HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 327        FILED ON: 1/10/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 477

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Patricia A. Haddad

_________________

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 to assure opportunity for all students with disabilities.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Patricia A. Haddad

5th Bristol

1/10/2019

Louis L. Kafka

8th Norfolk

1/17/2019

Paul A. Schmid, III

8th Bristol

1/22/2019

Paul Brodeur

32nd Middlesex

1/31/2019

Daniel R. Cullinane

12th Suffolk

1/29/2019

Mark J. Cusack

5th Norfolk

1/24/2019

Michael S. Day

31st Middlesex

2/1/2019

Nika C. Elugardo

15th Suffolk

2/1/2019

Kimberly N. Ferguson

1st Worcester

1/30/2019

Kenneth I. Gordon

21st Middlesex

1/28/2019

James K. Hawkins

2nd Bristol

2/2/2019

Stephan Hay

3rd Worcester

1/24/2019

Jonathan Hecht

29th Middlesex

1/31/2019

Russell E. Holmes

6th Suffolk

2/1/2019

Kevin G. Honan

17th Suffolk

1/29/2019

Patrick Joseph Kearney

4th Plymouth

2/1/2019

David Paul Linsky

5th Middlesex

1/25/2019

Jay D. Livingstone

8th Suffolk

1/29/2019

Paul W. Mark

2nd Berkshire

2/1/2019

Mathew J. Muratore

1st Plymouth

1/29/2019

James M. Murphy

4th Norfolk

1/31/2019

David M. Rogers

24th Middlesex

2/1/2019

Jon Santiago

9th Suffolk

1/31/2019

José F. Tosado

9th Hampden

1/28/2019

Aaron Vega

5th Hampden

1/28/2019

Tommy Vitolo

15th Norfolk

1/29/2019

Bud L. Williams

11th Hampden

1/23/2019


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 327        FILED ON: 1/10/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 477

By Mrs. Haddad of Somerset, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 477) of Patricia A. Haddad and others relative to improving procurement procedures to ensure opportunities for students with disabilities.  Education.

 

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 265 OF 2017-2018.]

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

_______________

 

An Act to assure opportunity for all students with disabilities.

 

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 22N of chapter 7 of the General Laws, as most recently amended by chapter 257 of the Acts of 2010, is hereby amended in the sixth paragraph by inserting after the first sentence the following 3 sentences:-

The division shall establish a subsequent year price for a contractor for goods or services related to special education as defined in section 1 of chapter 71B located within the commonwealth by adding a per student annual adjustment amount to the current authorized price, so called.  The per student annual adjustment amount will be determined by multiplying the current authorized price, so called, by a percentage factor, as determined on an annual basis by the operational services division.  The annual adjustment amount percentage for each cost component shall correspond to the actual cost component structure of these programs. 

Section 2.  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the division of purchased services of the department of procurement shall promulgate rules and regulations relative to the pricing of programs approved under chapter 71B of the General Laws for the purpose of promoting recruitment and retention of all direct care staff and improving instructional resources.  Said rules and regulations shall include the following provisions:-

(a) the division shall establish a pricing mechanism, including eligibility and procedural requirements,   that allows approved programs to apply for salary and benefit increases   for all direct care staff including, but not limited to, teachers, related service staff, health care staff and clinical staff to increase the rate of licensure and certification, as may be required by state or federal law, and to decrease the rate of staff attrition and to ensure that benefits and salaries are comparable to  the benefits and salaries of similar employees in public schools or relevant agencies of the commonwealth. Said salaries and benefits shall be prorated for the length of said programs. The pricing mechanism shall also address department of elementary and secondary education approved instructional resource upgrades;

(b) the department of elementary and secondary education shall, at the next evaluation of an approved private special education program as required in section 3 of chapter 71B, review the facilities, textbooks, equipment, technology, materials and supplies of the program necessary to instruct students in the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks and recommend to the division pricing adjustments to address needed instructional resource upgrades as determined by the department; and

(c) the division’s pricing mechanisms shall not be based upon non-commonwealth or prior year’s revenues. No mechanism established by the division shall delay a program price adjustment for more than 90 days. Private special education programs must provide purchasers, the department of elementary and secondary education and the operational services division with a notice of intent to apply for salary and benefit upgrades by October 1 for the following fiscal year.