HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4543

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, March 31, 2022.

The committee on Education to whom was referred the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 660) of Elizabeth A. Malia, Jerald A. Parisella and Hannah Kane relative to strengthening recovery high schools, reports recommending that the accompanying bill (House, No. 4543) ought to pass.

For the committee,

ALICE HANLON PEISCH.

        FILED ON: 2/2/2022

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4543

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act relative to recovery high schools.

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

Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department of elementary and secondary education, in consultation with the principals of the 5 recovery high schools in the commonwealth, shall: (i) examine the costs associated with sending students to a recovery high school, as defined in subsection (a) of section 91 of chapter 71 of the General Laws; (ii) determine the average cost per pupil at recovery high schools in the commonwealth; and (iii) determine, in consultation with the department of public health, whether enrollment in a recovery high school should require a medical diagnosis of “substance use disorder or dependency, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV-TR”. The department shall submit its findings to the chairs of the house and senate committees on ways and means, the chairs of the joint committee on education and the chairs of the joint committee on mental health, substance use and recovery not later than June 30, 2023.