Amendment #5 to H4730

HWM Tech

Mr. Sánchez of Boston moves to amend the bill by striking out, in line 41, the words “paragraphs 4, 11, 22, 50 and 58 of section 2 of chapter 70” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- paragraphs 4, 17, 43, 85, and 117 of section 2 of chapter 70.   

And moves to further amend the bill by inserting, in line 60, after the word “levels” the following words:- , including a review of national practice models that ensure greater financial transparency.

And moves to further amend the bill by inserting, in line 74, after the word “teacher” the following words:- in a district of 15,000 or more students.

And moves to further amend the bill by striking out section 7 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

SECTION 7. Not later than December 31, 2018, the commissioner of the department of education shall develop an implementation plan for purposes of informing the FY 2020 budget on recommendations made by the 2015 foundation budget review commission report relative to converting the English learner increase from a base rate to an increment on the base rate, and increasing the low-income increment component of the foundation budget calculation in order to best serve low-income students and English learner populations.

The commissioner shall work with an independent research consultant with proven experience in education data and public policy research to assist in the development of implementation models, which shall include:

(i) defining the foundation budget category for “low-income” and amount of increment attributable to low-income students for the purpose of calculating chapter 70 aid;

(ii) options for how districts may be grouped based on low-income enrollment for the purpose of calculating chapter 70 aid;

(iii) improvements to better align data with the executive office of health and human services for the purpose of counting low-income students, including options for improved identification methods, and efforts to encourage families to enroll in state assistance programs and ensure districts have appropriate information and outreach tools;

(iv) options for a distribution formula for holding harmless those districts the department recognizes were negatively impacted by changes made to the calculation of low-income students, including districts where the increased rate did not fully compensate for a lower number of students identified under the economically disadvantaged metric implemented in 2016;

(v) options for changing the English learner base rate to an increment in the chapter 70 formula beginning with the FY2020 budget, including recommendations on: (a) applying the middle school increment to all grade levels in the calculation of the English learner increment; (b) the degree to which the English learner increment should be differentiated based on the various levels of support required of English learners and (c) applying the increment to vocational school students;

(vi) types of interventions, supports and practices that have proven to be effective in improving performance for low-income students and English learners and have proven successful in closing the student achievement gap in districts with large populations of low-income students, including, but not limited to: instructional improvement; a study of staffing patterns and program offerings, and the costs incurred in providing such supports; and, models for offering sufficient guidance for supporting district and school decision-making relative to effective and efficient resource allocation.

Prior to issuing a final study, the commissioner shall hold not fewer than 2 public meetings and provide ample opportunity for public and stakeholder input relative to any initial findings.

The implementation plan, together with any recommendations and findings, shall be filed with the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on education not later than December 31, 2018; provided a copy shall be made publicly available on the website of the department of elementary and secondary education.