HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 5485        FILED ON: 12/31/2020

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 5225

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

December 31, 2020

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives,

Pursuant to Part the Second, Chapter I, Section I, Article II of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, I am returning unsigned House Bill No. 5189, “An Act providing for a Department of Children and Families school attendance report.”

This bill was originally an outside section in the budget that I returned with an amendment, and would require the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to submit a report by January 15th, 2021 on statewide efforts undertaken by DCF and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to monitor the school attendance of DCF-involved children.  As I said in my amendment letter, the January 15th deadline does not give DCF sufficient time to prepare the report.  I again urge the Legislature, in any future bill addressing this matter, to extend the reporting deadline.

For these reasons, I am returning House Bill No. 5189 unsigned.

Respectfully submitted

Charles D. Baker,

Governor