HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1119        FILED ON: 1/18/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 594

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Steven Ultrino and Paul J. Donato

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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 ensuring openness and responsibility in the charter school renewals .

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1119        FILED ON: 1/18/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 594

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 ensuring openness and responsibility in the charter school renewals .

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 1F of chapter 15 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:- 

The board shall not authorize the commissioner to act on its behalf in granting charter renewals, including charter renewals that do not involve probation.

SECTION 2. Section 89 of chapter 71 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (dd) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:- 

 (dd) (1) A charter granted by the board shall be for 5 years. The board shall develop procedures and guidelines for revocation and renewal of a school's charter; provided, however, that a charter for a Horace Mann charter school shall not be renewed by the board without a majority vote of the school committee and local collective bargaining unit in the district where said charter school is located; provided further, that a commonwealth charter shall not be renewed unless the board of trustees of the charter school has documented in a manner approved by the board that said commonwealth charter school has provided models for replication and best practices to the commissioner and to other public schools in the district where the charter school is located.

(2) When deciding on charter renewal, the board shall consider progress made in student academic achievement, whether the school has met its obligations and commitments under the charter, the extent to which the school has followed its recruitment and retention plan by using deliberate, specific strategies towards recruiting and retaining the categories of students enumerated in paragraph (3) of subsection (i) and the extent to which the school has enhanced its plan as necessary. The board may impose conditions on the charter school upon renewal if it fails to adhere to and enhance its recruitment and retention plan as required. When deciding on charter renewal, the board shall take into account the annual attrition of students. The board shall also consider innovations that have been successfully implemented by the charter school and the evidence that supports the effectiveness of these practices. Upon renewal of its charter, a school shall update and enhance its recruitment and retention plan as necessary to account for changes in enrollment.

(3) The decision by the board to renew a school’s charter shall be based upon the presentation of affirmative evidence, in accordance with 603 CMR 1.11 (2). The presentation of affirmative evidence shall be made available to the public by the board at least 30 days prior to the vote to renew a school’s charter, in accordance with sections 18 to 25, inclusive, of chapter 30A and the clause Twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4.

(4) The board shall solicit public comment for a period of at least 30 days prior to the board’s vote to renew a school’s charter. The board shall review all material submitted in support of or in opposition to the charter renewal prior to a renewal vote.

SECTION 3. The department of elementary and secondary education shall promulgate regulations or amend 603 CMR 1.11 to implement this act within 120 days of its passage.