Bill S.314 194th (Current)

Rural schools face many structural challenges, including declining enrollments, stagnating local tax bases, disproportionately high transportation and special education costs, and a state funding formula that favors schools with dense populations and larger enrollments. This bill addresses these and other issues by providing funding for rural and regional schools, school building construction and renovation, and exceptional transportation and special education costs; supporting shared services among regional schools and looking for ways to reduce their health care costs; and establishing commissions to review and update special education regulations and funding to better support rural schools. The bill also ensures representation from western Massachusetts on the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education so that all communities have a voice in the state’s decision-making body. 

Section-by-section summary: 

SECTION 1 adds a definition of “rural school district” to the state’s school financing statute (chapter 70 of the General Laws). A rural school district is defined as a district with both a student density of less than 35 students per square mile and a per capita income below the average annual estimated state per capita income.

SECTION 2 establishes the Rural School Aid Fund and the Declining Enrollment Fund.

The Rural School Aid Fund will receive $60,000,000 each year from the state’s General Fund. Amounts credited shall not be subject to appropriation. The fund will be used to support the long-term fiscal health of rural school districts, with priority given to those serving communities with the fewest students per square mile. The provision also directs DESE to annually review and make recommendations for additional adjustments to the rural school aid calculation to improve accuracy and equity.  

The Declining Enrollment Fund will provide additional per-pupil aid to school districts with a decline in student enrollment of at least 35 percent in the past 20 years. Amounts credited to the fund shall not be subject to appropriation. DESE shall review annually and make recommendations every five years on the adequacy of this funding.

SECTION 3 directs DESE to prioritize paraprofessionals who are seeking to obtain licensure as special educators in their grant program for paraprofessionals who are working to become certified teachers while attending a public higher education institution. 

SECTION 4 updates the definition of special education “instructional costs” to allow the state to reimburse part of the cost of full-time equivalent salaries for highly specialized part-time staff in order to obtain a qualified professional.

SECTION 5 provides for 100% reimbursement of special education costs incurred by school districts for transportation and tuition for students receiving education out of their home district in the year in which the costs occurred. Current law limits this reimbursement to 75% of costs above an amount set in law. 

SECTION 6 creates a new program within DESE to support the development of special education teachers. The program shall facilitate targeted funding for local “grow your own” programs, including paid time off or child care stipends for paraprofessionals pursuing licensure. It also supports current teachers seeking to add a special education license and requires DESE to create alternative pathways to licensure beyond the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL).

SECTION 7 requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to review special education regulations with a focus on the needs of rural school districts. The review must include public input from advocates, administrators, parents, and experts. The department must also create a public webpage to share information and collect feedback on the regulations under review.

SECTION 8 establishes a Special Education Financing Legislative Commission to review the system for financing special education and make recommendations for a more equitable system that provides adequate funding to local school districts to meet the costs of providing high quality education to students with disabilities. The Commission will review the current financing system and make recommendations to achieve the goals enumerated in this act.

SECTION 9 requires the state to pay the full amount of extraordinary transportation costs for transporting students between home and school in rural school districts. Section 9 also sets up a Non-Resident Pupil Transportation Fund. The Fund will be used to reimburse schools for the costs of transporting students who attend school outside their home district. Amounts credited to the fund shall not be subject to appropriation. Funds spent from this fund will not be considered part of regular chapter 70 school aid. 

SECTION 10 sets up an Office of Shared Services within the Department of Elementary and Secondary education (DESE). This Office will oversee the formation of regional school districts and superintendent unions, and assist school districts that are considering forming or are in the process of forming regional school districts and superintendent unions. The Office may assist with the research, development and execution of shared services projects and shared services agreements.

SECTION 11 amends the statute governing the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). The MSBA provides sliding scale assistance for the construction and renovation of school buildings. Under section 11, the Authority is directed to pay 90% of the cost of projects for regional school districts. 

SECTION 12 provides that if a school is closed as part of a regionalization effort, the MSBA will relieve the district of its debt to the Authority. The Authority, in collaboration with the Executive Office of Economic Development, is also directed to offer the municipality where the school is located assistance in developing a plan for demolition or use of the school building for other purposes.

SECTION 13 provides for an extra payment of $200 per student to regional school districts during their first three years of operation as a regional school district. The section replaces a provision in current law that calls for declining “regional bonus aid” payments of $50, then $40, $30, $20 and $10 per student during the first five years of a regional school district’s establishment.

SECTION 14 authorizes the payment of state aid to cover the salaries of temporary school district employees, including but not limited to an assistant superintendent, assistant business manager, assistant information technology director and assistant pupil services director, during the first two years of a regional school district’s operation. The amounts of the aid are to be determined by the DESE Commissioner.

SECTION 15 establishes three funds in state law:

School District Regionalization Grant Fund - assists school districts that are considering forming, are in the process of forming or have formed within the past five years a regional school district or are regionalizing services. Priority for the funds shall go (in order) to (1) school districts with significant enrollment decline; (2) school districts where existing school space is underutilized; and (3) school districts where the regionalization proposal will produce significant expansion of available academic resources and supports as a result of cost savings. Amounts credited to the fund shall not be subject to appropriation. The maximum grant award will not exceed $1,500,000 over a three-year period and shall not be considered chapter 70 aid for the calculation of the minimum required local contribution for the upcoming fiscal year.

Regional School District Foundational Aid Fund - makes up shortfalls in assistance to regional school districts during their first five years if the district’s member schools received more foundational aid before regionalization than the regional district. Amounts provided by the fund will not be considered chapter 70 aid for the calculation of the minimum required local contribution for the following year. Amounts credited to the fund shall not be subject to appropriation. 

Superintendent Union Formation Grant Fund - provides assistance to school districts that are considering forming, are in the process of forming or have formed within the past five years a superintendent union. A superintendent union allows multiple smaller districts to share a single superintendent. Amounts credited to the fund shall not be subject to appropriation. The grants will not exceed $250,000 annually.

SECTION 16 directs DESE and the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to apply for federal reimbursements for transportation costs for foster children to travel to their school’s of origin. Any costs not covered by the US Department of Education shall be reimbursed by DESE. 

SECTION 17 provides that at least three members of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education must reside in the counties of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire.