HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2422        FILED ON: 1/19/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 521

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Meghan K. Kilcoyne

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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 relative to educator training to create educational equity for gifted and beyond grade-level children.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2422        FILED ON: 1/19/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 521

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act relative to educator training to create educational equity for gifted and beyond grade-level children.

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. Chapter 70 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting the following new section:

“Section 16. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shall establish a professional development program in gifted and talented education which will provide access to certain educators across the Commonwealth, fifteen hours of professional development in the specific field of the education of beyond grade-level and/or gifted students. Fifteen hours of such professional development shall be completed in any five year period for the renewal of licensure for any educators, including administrators, whose classrooms, schools, or districts contain one or more students who achieve ro have the potential to achieve beyond the age-average grade-level or are identified, or who could be identified as gifted and talented as defined by federal law, or as determined by a school district professional or any other professional working in the field of psychology, gifted education or who regularly provides services of educational assessments.”

SECTION 2. Chapter 71 Section 38G of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, shall be amended by inserting after the sentence, “In addition to any other requirements in this section, in order to receive a provisional or standard educator certificate, persons applying for such certification shall have completed such courses or training sessions as the board shall require in second language acquisition.” the following words:

“ In addition to any other requirements of this section, in order to receive a provisional or standard educator certificate, persons applying for such certification shall have completed such courses or training sessions as the board shall require in the education of beyond grade-level and/or gifted students. The board shall establish such requirements as recommended by generally-accepted standards in the field of gifted and talented education. This shall include training in talent development framework to find and cultivate strengths of a student’s latent and emergent potential; and training to address biases in the educational environment that lead to low expectations, missed talents, and lack of opportunities for students based on factors such as race, ethnicity, geography, gender, religion, EL or socioeconomic status.

In addition to any other requirements of this section, the board shall require, as a provision of an administrator's or an educator's initial certification, that all such educators and administrators shall have training in strategies for the effective education of beyond-grade-level and gifted and talented students as they are defined by federal law.”

SECTION 3. Chapter 71 Section 38Q of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, shall be amended by inserting the following text in the first paragraph, after the sentence, “In any school district with limited English proficient students, the plan shall provide training for teachers in second language acquisition techniques for the re-certification of teachers and administrators.”

“ In any school district containing gifted and talented students as defined by federal law, the plan shall provide training for administrators and teachers in gifted education, and shall state how such training will support the needs of beyond grade-level and/or gifted students. Each school district shall report to the department, on an annual basis, the gifted education training provided by the district, the number of educators in the district receiving such training and the total number of hours received. Each school district shall report to the department, on an annual basis, the specific ways in which its Title II Part A programs and activities address the learning needs of beyond grade-level and/or gifted students and is improving the education of beyond grade-level and/or gifted students.” 

SECTION 4. Chapter 71 Section 38Q of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, shall be amended by inserting the following sentence after the second sentence of the second paragraph, which ends with the words “limited English proficient students.” the following text:

“ The plan shall include data that demonstrates, statewide and by school district, the types of professional development provided for educators who work with beyond-grade-level, gifted and talented, highly or profoundly gifted, including those with one or more disabilities.”