HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3558        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 597

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Steven Ultrino and Joan Meschino

_________________

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 remedy disparities in students' educational achievement.

_______________

PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3558        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 597

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

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

_______________

An Act to remedy disparities in students' educational achievement.

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. Subsection (a) of section 37H of chapter 71 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out in lines 43 to 44, inclusive, the words, “including, but not limited to, a gun or a knife” and inserting in place thereof the following words:-

“a device as defined as section 10 of chapter 269 of the General Laws or a controlled substance as defined in chapter ninety-four C, including, but not limited to, cocaine, and heroin, but not including marijuana, may be subject to exclusion from the school or school district by the principal.”

SECTION 2.  Clause (b) of the fourth paragraph of section 37H of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the word “assaults”, in line 48, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- willfully assaults, with intent and means to harm.

SECTION 3. Said paragraph (1) of said section 37H½ of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the words “have a substantial detrimental effect on the general welfare of the school”, in lines 9 and 10, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- pose a specific, documentable concern about the infliction of serious bodily injury upon another person while in school.

SECTION 4. Said paragraph (1) of said section 37H½ of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 10 to 12, inclusive, the sentence, “The student shall receive written notification of the charges and the reasons for such suspension prior to such suspension taking effect” and inserting in place thereof the following two sentences:-

The student shall receive written notification of the charges and the right to a hearing before the principal. If, after the hearing, the principal chooses to suspend the student, the written notice of the suspension shall include the reasons for such suspension, including the basis for the principal’s determination of the infliction of serious bodily injury upon another person while in school, prior to such suspension taking effect.  Further, any student who is placed on diversion prior to arraignment is not eligible for suspension under this section. 

SECTION 5. Paragraph (2) of said section 37H½ of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following three paragraphs:-

Upon a student being convicted of a or upon an adjudication or admission in court of guilt with respect to such a felony or felony delinquency, the principal of a school in which the student is enrolled may expel said student if such principal determines that the student's continued presence in school would pose a specific, documentable concern about the infliction of serious bodily injury upon another person while in school. The student shall receive written notification of the charges and right to a hearing before the principal. If after the hearing, the principal chooses to suspend or expel the student, the written notice shall include the reasons for such exclusion, including the basis for the principal’s specific, documentable concern about the infliction of serious bodily injury upon another person while in school, prior to such expulsion taking effect. The student shall also receive written notification of his right to appeal and the process for appealing such expulsion; provided, however, that the expulsion shall remain in effect prior to any appeal hearing conducted by the superintendent.

For any suspension or expulsion under this section, the principal of a school in which the student is enrolled shall provide, to the student and to the parent or guardian of the student, notice of the charges and the reason for the suspension or expulsion in English and in the primary language spoken in the home of the student. The student shall receive the written notification and shall have the opportunity to meet for a fair hearing before the principal to discuss the charges and reasons for the suspension or expulsion prior to the suspension or expulsion taking effect. The notice shall include the right to be represented by a lawyer or advocate (at the student's expense); adequate time to prepare for the hearing; access to documented evidence prior to the hearing; the right to present witnesses at the hearing and to question them and a reasonably prompt written decision including specific grounds for the decision.

The principal shall ensure that the parent or guardian of the student is included in the hearing, provided that such hearing may take place without the parent or guardian only if the principal, or a designee, can document reasonable efforts to include the parent or guardian in that hearing. The department shall promulgate rules and regulations that address a principal's duties under this subsection and procedures for including parents in student exclusion meetings, hearings or interviews under this subsection.

SECTION 6. Section 1S of chapter 69 of the General Laws, added by section 5 of chapter 132 of the acts of 2019, is hereby amended by striking out paragraphs (a) and (b) and inserting in place thereof the following 2 paragraphs:-

(a) The commissioner shall establish statewide targets for addressing persistent disparities in achievement and suspension and expulsion among student subgroups in the aggregate and within subcategories, including, but not limited to, subject matter and relevant grade levels. The targets shall include annual benchmarks on the progress expected to be achieved in the aggregate and by subcategory.

(b) Each district shall establish targets for addressing persistent disparities in achievement and suspension and expulsion among student subgroups consistent with the targets established by the department. Each district shall develop an evidence-based 3-year plan to meet its targets. Each district’s plan shall be developed by the superintendent in consultation with the school committee and shall consider input and recommendations from parents and other relevant community stakeholders, including but not limited to, special education and English learner parent advisory councils, school improvement councils and educators in the school district.

SECTION 7. Paragraph (c) of said section 1S of said chapter 69, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out clauses (ii) and (iii) and inserting in place thereof the following 2 clauses:-

(ii) a description of the evidence-based programs, supports and interventions that the school district will implement to address persistent disparities in achievement and suspension and expulsion among student subgroups, including, but not limited to: (A) expanded learning time in the form of a longer school day or school year; (B) increased opportunity for common planning time for teachers; (C) social services to support students’ social-emotional and physical health; (D) hiring school personnel that best support improved student performance; (E) increased or improved professional development; (F) purchase of curriculum materials and equipment that are aligned with the statewide curriculum frameworks; (G) expanding early education and pre-kindergarten programming within the district in consultation or in partnership with community-based organizations; (H) diversifying the educator and administrator workforce; (I) developing additional pathways to strengthen college and career readiness; (J) implementing evidence-based disciplinary and educational models to reduce suspension and expulsion rates, disparities in suspension and expulsion rates between any subgroup and all students and disparities in annual days of exclusion for excluded students in each subgroup, calculated as the days lost per 100 enrolled. This rate of lost instruction is to be compared to all excluded students including, but not limited to: positive behavioral interventions and supports models; response to intervention models; restorative justice models; and trauma sensitive learning models; (K) implementing intermediary disciplinary steps before the use of suspension or expulsion including, but not limited to: mediation, conflict resolution, restorative justice, or collaborative problem solving; and (L) any other program determined to be evidence-based by the commissioner; provided, however, that if a district elects not to implement the evidence-based programs described in clauses (A) to (L), inclusive, the district plan shall specify the reasons for electing not to implement said programs including a description of why said programs would not effectively address persistent disparities in achievement and suspensions and expulsions among student subgroups;

(iii) identification of outcome metrics to be used by the district to measure success in addressing persistent disparities in achievement and suspension and expulsion among student subgroups; provided, however, that the department shall develop standard metrics that may be incorporated in district plans and may include: (A) results from the statewide student assessment including student growth; (B) results from the English proficiency assessment administered to English learners; (C) grade-level completion and attendance data; (D) participation in advanced coursework; and (E) rates of suspension, expulsion and lost instruction; and (F) other indicators of district and school climate, diversity and performance; and.

SECTION 8. Said section 1S of said chapter 69, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out paragraphs (d) and (e) and inserting in place thereof the following 2 paragraphs:-

(d) Each district shall submit its plan to the department every 3 years. Upon receipt of a district plan, the commissioner shall review the plan to ensure that it sets forth clear, appropriate and achievable goals and measurable standards for student improvement that comply with the requirements of this section; provided, however, that the district shall amend any plan deemed not to conform with the requirements of this section. Following the submission of a 3-year plan, each district shall annually, not later than April 1, submit to the department and to the public: (i) relevant data, pursuant to its plan, to assess success in addressing persistent disparities in achievement and suspension and expulsion among student subgroups; and (ii) amendments to the plan that reflect changes deemed necessary to improve district performance in meeting plan goals. Each plan shall be made publicly available on both the submitting district’s website and the department’s website.

(e) Annually, not later than December 31, the commissioner shall submit a report to the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate and the chairs of the joint committee on education on the progress made in addressing persistent disparities in achievement and suspension and expulsion among student subgroups in the aggregate and within subcategories on a statewide basis; provided, however, that district and school-level data shall be made available on the department’s website along with the report.

SECTION 9. Section 37H of chapter 71 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting before the first paragraph the following definitions:-

As used in this section, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-

“Disparate rate of lost instruction,” an aggregate rate of lost instruction per 100 students in a particular subgroup which deviates from the aggregate rate of lost instruction per 100 students in a school or district by greater than or equal to 1½ standard deviations;

“Disproportionate number of students,” a rate of suspension and expulsion per 100 students in a specific subgroup in a school or district which deviates from the aggregate rate of suspension and expulsion per 100 students in a school or district, by greater than or equal to 1½ standard deviations;

“Expulsion,” the removal of a student from the school premises, regular classroom activities and school activities for more than 90 school days, indefinitely or permanently, as permitted pursuant to this section or section 37H½;

“Homeless children and youths,” students who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence as defined in 42 USC Chapter 119, Subchapter VI, Part B, §11434a.

“Rate of lost instruction,” a rate of days of exclusion for all students or for a particular student subgroup derived by taking the cumulative number of days of instruction lost due to exclusion in a school year, dividing by the total number of students or total number of students in a subgroup, and multiplying by 100

“Significant number of students,” a percentage of students in a given school that is greater than the Commonwealth’s aggregate rate of suspension and expulsion per 100 students as calculated annually by the department of elementary and secondary education;

“Standard deviations,” the square root of the average of the squares of the differences between each adjusted composite rate for a student subgroup in a school or district and the average adjusted composite rate for all students in a school or district.

SECTION 10. Clause (f) of said fourth paragraph of said section 37H of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the last sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:-

This report shall include district level data disaggregated and cross-tabulated by student status and categories established by the commissioner including, but not limited to: (a) race and ethnicity; (b) gender; (c) socioeconomic status; (d) English language learner status; (e) disability; (f) homeless children and youths.

SECTION 11. Said fourth paragraph of said section 37H of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out clause (g) and inserting in place thereof the following 2 clauses:-

(g) Under the regulations promulgated by the department, for each school that: (a) suspends or expels a significant number of students for more than 10 cumulative days in a school year; (b) suspends or expels a disproportionate number of students from any of the subgroups named in paragraph (f) or designated by the commissioner; or (c) displays disparate rates of lost instruction between subgroups, the commissioner shall investigate and shall recommend models that incorporate intermediary steps prior to the use of suspension or expulsion and address disproportionate discipline, in both incidence and duration, of any subgroup. The commissioner shall publicly identify and categorize schools that fall into 1 or more of the following categories: (a) the school has suspended or expelled a significant number of students for more than 10 days; (b) the school has suspended or expelled a disproportionate number of students from any of the subgroups named in paragraph (f) or designated by the commissioner; or (c) the school has displayed disparate rates of lost instruction for any subgroup. The results of this analysis shall be made publicly available on both the district’s website and the department’s website.

(h) Annual reports and accountability plans submitted by charter schools pursuant to regulations promulgated by the department shall contain data consistent with the requirements set forth in this section.

SECTION 12. Subsection (a) of section 37H¾ of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 1-2, the words “and expulsion”.

SECTION 13. Subsection (c) of section 37H¾ of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 11, the words “or expulsion”.

SECTION 14. Subsection (c) of section 37H¾ of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 15, the words “or expulsion”.

SECTION 15. Subsection (c) of section 37H¾ of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 19, the words “or expulsion”.

SECTION 16. Subsection (d) of section 37H¾ of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 31, the words “or expulsion”.

SECTION 17. Subsection (d) of section 37H¾ of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 36, the words “or expulsion”.

SECTION 18. Subsection (d) of section 37H¾ of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 38, the words “or expulsion”.

SECTION 19. Subsection (d) of section 37H¾ of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 40, the words “or expulsion”.

SECTION 20. Subsection (e) of section 37H¾ of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 53, the words “or expulsion”.

SECTION 21. Subsection (e) of section 37H¾ of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 57, the words “or expulsion”.

SECTION 22. Subsection (e) of section 37H¾ of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 72-73, the words “or expulsion”.

SECTION 23. Subsection (f) of section 37H¾ of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 74, the words “or expelled”.

SECTION 24. Section 37H¾ of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting the following sentence at the end of the sixth paragraph:- No long-term suspension shall extend beyond the end of the school year in which such suspension is imposed.