reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 15a § 6 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15a - Public Education|Section 6 - Department of Higher Education; Commissioner; Other Employees; Appointments; Salaries; Powers and Duties

Section 6. DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION; COMMISSIONER; OTHER EMPLOYEES; APPOINTMENT; SALARIES; POWERS AND DUTIES  There shall be within the executive office of education a department of higher education, in this chapter called the department.  The council shall, whenever a vacancy may occur, by a two-thirds vote of all its voting members, submit to the secretary, for the secretary's approval, a recommended candidate to serve as the commissioner of higher education, in this chapter called the commissioner. The secretary may appoint the recommended candidate as commissioner. If the secretary declines to appoint the candidate, the council shall submit a new candidate for consideration. The secretary may appoint the commissioner only from candidates submitted to the secretary by the council.  The commissioner shall be the executive and administrative head of the department. The commissioner shall serve at the pleasure of the council and may be removed by a majority vote of all its members. The commissioner shall not be subject to chapter 31 or to section 9A of chapter 30.  The commissioner shall be the secretary to the council and its chief executive officer and the chief school officer for higher education. The commissioner shall be responsible for carrying out the policies established by the council. The council may delegate its authority or any portion thereof to the commissioner whenever in its judgment such delegation may be necessary or desirable. The commissioner shall exercise any such powers or duties delegated with the full authority of the council in any matter concerning the system of public institutions of higher education subject to the direction and approval of the council.  The commissioner shall devote her full time during business hours to the duties of her office and shall, subject to appropriation, receive such salary as the council may determine. The commissioner may, subject to appropriation, appoint such other employees as she deems necessary to carry out her duties and responsibilities, shall be provided with adequate offices, and may expend sums for other necessary expenses of the department.
MA Gen L ch 15a § 9a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15a - Public Education|Section 9a - American Sign Language

Section 9A. American Sign Language is hereby recognized as a full and legitimate language, as the language of a unique culture in the United States, and as the equivalent of a spoken language for the purposes of foreign language study and course credit.
MA Gen L ch 15a § 9b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15a - Public Education|Section 9b - Needs-Based Financial Assistance Program; Scholarships; Guidelines

Section 9B. There shall be a program, subject to appropriation, of needs-based financial assistance, administered by the board of higher education, to provide full or partial scholarships for residents of the commonwealth enrolled in and pursuing a part-time or full-time program of higher education in any of the public institutions of higher education in the commonwealth. The council shall establish guidelines to govern said program. Said guidelines shall be filed with the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on education, arts and humanities within thirty days of the approval by the council of said guidelines.
MA Gen L ch 15a § 12 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15a - Public Education|Section 12 - Council Actions Permitted to Provide for Hefa Expenses and for Payments of Indebtedness Incurred on Behalf of Community Colleges or Affiliates

Section 12. To provide for the expenses of HEFA and for the payment of indebtedness incurred by it in connection with any project financed by HEFA on behalf of any community college or any community college affiliate, or in connection with any transfer for such purpose by HEFA, or the commonwealth acting through the council under the provisions of section eleven, or any other community college affiliate to HEFA, or the commonwealth acting through the council, or any other community college affiliate of buildings or other property, the council may, in the name and on behalf of the commonwealth, (i) transfer or pledge that they will periodically transfer to HEFA, or to any community college affiliate under terms permitting further transfer or pledge to HEFA, any part or all of any funds held as trust funds for any community college under the provisions of paragraph (d) of section eleven, administered on behalf of any community college as gifts, grants, or trusts under the provisions of clause (e) of section twenty-two, made available for expenditure on behalf of any community college pursuant to an appropriation or other spending authorization in the commonwealth's annual operating budget, including supplementary and deficiency budgets, or otherwise available for expenditure by the council, and (ii) may contract with HEFA or any community college affiliate with respect thereto under terms permitting further transfer or pledge by HEFA to a trustee under any trust agreement related to such project and entered into by HEFA pursuant to chapter six hundred and fourteen of the acts of nineteen hundred and sixty-eight; provided, that in the case of any funds expected to be available for expenditure by the council pursuant to subsequent appropriation or other spending authorization by the legislature, the council may only pledge that they will so transfer such funds subject to such subsequent appropriation or other spending authorization. The council may impose such terms and conditions as to the application of the funds so transferred as it deems appropriate for the carrying out of the provisions of said chapter six hundred and fourteen and of this chapter. Any such pledge shall be valid and binding from the time when the pledge is made; the funds so pledged shall immediately be subject to the lien of such pledge without any physical delivery thereof or further act, and the lien of any such pledge shall be valid and binding as against all parties having claims of any kind in tort, contract or otherwise against the council, any community college, or any other community college affiliate, irrespective of whether such parties have notice thereof. Neither the resolution nor any trust agreement by which such a pledge is created need be filed or recorded except in the records of HEFA.
MA Gen L ch 15a § 13 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15a - Public Education|Section 13 - Hefa; Sale or Lease of Buildings, Lands or Other Property; Proceeds

Section 13. HEFA may sell the buildings or other structures upon any land acquired by it pursuant to section eleven and which are not included in a project, or may remove the same, and may sell or lease any lands or rights or interest in lands or other property acquired for the purposes of this act whenever the same shall, in the opinion of HEFA, cease to be needed for such purposes. The proceeds of any such sale or lease shall be held and disposed of as revenues from the project for or with respect to which the property sold or leased shall have been acquired; provided, however, that except as permitted by section eleven, no property acquired from the commonwealth shall be sold or leased without prior approval of the governor and council; and provided further that the proceeds of any sale or lease of any such property shall be paid to the treasurer and receiver-general of the commonwealth and shall be credited on the books of the commonwealth to the General Fund.  In the event that the council shall sell, convey or lease to HEFA any dormitory, dining commons or boarding hall faculty or student apartment building or student union building at any community college and owned by the commonwealth or any interest of the commonwealth in or to such a building so located but owned by another, and in the further event that funds for the rental or maintenance of such building or buildings have been provided by appropriation from general funds of the commonwealth for any fiscal year ending after the effective date of such sale, conveyance or lease, such sale, conveyance or lease shall provide that the rentals, fees or other charges levied for the use of such building or rooms or accommodations therein or services provided therein in such fiscal years shall be retained by or paid to the treasurer and receiver-general of the commonwealth, as the case may be.
MA Gen L ch 15a § 14 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15a - Public Education|Section 14 - Powers Under Secs. 11 and 12 Exercised on Behalf of University of Massachusetts and Affiliates

Section 14. Upon application by the trustees of the University of Massachusetts, the council may exercise on behalf of such university and its university affiliates all the powers it has with respect to community colleges or community college affiliates under sections eleven and twelve.
MA Gen L ch 15a § 15 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15a - Public Education|Section 15 - Estimate of Ordinary Maintenance and Revenues; Capital Outlay Requests; Allocation of Appropriations

Section 15. In accordance with the funding formulas referenced in section 15B of this chapter, the secretary, in consultation with the council and with the board of trustees for the university of Massachusetts, shall periodically prepare and submit to the budget director an estimate, in detail, for the ordinary maintenance of the entire system of public institutions of higher education, and revenue therefrom, as provided in section three of chapter twenty-nine. Said statement shall include the salaries of all officers and employees within said system and all program costs which are to be borne by any source other than the commonwealth, including such sources as federal financing or federal research, demonstration, or training grants, community contributions and other grants, endowments or trusts.  The secretary, in consultation with the council and with the board of trustees for the university of Massachusetts, shall also periodically submit requests for capital outlay for the entire system of public institutions of higher education to the secretary of administration and finance as provided by section seven of said chapter twenty-nine and to the house and senate committees on ways and means. The secretary shall use the estimates and requests prepared by each board of trustees for the purposes of this section attaching whatever recommendations she may desire or deem necessary. The general court shall appropriate funds for the system of public institutions of higher education in various line items, including, but not limited to four separate appropriations; one each for the University of Massachusetts, state universities, community colleges, and scholarships.  The board of trustees of the university shall receive its appropriation directly, in one sum. Funds appropriated for the state university system and the community college system shall be disbursed by the council to each board of trustees by the establishment of allocation accounts; provided, however, that the council shall not allocate an amount less than that appropriated by the general court for the expenses of ''01, salaries, permanent positions''; ''02, salaries, other''; or ''03, services, nonemployee'' without prior approval of the commissioner of administration; and provided, further, that no such funds allocated for the expenses of ''01 salaries, permanent'' to a board of trustees shall be transferred without the prior approval of the commissioner of administration.  Except as provided in the preceding paragraph, the council shall not be prevented from amending institutional allocations or reallocating funds among institutions.
MA Gen L ch 15a § 15c (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15a - Public Education|Section 15c - Expenditures and Revenues; Management and Accounting Reporting System

Section 15C. The public institutions of higher education shall report monthly by subsidiary all expenditures and revenues from all appropriated and non-appropriated funds on the Massachusetts management and accounting reporting system, so-called, by July thirty-first, nineteen hundred and ninety-three.
MA Gen L ch 15a § 15d (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15a - Public Education|Section 15d - Personnel Administrative Reporting and Information System

Section 15D. The public institutions of higher education shall report all personnel information for those employees compensated from any budgetary, federal, capital or trust fund through the personnel administrative reporting and information system, so-called, by July thirty-first, nineteen hundred and ninety-three.
MA Gen L ch 15a § 15f (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15a - Public Education|Section 15f - Community College Workforce Training Incentive Program

Section 15F. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the commonwealth to encourage public community college training opportunities in order to promote workforce development, minimize the shortage of skilled workers and raise economic opportunity through a matching incentive grant program to be known as the community college workforce training incentive program. Subject to appropriation, the board of higher education shall establish guidelines for the distribution of community college workforce training incentive grants; provided, however, that said guidelines shall provide: (i) allowable incentive grant awards which shall not exceed $200 for every $1,000 in eligible revenues; (ii) minimum requirements for the level of not-for-credit vocationally-oriented instruction which shall be provided by incentive grant recipients in the fiscal year in which such grant is awarded. Each community college which is eligible for grant awards in a fiscal year shall, subject to appropriation, receive not less than $50,000 from the total amount appropriated for the incentive program to fund the salary of a workforce training coordinator at each such campus. For the purposes of this section, eligible revenues shall be defined as revenues received by a community college for one of the following purposes: tuition and fees paid by students enrolled in not-for-credit vocationally-oriented courses; tuition and fees paid by Massachusetts employers on behalf of employees enrolled in not-for-credit vocationally-oriented courses; and revenues from service contracts with Massachusetts employers to provide not for-credit vocationally-oriented training. Revenues from contracts with public agencies, public grants or private gifts shall not be considered eligible revenues for the purposes of this section. Incentive grants shall be expended for the following purposes: to expand not-for-credit vocationally oriented course offerings; to expand not-for-credit vocationally-oriented instruction provided through contracts with Massachusetts employers; and to otherwise promote not-for-credit vocationally-oriented instruction. Each community college campus shall report not later than December 31, annually, to the board of higher education and the house and senate committees on ways and means on the level of not-for-credit vocationally-oriented instruction provided in the preceding fiscal year and the anticipated level of such instruction in the current fiscal year. Said report shall detail enrollment levels, revenues received, sources of revenues, the number of service contracts established with Massachusetts employers and such other information as the board of higher education may require.
MA Gen L ch 15a § 15g (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15a - Public Education|Section 15g - Stackable Credentials

Section 15G. (a) The department of higher education shall assess stackable credentials offered at community colleges, state universities and the University of Massachusetts campuses and, in collaboration with the public higher education institutions and regional workforce organizations, shall: (i) identify best practices to be shared and replicated across campuses to provide a clear and accessible path for students seeking to advance their education through workforce training and preparation; (ii) establish guidelines and standards for earning stackable credentials through workforce development or career and technical education; (iii) identify and implement stackable programs on campuses where further needs exist; and (iv) disseminate information on stackable education pathway opportunities with regional workforce agencies. For the purposes of this section, ''stackable credential'' shall mean a credential earned through an education, training or apprenticeship program while attending an institution of higher education which is designed to be part of a pathway for students that, along with other stackable credentials, cumulatively leads to a degree or industry specific skills certification. The department shall prioritize this effort in the areas of advanced manufacturing and information technology. The department may base credentials on competency, workforce or apprentice experience or workforce preparation. In developing criteria for credentials, the department shall consult with regional employment boards, career and technical education entities, community colleges, state universities, the University of Massachusetts, chambers of commerce, the Massachusetts Technology Park Corporation doing business as the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and trade associations.  (b) Stackable credentials shall be available across the commonwealth and administered through public higher education institutions; provided, however, that public higher education institutions shall: (i) develop programs responsive to industry needs based on current regional labor market data; (ii) implement the programs in a manner that ensures interconnection of competencies offered in specialized training programs; and (iii) determine transferability of credentials for college credit.  (c) For the purposes of this section ''public higher education institutions'' shall include Quincy College.
MA Gen L ch 15a § 17 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15a - Public Education|Section 17 - Teaching Learning Corps Program

Section 17. The council, subject to appropriation, shall establish a program entitled the ''teaching learning corps''.  The program shall provide school districts choosing to participate, which contain a significant proportion of low-income students or a significant proportion of students deficient in basic skills, as determined by the board of education with college students as instructional aides. Instructional aides shall assist teachers in instructional activities during regular school programs or extended day programs, but shall not replace existing school personnel. Funds provided under this section shall be used first to provide matching funds for work-study college students, and in the case where work-study students are not available, to hire college students not enrolled in work-study programs. The council, in cooperation with the board of education, shall promulgate rules and regulations for said program, including selection criteria for public school sites, cooperative agreements between colleges and public schools, yearly program evaluation procedures, program duration standards, and other rules.
MA Gen L ch 15a § 191/2 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15a - Public Education|Section 191/2 - Tuition, Fees and Room and Board Waiver for Surviving Child of Parent Who Died as a Result of Injuries Sustained During Active and Full-Time Military Service While Outside the United States

Section 191/2. Each surviving child of a parent who died as result of injuries sustained during active and full-time military service as a member of the armed forces of the United States or national guard, occurring after 1989, while outside the United States in an armed conflict or hostility, or while deployed in direct support of military activity in a zone of armed conflict or hostility, shall be entitled, upon admittance to a degree program of undergraduate studies at a public institution of higher education as provided in the first paragraph of section 5 to a full waiver for charges due for tuition, mandatory fees and room and board during the period of attendance, subject to any restrictions set forth in this section.  A waiver for room and board under this section shall only be allowed for any period that the child is enrolled as a full-time student at a qualifying public institution. No child shall receive a waiver under this section if he has been awarded a degree previously from a public or private college, university or other institution of higher learning or if, during his attendance at a qualifying public institution after receiving a waiver, he fails to maintain satisfactory academic progress or if the deceased parent was not a resident of the commonwealth at the time of entry or continuance into active and full-time military service.  A child who has received a waiver from a qualifying public institution under this section shall not be entitled to a waiver of charges due for more than 1 undergraduate degree program at the institution where the child is enrolled or at another qualifying public institution unless the waiver for such additional degree program has received the prior approval of the board of higher education. Notwithstanding the foregoing, approval by the board shall be not be required for a child who transfers to a different degree program for undergraduate studies at the institution where the child is currently enrolled or transfers to another degree program for undergraduate studies at another qualifying public institution, provided that the child is no longer enrolled in the previously undertaken degree program.  Consistent with the provisions of this section, the board of higher education may establish general guidelines and regulations for the application and administration of waiver benefits at qualifying public institutions of higher learning.  For the purposes of this section, ''child'' shall be without qualification or limitation as to the person's age.