Budget Amendment ID: FY2018-S3-165-R1

Redraft EDU 165

Above Foundation Spending Percentage

Messrs. Moore and O'Connor moved that the proposed new text be amended in section 2, by inserting, after section ____, the following 5 sections:-

SECTION ____. Subsection (a) of section 89 of chapter 71 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby further amended by inserting after the definition of “district” the following definition:-

“Local approval”, an affirmative action accepting a commonwealth charter school taken by a majority vote of a locally elected school committee for each school district from which a commonwealth charter school is expected to enroll students, or, in school districts in which the school committee is an appointed body, an affirmative action accepting a commonwealth charter school which shall be approved by the city council and school committee’s appointing authority.”;

SECTION _____. Paragraph (1) of subsection (i) of section 89 of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the last paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following 3 paragraphs:-

Applications to establish a commonwealth charter school shall be submitted to the board annually by November 15. The board shall review the applications and grant new commonwealth charters in February of the following year. Applications to establish a Horace Mann charter school may be submitted to the board and granted by the board at any time.

Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, every commonwealth charter school application shall be subject to the local approval of every school district expected to enroll students. Approval of a commonwealth charter school application that has not received local approval shall require an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the board. If the board approves an application it shall notify the school districts that expect to enroll students of the approval.

Approval of an application by the board without local approval shall be funded by the commonwealth; provided, however, that in a school district in which a commonwealth charter school application is approved by the board without local approval, the school district shall not be eligible for district impact mitigation funding under subsection (gg) for the approved commonwealth charter school and the total number of students enrolled in the approved commonwealth charter school shall not be included in the school district’s foundation budget as calculated under chapter 70.”;

SECTION ____. The first paragraph of subsection (ff) of section 89 of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “district” in the last line the following words:-

"; however, in calculating a district’s actual net school spending for the purposes of the above foundation spending percentage, a district’s net school spending shall deduct a district’s charter school tuition reimbursement as if fully funded."

SECTION _____. The third paragraph of subsection (ff) of section 89 of said chapter 71, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the number “70” the following words:-

"; however , in calculating a district’s actual net school spending for the purposes of the above foundation spending percentage, a district’s net school spending shall deduct a district’s charter school tuition reimbursement as if fully funded.

SECTION _____. The last 2 paragraphs of paragraph (1) of subsection (i) of section 89 of said chapter 71, as so appearing, shall apply to commonwealth charter schools approved after January 1, 2018 that do not have students currently enrolled.