate which shall include without limitation an explanation of the reason why the commissioner or superintendent is not retaining the teacher in the school; provided, further, that the teacher may seek review of a termination decision within 5 days after receiving notice of the teacher’s termination by filing a petition for expedited arbitration with the commissioner; provided further, that except as otherwise provided herein section 42 of chapter 71 shall apply to a petition filed pursuant to this section; provided further, that the commissioner shall cause an arbitrator to be selected pursuant to the procedures in section 42 of chapter 71 within 3 days of receipt of petition and shall conduct and complete a hearing within 10 days of receipt of the petition; provided, further, that in reviewing dismissal decisions, the arbitrator shall consider the components of the turnaround plan and shall also consider any personnel evaluations conducted that are consistent with the guidelines established pursuant to section 1B; and provided, further, that the arbitrator’s decision shall be issued within 10 days from the completion of the hearing.

(4) For a school with limited English-proficient students, the professional development and planning time for teachers and administrators identified in clauses (10) to (12), inclusive, shall include specific strategies and content designed to maximize the rapid academic achievement of the limited English-proficient students.

(5) If the commissioner proposes to reallocate funds to the school from the budget of the district under clause (3), the commissioner shall notify the school committee, in writing, of the amount of and rationale for the reallocation.

SECTION 11. Said chapter 69 is hereby amended by inserting after section 1P the following section:-

Section 1Q. The commissioner shall develop criteria and guidelines for a state seal of biliteracy to be awarded by school districts to recognize high school graduates who have met academic benchmarks determined by the department in 1 or more languages in addition to English.

The department shall develop an insignia to be affixed to the diploma or transcript of a student who has been awarded a state seal of biliteracy and make the insignia available to school districts in an electronic format for the preparation of diplomas. A school district that chooses to award the state seal of biliteracy to qualifying students under this section shall maintain appropriate records in order to identify students who have earned a state seal of biliteracy and affix the appropriate insignia to the diploma or transcript of a student who earns a state seal of biliteracy.

The commissioner shall annually issue a report to the chairs of the senate and house committees on ways and means and the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on education regarding use of the state seal of biliteracy not later than July 1. The report shall include, but not be limited to: information on the school districts utilizing the state seal of biliteracy; the number of students who have received the state seal of biliteracy from each school district; and recommendations for expanding the use of the state seal of biliteracy to additional school districts.

SECTION 12. Chapter 70 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 2, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 2. As used in this chapter and in chapters 15, 69 and 71, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

"Administration allotment", the amounts allotted within a district's foundation budget for administration in any fiscal year; provided, however, that the fiscal year 2017 administration allotment,  based on a sum of the following calculations, shall be the base year, with the dollar rates adjusted annually by the foundation inflation index:

(i) $188.56 multiplied by the foundation preschool enrollment and the foundation half-day kindergarten enrollment;

(ii) $377.10 multiplied by the foundation full-day kindergarten enrollment, the foundation elementary enrollment, the foundation junior high or middle school enrollment, the foundation high school enrollment, and the foundation vocational enrollment; and

(iii) $2,602.67 multiplied by the assumed in-school special education enrollment and the assumed tuitioned-out special education enrollment.

"Assumed in-school special education enrollment'', 4 per cent of the total foundation enrollment in a district not including vocational or preschool enrollment, plus 5 per cent of vocational enrollment.

"Assumed tuitioned-out special education enrollment'', 1 per cent of the total foundation enrollment in a district, not including vocational or preschool enrollment.

“Base aid”, in a fiscal year, the total amount of chapter 70 aid provided to a district in the general appropriation act of the previous fiscal year.

"Board'', the board of elementary and secondary education.

"Chapter 70 aid", the sum of a district's base aid, foundation aid increment, if any, and minimum aid increment, if any, in a fiscal year; provided, however that no nonoperating district shall receive chapter 70 aid in an amount greater than the district's foundation budget.

"Classroom and specialist teachers allotment", the amount allotted within a district's foundation budget for classroom and specialist teachers in a fiscal year; provided, however, that the fiscal year 2017 classroom and specialist teachers allotment, based on a sum of the following  calculations, shall be the base year, with the dollar rates adjusted annually by the foundation inflation index:

(i) $1,561.50 multiplied by the foundation preschool enrollment and the foundation half-day kindergarten enrollment;

(ii) $3,122.99 multiplied by the foundation full-day kindergarten enrollment;

(iii) $3,122.95 multiplied by the foundation elementary enrollment;

(iv) $2,748.21 multiplied by the foundation junior high or middle school enrollment;

(v) $4,041.48 multiplied by the foundation high school enrollment;

(vi) $8,588.16 multiplied by the assumed in-school special education enrollment; and

(vii) $6,870.55 multiplied by the foundation vocational enrollment.

"Combined effort yield", the sum of a municipality's equalized property valuation multiplied by the uniform property percentage and its income multiplied by the uniform income percentage.

"Commissioner'', the commissioner of elementary and secondary education.

"Department'', the department of elementary and secondary education.

"District'' or "School district'', the school department of a city or town or a regional school district.

"Effort reduction percentage", the percentage of excess effort to be reduced in any given year.

"Employee benefits and fixed charges allotment", the amount allotted within a district's foundation budget for employee benefits and fixed charges, equal to 1.29 times the sum of (a) the employee health insurance rate multiplied by the number of active employees for whom the district provides health insurance and (b) the retired employee health insurance rate multiplied by the number of the district’s retired employees.

“Employee health insurance rate”, the average group insurance commission premium for all plans for the  three previous fiscal years; provided, however, that the group insurance commission shall annually, not later than June 30, provide the department with data necessary for the determination of such rate or any increase thereof.

“English language learner enrollment”, the number of students enrolled in English language learner programs established pursuant to chapter 71A, including students enrolled in vocational and technical schools.

“English language learner expanded program increment”, the amount allotted within a district’s foundation budget for additional services for English language learners, including those enrolled in vocational and technical schools; provided, however, that the increment shall be $2,446 multiplied by the number of English language learners in the district for fiscal year 2017, adjusted annually thereafter by the foundation inflation index.

“Enrollment categories”, any of the following categories in which a student, including students enrolled in special education programs and students attending a school in another district, pursuant to section 12B of chapter 76, who resides in the district and who attends either a public school in that district or a school for which the district of residence pays tuition, is  placed; provided, however, that any such student shall be place in only one enrollment category depending on the grade and program to which the student is assigned; provided further, that English language learners and low-income students shall be placed in one of the following enrollment categories and shall be counted for the purposes of calculating the English language learner increment and the low-income expanded program increment:

(i) “elementary enrollment”,  number of students enrolled in grades 1 through 5 and not enrolled in English language learner or vocational programs in a district;

(ii) “high school enrollment”, the number of students enrolled in grades 9 through 12 and not enrolled in English language learner or vocational programs in a district;

(iii) “junior high or middle school enrollment”, the number of students enrolled in grades 6 to 8, inclusive, and not enrolled in English language learner or vocational programs in a district;

(iv) “kindergarten enrollment”, the number of students enrolled in kindergarten and not enrolled in English language learner or vocational programs in a district; provided, however, that in any district in which kindergarten students attend school for a full day, the foundation kindergarten enrollment used to calculate the foundation budget amount described in this section shall be two times the kindergarten enrollment number that would otherwise be used for said calculations;

(v) “preschool enrollment”, the number of students enrolled in preschool programs in a district; and

(vi) “vocational enrollment”, the number of students enrolled in vocational, education programs or an agricultural school in a district.

“Equalized property valuation”, the annual equalized property valuation for a municipality as determined by the department of revenue pursuant to sections 9, 10 and 10C of chapter 58.

"Excess effort", the positive difference, if any, between a municipality's target local contribution and its preliminary contribution.

"Foundation aid”, the positive difference between a district's foundation budget and its required district contribution.

“Foundation aid increment”, the positive difference, if any, between the foundation budget and the sum of the required district contribution and base aid.

"Foundation budget'', the sum of the administration allotment, instructional leadership allotment, classroom and specialist teachers allotment, other teaching services allotment, professional development allotment, instructional materials, equipment and technology allotment, guidance and psychological allotment, pupil services allotment, operations and maintenance allotment, employee benefits and fixed charges allotment and tuitioned-out special education tuition allotment and the English language learner expanded program increment and the low-income expanded program increment; provided, however, that the base year for calculating the foundation budget shall be fiscal year 2017; provided further, that the base year foundation budget shall be calculated according to the formulas in this section using foundation enrollment as described in this section; and provided further that, for fiscal years thereafter, the foundation budget shall be the base year foundation budget adjusted for enrollment and for inflation as set forth in section 3.

"Foundation enrollment'', the student enrollment of a district in any fiscal year; provided, however, that the foundation enrollment  shall be the sum of the foundation full-day kindergarten, elementary, junior high or middle school, high school and vocational enrollment plus one-half of the sum of the foundation preschool and half-day kindergarten enrollment, including students enrolled in the program for the elimination of racial imbalance under section 12A of chapter 76; and provided further, that annually, not later than March 1 of each calendar year, the department shall certify the foundation enrollment for the next fiscal year as the actual enrollment as reported the previous October.

"Foundation inflation index'', in fiscal year 2017, the foundation inflation index shall equal 1.000; provided, however, that in fiscal year 2018 and in each fiscal year thereafter, the foundation inflation index shall equal the prior year's foundation inflation index multiplied by the minimum of: (i) the ratio of the value of the implicit price deflator for state and local government purchases in the first quarter of the prior fiscal year to its value in the first quarter of the year two years prior; or (ii) 1.045; provided that the index used as the base for the calculation of the foundation inflation index in the following fiscal year shall be the index generated by applying (i).

"General revenue sharing aid'', the amount of assistance from the commonwealth to be received by a city or town in a fiscal year from the following local aid programs: (i) payments in lieu of taxes for state-owned lands distributed pursuant to section 17 of chapter 58; and (ii) “Unrestricted General Government Aid” distributed  through section 3 of the Commonwealth’s annual budget.

"Guidance and psychological allotment", the amount allotted within a district's foundation budget for guidance and psychological services; provided, however, that the fiscal year 2017 guidance and psychological allotment, based on a sum of the following  calculations, shall be the base year, with the dollar rates adjusted annually by the foundation inflation index:

(i) $113.61 multiplied by the foundation preschool enrollment and the foundation half-day kindergarten enrollment;

(ii) $227.25 multiplied by the foundation full-day kindergarten enrollment and the foundation elementary enrollment;

(iii) $302.50 multiplied by foundation junior high or middle school enrollment; and

(iv) $379.19 multiplied by the foundation high school enrollment and the foundation vocational enrollment.

"Income", total income from all sources as reported by the residents of a municipality on income tax returns submitted to the department of revenue for the most recent available calendar year.

"Income percentage", the uniform percentage of each municipality's total income which yields one-half  of the statewide total of combined effort yields in any fiscal year.

"Instructional leadership allotment", the amounts allotted within a district's foundation budget for instructional leadership in a fiscal year; provided, however, that for fiscal year 2017, the “instructional leadership allotment” shall be the sum of the following rate calculations; and provided further, that for subsequent fiscal years, the instructional leadership allotment shall be the sum of the following calculations, with the dollar rates annually adjusted by the foundation inflation index:

(i)  $340.55 multiplied by the foundation preschool enrollment and the foundation half-day kindergarten enrollment; and

(ii) $681.08 multiplied by the foundation full-day kindergarten enrollment, the foundation elementary enrollment, the foundation junior high or middle school enrollment, the foundation high school enrollment and the foundation vocational enrollment.

"Instructional materials, equipment and technology allotment", the amount allotted within a district's foundation budget for instructional materials, equipment and technology; provided, however, that the fiscal year 2017 instructional materials, equipment and technology allotment, based on a sum of the following  calculations, shall be the base year, with the dollar rates adjusted annually by the foundation inflation index:

(i) $226.01 multiplied by the foundation preschool enrollment and the foundation half-day kindergarten enrollment;

(ii) $452.01 multiplied by the foundation full-day kindergarten enrollment, the foundation elementary enrollment and the foundation junior high or middle school enrollment;

(iii) $723.22 multiplied by the foundation high school enrollment;

(iv) $361.61 multiplied by the assumed in-school special education enrollment; and

(v) $1,265.62 multiplied by the foundation vocational enrollment.

"Low-income enrollment'', the number of children attending school in a district regardless of residence or tuition-paying status, with a family income at or below 185 per cent of the federal poverty level; provided, however, that a low-income child or low-income student shall mean a child who meets these eligibility standards; and provided further, that in determining the total number of low-income students, the department shall use the preceding year's actual number of low-income full-day kindergarten, elementary, junior high or middle school, high school and vocational students and one-half of the preceding year's actual number of low-income  preschool and half-day kindergarten students.

“Low-income expanded program increment”, the amount allotted within a district’s foundation budget for each student with a family income at or below 185 per cent of the federal poverty level; provided, however, that the department shall rank each district with respect to its low income percentage of total foundation enrollment and divide the districts into septiles; provided further, that each district shall be assigned a low-income septile based on its low income percentage; provided further, that each septile shall be assigned a low-income rate where the rate for the lowest percentage septile shall be $3,591 and each subsequent septile shall increase by equal amounts up to the highest percentage septile rate of $8,455; and provided further, that the fiscal year 2017 rates for each septile shall be the base year rates and shall be adjusted annually thereafter by the foundation inflation index.

“Minimum aid”, the positive difference between a district’s foundation aid increment and $25 multiplied by the district foundation enrollment.

"Maximum local contribution", 82.5 per cent of a municipality's foundation budget.

"Municipal foundation budget", a city or town's local district's foundation budget plus the sum of its share of the foundation budgets at regional districts or at agricultural schools of which it is a member; provided, however, that a city or town's share of the foundation budget at regional districts or at agricultural schools shall be based upon its share of the total foundation enrollment from all member municipalities at those districts and schools.

"Municipal revenue growth factor'', the change in local general revenues calculated by subtracting 1 from the quotient calculated by dividing the sum of: (i) the maximum levy for the fiscal year estimated by multiplying the levy limit of the prior fiscal year by a factor equal to 102.5 per cent plus the average of the percentage increases in the levy limit due to new growth adjustments over the last three  available years as certified by the department of revenue or as otherwise estimated by the division of local services in the department of revenue where it appears that a municipality may not be entitled to increase its minimum levy limit by 2.5 per cent; provided, however, that if the highest percentage during such three  years exceeds the average of the other two years' percentages by more than two percentage points, then the lowest three of the last four years shall be used for such calculation; (ii) the amount of general revenue sharing aid for the fiscal year; and (iii) other budgeted recurring receipts not including user fees or other charges determined by the division of local services to be associated with the provision of specific municipal services for the prior fiscal year, by the sum of: (1) the actual levy limit for the prior fiscal year; (2) the amount of general revenue sharing aid received for the prior fiscal year; and (3) other recurring receipts not including user fees or other charges determined by the division of local services to be associated with the provision of specific municipal services budgeted by the municipality for the fiscal year preceding the prior fiscal year, if any; provided further, that for the purposes of this calculation, the levy limit shall exclude any amounts generated by overrides applicable to any year after the fiscal year ending June 30, 1993; provided further, that in the absence of an actual levy limit for the prior fiscal year, the actual levy limit for the prior fiscal year shall be estimated by multiplying the actual levy limit of the fiscal year preceding the prior fiscal year by a factor equal to 102.5 per cent plus the average of the percentage increases in the levy limit due to new growth as specified above; and provided further, that in making any of these required calculations, the division of local services may substitute more current information or such other information as would produce a more accurate estimate of the change in a municipality's general local revenues and the department shall use such growth factor to calculate preliminary contribution, required local contribution and any other factors that directly or indirectly use the municipal growth factor.

"Net school spending'', the total amount spent for the support of public education, including the amortization of teacher salary deferrals and tuition payments for children residing in the district who attend a school in another district or other approved facility, determined without regard to whether such amounts are regularly charged to school or nonschool accounts by the municipality for accounting purposes; provided, however, that net school spending shall not include any spending for long-term debt service, and shall not include spending for school lunches and student transportation; provided further that “net school spending” shall also not include spending from tuition revenue or revenue from activity, admission, other charges or any other revenue attributable to public education, or from state or federal grants; provided further, that such revenue shall be made available to the school district which generated the revenue in addition to any financial resources made available by municipalities or state assistance; provided further, that the department, in consultation with the department of revenue, shall promulgate regulations to ensure a uniform method of determining which municipal expenditures shall be appropriated for the support of public education and which revenues are attributable to public education in accordance with this section; and provided further, that the regulations shall include provisions for resolving disputes which may arise between municipal and school officials.

"Operations and maintenance allotment", the amount allotted within a district's foundation budget for operations and maintenance; provided, however, that the fiscal year 2017 operations and maintenance allotment, based on a sum of the following  calculations, shall be the base year, with the dollar rates adjusted annually by the foundation inflation index:

(i) $433.61 multiplied by the foundation preschool enrollment and the foundation half-day kindergarten enrollment;

(ii) $867.21 multiplied by the foundation full-day kindergarten enrollment and the foundation elementary enrollment;

(iii) $940.18 multiplied by foundation junior high or middle school enrollment;

(iv) $911.60 multiplied by the foundation high school enrollment;

(v) $2,907.31 multiplied by the assumed in-school special education enrollment; and

(vi) $1,706.08 multiplied by the foundation vocational enrollment.

“Other teaching services allotment”, the amount allotted within a district's foundation budget for other teaching services; provided, however, that the fiscal year 2017 other teaching services allotment, based on a sum of the following  calculations, shall be the base year, with the dollar rates adjusted annually by the foundation inflation index:

(i) $400.48 multiplied by the foundation preschool enrollment and the foundation half-day kindergarten enrollment;

(ii) $800.98 multiplied by the foundation full-day kindergarten enrollment and the foundation elementary enrollment;

(iii) $576.58 multiplied by the foundation junior high or middle school enrollment;

(iv) $480.01 multiplied by the foundation high school enrollment and the foundation vocational enrollment;

(v) $8,018.64 multiplied by the assumed in-school special education enrollment; and

(vi) $39.76 multiplied by the assumed tuitioned-out special education enrollment.

“Preliminary contribution”, the product of: (i) a municipality's required local contribution for the prior fiscal year; and (ii) 1 plus the municipal revenue growth factor for the current year; provided, however, that if a municipality's preliminary local contribution as a percentage of its foundation budget is more than 2.5 percentage points lower than the target local share, the preliminary contribution shall be recalculated using the municipality's revenue growth factor plus 1 percentage point; and provided further, that if a municipality's preliminary contribution as a percentage of its foundation budget is more than 7.5 percentage points lower than the target local share, the preliminary contribution shall be recalculated using the municipality's revenue growth factor plus 2 percentage points.

“Professional development allotment", the amount allotted within a district's foundation budget for professional development; provided, however, that the fiscal year 2017 professional development allotment, based on a sum of the following calculations, shall be the base year, with the dollar rates adjusted annually by the foundation inflation index:

(i) $61.76 multiplied by the foundation preschool enrollment and the foundation half-day kindergarten enrollment;

(ii) $123.57 multiplied by the foundation full-day kindergarten enrollment;

(iii) $123.59 multiplied by the foundation elementary enrollment;

(iv) $133.97 multiplied by the foundation junior high or middle school enrollment;

(v) $129.90 multiplied by the foundation high school enrollment;

(vi) $414.29 multiplied by the assumed in-school special education enrollment; and

(vii) $214.77 multiplied by the foundation vocational enrollment.

"Property percentage", the uniform percentage of each municipality's total equalized property valuation which yields one-half  of the statewide total of combined effort yields in any fiscal year.

"Pupil services allotment", the amount allotted within a district's foundation budget for pupil services; provided, however, that the fiscal year 2017 pupil services allotment, based on a sum of the following rate calculations, shall be the base year, with the dollar rates adjusted annually by the foundation inflation index:

(i) $45.19 multiplied by the foundation preschool enrollment and the foundation half-day kindergarten enrollment;

(ii) $90.41 multiplied by the foundation full-day kindergarten enrollment;

(iii) $135.61 multiplied by the foundation elementary enrollment and the foundation English learner, full-day enrollment;

(iv) $221.50 multiplied by foundation junior high or middle school enrollment; and

(v) $510.77 multiplied by the foundation high school enrollment and the foundation vocational enrollment.

"Required district contribution", a local district's share of the municipality's required local contribution or, in a regional district or agricultural school, the sum of the member municipalities' required local contributions apportioned to that regional district or agricultural school.

"Required local contribution", the municipality's preliminary contribution minus the product of its excess effort, if any, multiplied by the effort reduction percentage; provided, however, that the required local contribution shall be apportioned to each district to which the municipality belongs, in proportion to the municipality's foundation budget at those districts.

“Retired employee”, an employee of a school district who retired while employed by that district and who receives health insurance benefits through that district.

“Retired employee health insurance rate”, the average group insurance commission premium for all retiree plans for the three previous fiscal years; provided, however, that the group insurance commission shall annually, not later than June 30, provide the department with data necessary for the determination of such rate or any increase thereof.

"Statewide target local share", the sum of all municipalities' target local contribution, as a percentage of the sum of all municipal foundation budgets, which shall be set at 59 per cent.

"Target aid share", for a local district, 100 per cent minus the municipality's target local share; provided, however, that for a regional district or agricultural school, the “target aid share” shall be 100 per cent minus each member municipality's target local share, multiplied by each municipality's share of the regional district's enrollment, summed for all members of the district.

"Target local contribution", the lesser of a municipality's combined effort yield and its maximum local contribution.

"Target local share", a municipality's target local contribution as a percentage of its municipal foundation budget.

“Tuitioned-out special education allotment”, the product of the tuitioned-out special education rate and the assumed tuitioned-out special education enrollment.

“Tuitioned-out special education rate”, three times the statewide foundation budget per-pupil amount.

"Wage adjustment factor'', an adjusted difference between the average annual wage for all jobs in the labor market area in which a municipality is located and the average annual wage in the commonwealth; provided, however, that average annual wage figures shall be published annually by the division of employment and training; provided further, that the wage adjustment factor shall be the sum of 1 plus a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the product of 1/3 and the difference resulting from subtracting the average annual wage in the commonwealth from the average annual wage of the municipality, and the denominator of which shall be the average annual wage in the commonwealth; and provided further, that for the purposes of this definition, the average annual wage of the municipality shall be the sum of:

(i) .8 multiplied by the average annual wage for all jobs in the labor market area in which the municipality is located; and

(ii) .2 multiplied by the average annual wage of the municipality; provided, however, the wage adjustment factor in any community shall not be less than 1.

SECTION 13. The third paragraph of section 3 of said chapter 70, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the last sentence and inserting in place thereof the following 2 sentences:-

The factors to be inflated by the foundation inflation index shall be the monetary values for the administration allotment, the instructional leadership allotment, the classroom and specialist teachers allotment, the other teaching services allotment, the professional development allotment, the instructional materials, equipment and technology allotment, the guidance and psychological allotment, the pupil services allotment, the operations and maintenance allotment, the English language learner expanded program increment and the low-income student expanded program increment.

The rates established in section 2 shall serve as the basis for the implementation schedule established annually under section 5B1/2 of chapter 29.

SECTION 14. Section 5 of said chapter 70 is hereby repealed.

SECTION 15. Section 6 of said chapter 70, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 6, the word "minimum".

SECTION 16. Said section 6 of said chapter 70, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 8, the words "but not including equity aid,".

SECTION 17. Section 7 of said chapter 70 is hereby repealed.

SECTION 18. Section 9 of said chapter 70 is hereby repealed.

SECTION 19. Said chapter 70 is hereby further amended by striking out section 10, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 10. Subject to appropriation, the amount of state aid to be paid to each municipality in each fiscal year under this chapter shall be the sum of the base aid, the foundation aid increment and the minimum aid to which the municipality may be entitled under this chapter

SECTION 20. Section 38 of Chapter 71 of the General Law, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “The”, in line 37, the following words:-

“principles and” and is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 77, the words “regulations of the board” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- “with this section and chapter 150E”

SECTION 21. Section 42 of Chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out the third paragraph in place thereof the following paragraph:-

A teacher with professional teacher status, pursuant to section forty-one, shall not be dismissed except for just cause, including inefficiency, incompetency, incapacity, conduct unbecoming a teacher, insubordination or failure on the part of the teacher to satisfy teacher performance standards developed pursuant to section thirty-eight of this chapter.

SECTION 22. Section 42 of Chapter 71 of the general laws is hereby further amended in the fifth paragraph by striking the second sentence and inserting the following:-

In determining whether just cause exists for dismissal, the arbitrator shall have the authority to consider whether the grounds, if proven, warrant dismissal or a lesser measure of discipline based on such factors including, but not limited to, whether the proven misconduct or shortcoming justifies dismissal and whether the decision to dismiss is consistent with fundamental fairness as expressed in a collective bargaining agreement or through established disciplinary practices in the district.

SECTION 23. Section 42 of Chapter 71 of the general laws is hereby further amended in the sixth paragraph by striking the sixth sentence and inserting the following:-

With the exception of other remedies provided by statute, an arbitrator hearing a dismissal pursuant to this section shall be limited to awarding the aforementioned remedies.

SECTION 24. Section 59C of chapter 71 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 44, the figure “3” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 4.

SECTION 25. The fifth paragraph of said section 59C of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the first sentence the following sentence:-

In school districts with English language learners, the plan to improve student performance shall include a description of the educational program models and approaches offered by the school district to ensure the progress of English language learners in attaining English speaking, reading, writing and oral comprehension skills and in meeting academic standards under section 1D of chapter 69 and curriculum frameworks under section 1E of said chapter 69.

SECTION 26. Chapter 71A of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out sections 1 to 8, inclusive, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following 8 sections:-

Section 1. For the purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

“Commissioner”, the commissioner of elementary and secondary education.

“Department”, the department of elementary and secondary education.

"Dual language education" or “2-way bilingual”, a program that integrates language learning and academic instruction for native speakers of English and native speakers of another language with the goals of high academic achievement, first and second academic language proficiency and cross-cultural understanding.

“English language development” or “English as a second language”, a specially designed course of study that focuses on the acquisition of the English language consistent with a student's English proficiency, performance and developmental level.

“English learner”, a student who does not speak English or whose native language is not English and who is not currently able to perform ordinary classroom work in English.

“Foreign language”, a language other than English, which shall include American sign language.

“Language acquisition program”, an instructional program that includes English language acquisition for English learners as a component, but shall not be limited to a single program design or pedagogical style.

“Sheltered English immersion”, a program composed of the following 2 instructional components: (i) sheltered content instruction that focuses on teaching academic content with language support, using English as the primary language of instruction; and (ii) English language development instruction.

“Transitional bilingual education", an English learner program that follows a bilingual approach to learning in which the native language of the English learner is used to support a student’s development of English and content learning and then is gradually phased out of instruction as a student’s English proficiency increases to assist a student in attaining oral comprehension, speaking, reading and writing skills in English and in meeting academic standards of curriculum frameworks established under sections 1D and 1E of chapter 69.

Section 2. A school district shall annually identify the number of English learners within the school district in grades pre-kindergarten to grade 12, inclusive, for districts that have a pre-kindergarten program and in grades kindergarten to grade 12, inclusive, for districts that do not have a pre-kindergarten program, and shall classify an English learner according to: (i) grade level: (ii) the language in which English learner possesses a primary speaking ability; and (iii) the type of English learner program in which the English learner is enrolled. The information shall be made publicly available for each school and the school district on the district’s website. A school district shall also track the academic performance of the students who have exited an English learner program to assess the academic achievement of English learners and the effectiveness of language acquisition programs.

Section 3. An English learner enrolled in a public school, including a charter school, shall be educated through a comprehensive, research-based instructional program that includes subject matter content and an English language acquisition component. Programs for English learners may include sheltered English immersion, dual language education or transitional bilingual education but shall not be limited to a specific program or instructional design. A school district may choose 1 or more programs that meet the requirements of this section based on best practices in the field, linguistic and educational needs and the demographic characteristics of English learners in the school district. A school district may incorporate opportunities for students to develop and maintain native language proficiency as part of a formal or extracurricular academic program.

An English learner shall receive English language development instruction at a level and frequency that is appropriate for the English learner’s level of English language proficiency and educational need and shall be instructed by teachers qualified under state law. Each school district shall employ a sufficient amount of teachers of English as a second language for identified English learners; provided, however, that a school district shall employ at least 1 teacher licensed in English as a second language.

A student who has exited an English learner program and attained English proficiency shall have access to English language support or development instruction, as needed, in order to perform grade level classwork.

Schools may place English learners of different ages in the same classroom if the level of English proficiency for those English learners is similar. Schools shall be encouraged to integrate English learners from different native-language groups who have the same level of English proficiency in the same classroom. If an English learner reaches proficiency in English, is able to do grade level classwork in English and achieves a score of proficient or higher on the statewide evaluation of English language proficiency under section 7, the student shall no longer be classified as an English learner.

Section 4. The parent or legal guardian of a student eligible to enroll in an English learner program may select any available English language learner program offered by the school district.

A parent or legal guardian may refuse to enroll a student or may remove a student from an English learner program. The parent or legal guardian shall provide written confirmation of the decision, which shall be retained in the student’s cumulative folder. The student shall continue to be designated as an English learner, receive the support necessary to overcome language barriers within the general academic program setting and retain the right to enter into an English learner program at any time.

A school district may join with other school districts to provide an English learner program under this chapter.

If a school district or charter school receives a request from the parents or legal guardians of not less than 20 students to implement a specific program to provide language instruction in that school district or charter school, the school district or charter school shall, within 90 days of receiving the request, respond and provide: (i) a plan for implementation of the requested program; or (ii) a denial of the request, in writing, that includes an explanation of the denial.

A school district operating a language acquisition program for English learners serving more than 100 English learners or in which English learners are more than 5 per cent of the district’s student population, whichever is less, shall establish an English learner parent advisory council. The parent advisory council shall be composed of parents or legal guardians of students who are or have been identified as an English learners. The duties of the parent advisory council shall include, but not be limited to: advising the school district, school committee or board of trustees on matters that pertain to English learners; meeting regularly with school officials to participate in the planning and development of programs designed to improve educational opportunities for English learners; and participating in the review of school or district improvement plans established under section 59C of chapter 71 as they relate to English learners. A parent advisory council may meet at least once annually with each school council within the school district or the board of trustees of the charter school. The parent advisory council shall establish by-laws regarding officers and operational procedures. In the course of its duties under this section, the parent advisory council shall receive assistance from the director of language acquisition programs for the school district or other appropriate school personnel as designated by the superintendent.

Section 5. Communication to the parents and legal guardians of English learners by the school district shall, at least annually, inform the parents or legal guardians of their rights to choose a language acquisition program among those offered by the school district including, but not limited to, sheltered English immersion, transitional bilingual education and 2-way bilingual or dual language education, to request a new language acquisition program under section 4 or to withdraw a student from a language acquisition program. Notice shall be sent by mail not later than 10 days after the enrollment of the student in the school district. The notice shall, to the extent possible:

(i) be in a language that is understandable to the parents or legal guardians;

(ii) contain a simple, easy to understand description of the purpose, method and content of the available programs;

(iii) inform the parent or legal guardian of the right to visit an English learner program in the school district; and

(iv) inform the parent or legal guardian of available conferences or meetings to learn about the English learner programs.

If the school district recommends placing an English learner in an English learner program, the parent or legal guardian of the student shall have the right, at the time of the original notification under this section or at the close of any marking period, to withdraw the student from a program by sending written notice of the decision by mail or electronic communication to the school authority designated by the school district in which the student is enrolled.

Section 6. Each English learner shall participate in the statewide assessment system adopted pursuant to section 1I of chapter 69.

A statewide standardized criterion-referenced test of English language proficiency that assesses the achievement of English language oral and literacy skills shall be administered annually to students who are English learners in kindergarten to grade 12, inclusive, and enrolled in a public school, including a charter school.

Assessment scores of individual students shall be confidentially provided to a parent or legal guardian of the student. Aggregated assessment data for schools and school districts shall be made publicly available online in machine readable format. Scores of students classified as English learners shall be separately sub-aggregated and made publicly available, with the scores further sub-aggregated based on the English learner program in which the student is enrolled.

Results of assessments shall be used as evidence of the efficacy of an English learner program offered by a school district. The results of an annual assessment of English proficiency under this section shall not be the sole basis for evaluation of a district, school, English learner program or individual educator.

The district shall send report cards and progress reports including, but not limited to, progress in becoming proficient in using the English language and other school communications, to the parents or legal guardians of students in the English learners programs. Such report cards and progress reports shall be completed in the same manner and with the same frequency as report cards and progress reports to other students enrolled in the district. The report cards and progress reports shall, to the maximum extent possible, be written in a language understandable to the parent or legal guardian of a student.

Section 7. The department shall conduct an on-site visit in every school district at least once every 6 years to evaluate the effectiveness of programs serving English learners. The evaluation shall include, but not be limited to, a review of the individual student records of English learners, a review of the programs and services provided to English learners and a review of the dropout, graduation, discipline and special education incidence rates of the English learner population in the district. Using the best available data, the department shall provide a monitoring report the dropout, graduation, discipline and special education rates of English learners who exited the English learner education program within the 3 school years preceding the on-site visit for that 3-year period. The report shall also include a description of the processes by which school-based teams, consisting of educators, administrators and support staff, monitor the progress of English learners and former English learners, a review of the amount, frequency and effectiveness of English as a second language instruction and a review of the administration and coordination of English learner education programs. The advisory council for bilingual education established under section 1G of chapter 15 shall annually review the results of the department’s monitoring of English learner programs in school districts.

If, based on factors including, but not limited to, the assessment scores of English learners under section 6, a significant number of students in a school district fail to demonstrate progress in English language proficiency, as determined by the department, the department shall recommend ways to improve instructional programs for the school district’s English learner population. Nothing in this section shall prevent the department from conducting an evaluation of a language acquisition program at any time.

Section 8. Teachers and administrators assigned to a language acquisition program shall be properly qualified under state law for the program type. A core academic teacher of English learners, including a core academic teacher in a vocational-technical education program under chapter 74, shall meet the requirements under section 38G of chapter 71 and relevant regulations for certification in the teacher's subject area and endorsement or certification in content instruction of English learners.

The department shall create an endorsement for educators who have completed coursework and field-based experience to provide instruction within dual-language programs.

SECTION 27. Chapter 131 of the Acts of 2012, is hereby amended by striking out section 3.

SECTION 28. (a) Notwithstanding subsection (i) of section one D of chapter 69, during the next three full school years following the effective date of this act, the requirement that a student must demonstrate mastery of a common core of skills, competencies and knowledge as measured by MCAS or another standardized test shall not be required as a condition for high school graduation.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general law, special law, regulation, or collective bargaining agreement to the contrary, during the next three full school years following the effective date of this act, the results from student learning measures that inform the educator plan or self-assessment shall not be used, in whole or in part, in an educator’s formative or summative evaluation or in determining an educator’s impact on student learning rating.

(c) During the next three full school years following the effective date of this act, and notwithstanding the provisions of section 1J and 1K of chapter 69 or any other general or special law to the contrary, the department shall not use student achievement measures on the MCAS assessment or any successor test or use student growth measures based on standardized tests for the purpose of assessing the performance of any public school or school district. 

SECTION 29. (a) An Education Reform Review Task Force shall be convened no later than September 1, 2017, for the purpose of:

(i) reviewing the use of MCAS or any mandated state assessments, the implementation of the educator evaluation framework established pursuant to section 1I of chapter 69, and the use of student data on standardized tests as a student high school graduation requirement or in evaluating educators, schools, and districts and

(ii) determining whether these mechanisms advance the paramount goal of the commonwealth established by the Education Reform Act of 1993, as amended by section 1 of this Act and, if not, should be eliminated or modified.

(b)The task force shall consist of the following stakeholders:

(i) the commissioner of elementary and secondary education, or the commissioner’s designee;

(ii) the secretary of education, or the secretary’s designee;

(iii) the Senate president or a designee, the Speaker of the House or a designee, and the two chairs of the Joint Committee on Education or their designees;

(iv) one member chosen by the Governor from a list of three names submitted by the Massachusetts Teachers Association

(v) one member chosen by the Governor from a list of three names submitted by the American Federation of Teachers/Massachusetts

(v) one member chosen by the Governor from a list of three names submitted by the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents

(vi) one member chosen by the Governor from a list of three names submitted by the Massachusetts Association of School Committees

(vii) one member chosen by the Governor from a list of three names submitted by the Massachusetts Elementary School Principals Association

(viii) one member chosen by the Governor from a list of three names submitted from the Massachusetts Secondary School Administrators Association

(ix) one member chosen by the Governor from a list of three names submitted by the Massachusetts Parent Teachers Association; and

(x) the president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association and the president of the American Federation of Teachers/Massachusetts;

(xi) three parents jointly selected by the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the American Federation of Teachers/Massachusetts, and the Parent Teachers Association, one of whom is a parent or guardian of a student enrolled in a public school that is in a school district in what has been designated as a “gateway city,” as defined by section 3A of chapter 23A, one of whom is a parent or guardian of a student enrolled in a public school that is located in a suburban school district in the commonwealth, and one of whom is the parent or guardian of a student enrolled in a public school that is located in a rural school district in the commonwealth.

(xii) in accordance Section 1E of Chapter 15 one or more students from the Student Advisory Council shall serve on this task force.

(c) the initial meeting of the Task Force will be solely for the purpose of naming additional parent community representatives.  The communities to be represented will include but not be limited to, the ELL, SPED, and minority communities

(d) Appointments to the task force shall be made within 60 days of the effective date of this act. Vacancies in the membership of the task force shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. Members of the task force shall serve without compensation.

(e) The task force shall organize as soon as practicable following the appointment of its members, but no later than 60 days after the appointment of its members. There shall be two co-chairs, one elected by the members designated in sub-sections b (i), (ii) and (iii) and the second elected by the members in sub-sections b (iv) through (x).

SECTION 30. (a)The Task Force established in section 29 of this act will examine the purpose and varieties of testing that are currently used in classroom, schools, and districts to determine whether, in assessing students, teachers, schools, and districts, the components of the system of assessment, individually and collectively, advance the goal set forth in section 1 of chapter 69, as amended.

(b)The Task Force shall evaluate the use of standardized assessments, the implementation of the educator evaluation framework established pursuant to section 1I of chapter 69, and the use of student data on standardized tests for the purpose of evaluating students, educators, schools, and school districts and shall, without limitation of other relevant factors, consider and make findings regarding the following:

(i) whether the system of assessments currently in use or under consideration are effectuating the goal of providing a quality public education system in which  (1) all pupils are engaged fully in learning as an inherently meaningful and enjoyable activity without threats to their sense of security or self-esteem and (2) the processes for establishing and achieving specific educational performance goals for pupils, for monitoring progress toward those goals, and for fully engaging educators in these processes are effective and do not detract from the goals set forth in section 1 of chapter 69.

(ii) an analysis of (1) the time and cost dedicated to federal, state, and district mandated testing in the commonwealth’s classrooms, (2) the impact of mandated testing on effective teaching and learning, and (3) the availability and feasibility of mechanisms other than such standardized assessments to assess student, teacher, school, and district progress toward achieving the goals of section 1 of chapter 69, as amended;

(iii) a review of the use and efficacy of technology to achieve the goals and intentions set forth in chapter 69, section 1, as amended, in relation to classroom instruction and assessment, the current capacity of school districts in relation to the use of technology in classroom instruction and assessment, and the cost of achieving a level of technology capacity in school districts sufficient to achieve the goals and intentions set forth in chapter 69, section 1, as amended;

(iv) a study of the validity of using student growth percentiles as a component of the educator evaluation framework, and a review of how school districts use, misuse, or plan to  use measures of student learning including standardized test scores in the evaluation framework; 

(v) a study assessing the efficacy and impacts of the requirement in subsection (i) of section one D of chapter 69 that, as a condition for high school graduation.

SECTION 31. The department of elementary and secondary education will make all information requested by any member of the task force created in section 29 of this act readily available in a timely manner with due diligence. The task force shall issue a final report to the general court by filing same with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives no later than eighteen months after the task force organizes. Prior to issuing its final report, the task force shall hold at least six public hearings, in which members of the task force shall be present, in locations that provide opportunities for residents from all geographic regions of the commonwealth to testify. The commissioner shall provide a summary of the transcribed hearings.

SECTION 32. The department shall consider the recommendations of the language opportunity coalition in developing the guidelines for the state seal of biliteracy under section 1Q of chapter 69 of the General Laws.

SECTION 33. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department of elementary and secondary education shall report on the teaching of civics in secondary or intermediate public school districts. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the number of school districts requiring the completion of a civics section before graduation.

The report shall be submitted to the clerks of the house and senate and the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on education by July 1, 2017.

SECTION 34. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department of elementary and secondary education shall report on the teaching of United States history in secondary or intermediate public school districts. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the number of school districts requiring the completion of a United States history section before graduation.

The report shall be submitted to the clerks of the house and senate and the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on education not later than July 1, 2017.

SECTION 35. Not later than September 1, 2017, the department of elementary and secondary education shall establish guidelines for school districts to assist in supporting English learners who do not meet anticipated benchmarks in attaining English proficiency. The guidelines shall include: (i) ways for school districts to provide individualized goals and plans for English learners who are not meeting anticipated benchmarks in attaining English proficiency; (ii) best practices for ensuring that English learners meet individualized goals and plans to meet benchmarks in attaining English proficiency; and (iii) ways for school districts to share best practices among each other in assisting English learners in gaining English proficiency.

School districts shall provide a copy of the guidelines to the parent or guardian of each English learner, in the parent’s or guardian’s primary language, at the beginning of each school year or upon enrollment of the student in an English learner program if the enrollment is not concurrent with the beginning of the school year.

SECTION 36. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, a school district with an on-site visit scheduled for the 2016-2017 school year shall not have the on-site visit rescheduled due to this act.

SECTION 37. Sections 6, 11, 25 and 26 of this act shall apply to school years beginning on and after the 2019-2020 school year.

SECTION 38. Sections 12 through 19 of this act shall take effect on July 1, 2019.