reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 14 § 13 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 14 - Department of Revenue|Section 13 - Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics Providing Education and Assistance to Low-Income Taxpayers; Grants

Section 13. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:  ''Low-income taxpayer'', an individual with a household income which does not exceed 400 per cent of the federal poverty level, as calculated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.  ''Qualified low-income taxpayer clinic'', a clinical program at an accredited law school, business school, accounting school or an organization described in 26 U.S.C. 501(c) and exempt from taxation under 26 U.S.C. 501(a) that does not charge a fee for services, except for reimbursement of actual costs incurred, and in which at least 95 per cent of taxpayers represented by the clinical program are low-income taxpayers.  ''Qualified representative'', an individual who is authorized to practice before the department or the applicable court.  (b) The commissioner may, subject to appropriation, award grants to develop, expand or support qualified low-income taxpayer clinics that provide education and assistance to low-income taxpayers seeking to file tax returns and to those engaged in disputes with the department. The commissioner, in determining whether to award a grant under this section, shall consider the number of taxpayers who will be served by the clinic, including the number of taxpayers in the geographical area who have limited English proficiency, the quality of the program offered by the qualified low-income taxpayer clinic, including the qualifications of its administrators and qualified representatives and its record in providing services to low-income taxpayers. The commissioner shall give preference in awarding grants to qualified low-income taxpayer clinics that assist taxpayers in applying for the earned income credit available under subsection (h) of section 6 of chapter 62. Upon application of a qualified low-income taxpayer clinic, the department may award multi-year grants not to exceed 3 years.
MA Gen L ch 15 § 1 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15 - Department of Elementary and Secondary Education|Section 1 - Department; Supervision of Commissioner

Section 1. There shall be within the executive office of education a department of elementary and secondary education, in this chapter called the department, which shall be under the supervision and management of the commissioner of elementary and secondary education, in this chapter called the commissioner.
MA Gen L ch 15 § 11/2 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15 - Department of Elementary and Secondary Education|Section 11/2 - Applicability of Sec. 2 of Chapter 70 to This Chapter

Section 11/2. The definitions in section 2 of chapter 70 shall apply to this chapter.
MA Gen L ch 15 § 1f (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15 - Department of Elementary and Secondary Education|Section 1f - Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education; Appointment; Duties; Salary

Section 1F. COMMISSIONER OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION; APPOINTMENT; DUTIES; SALARY  Whenever a vacancy occurs in the position of commissioner, the board shall by a two-thirds vote of all its members submit to the secretary, for the secretary's approval, a recommended candidate to fill that vacancy. The secretary may appoint the recommended candidate as commissioner. If the secretary declines to appoint the candidate, the board shall submit a new candidate for consideration. The secretary may appoint the commissioner only from candidates submitted to the secretary by the board.  The board may in its discretion by majority vote of all its members remove the commissioner. The commissioner shall be the secretary to the board, its chief executive officer and the chief state school officer for elementary and secondary education. The commissioner shall receive a salary to be determined by the board.  The board 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 such delegated powers and duties with the full authority of the board.
MA Gen L ch 15 § 1j (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15 - Department of Elementary and Secondary Education|Section 1j - Judicial Review of Board's Recommendations or Revised Plans; Jurisdiction

Section 1J. Within thirty days after (1) a school committee or regional district school committee declines to accept the recommendations made to it by the board of education, in this section called the board, (2) the board disapproves a revised plan filed with it by a school committee or regional district school committee, or (3) the board orders that its recommendations shall be the mandatory plan to be implemented by a school committee or regional district school committee, such school committee or regional district school committee may file a petition for judicial review in the superior court for the county in which it is located or in the supreme judicial court for Suffolk county. The court may affirm such recommendations, disapproval, or order of the board and require compliance with such mandatory plan by appropriate order; or, if it finds and rules that such recommendations, disapproval, or order is (a) in excess of the statutory authority or jurisdiction of the board, (b) based upon an error of law, or (c) arbitrary or capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law, then it may set aside such recommendations, disapproval, or order and remand the matter to the board for further action.  The supreme judicial and the superior court shall have jurisdiction in equity upon petition of the board of education to order funds withheld as provided in section one I for such period of time as the court may determine.
MA Gen L ch 15 § 1r (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15 - Department of Elementary and Secondary Education|Section 1r - School Library and Nonprint Media Services; Funding

Section 1R. The board of education shall provide for the establishment of school library and nonprint media services, including:  (1) the acquisition or rental of library and nonprint media materials, resources, and appropriate equipment.  (2) supplementary library and nonprint media subprofessional personnel.  (3) consultative services.  Funds as may be appropriated shall be disbursed according to a formula established by the board which shall take into account the average expenditure over the immediately preceding five years by the local school committee for the library and nonprint media resources; the ratio of library and nonprint media center professional staff to pupil enrollment; the per pupil expenditures for said staff; and the current year school committee expenditure for library and nonprint media resources.  In certifying school library and nonprint media programs eligible for aid, the board shall establish minimum standards for personnel, accessibility of resources, appropriateness of library and nonprint media services and the local budget support.
MA Gen L ch 15 § 15b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15 - Department of Elementary and Secondary Education|Section 15b - Library Center for Visually-Handicapped Children

Section 15B. There shall be established in the division of special education a library center for the acquisition, maintenance and distribution of books and other material deemed essential to the proper instruction and training of visually-handicapped children.
MA Gen L ch 15 § 16 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15 - Department of Elementary and Secondary Education|Section 16 - Teachers' Retirement Board; Establishment; Duties; Membership

Section 16. There shall be a teachers' retirement board for the purpose of administering the teachers' retirement system established under the provisions of chapter 32. Such board shall consist of seven members as follows: the commissioner of education, or his designee, who shall be a member ex officio and who shall serve as chairman, the state treasurer, or his designee, the state auditor, or his designee, a fourth member who shall be appointed by the governor for a term of four years and who shall be a retired former public school teacher within the commonwealth, two members who shall be elected by the members in or retired from service of such system from among their number in such manner and for such term, not exceeding four years, as the commission shall determine, and a seventh member who shall be chosen by the other six for a term of four years. Future elections of the fifth and sixth members shall be held under the supervision of such retirement board and the terms of the fifth and sixth members shall be arranged so as not to expire in the year of expiration of the term of the seventh member. If a seventh member is not chosen by the other six members within 30 days after the expiration of the term of the seventh member, the governor shall appoint a seventh member for a term of four years. Each member of such retirement board shall continue to hold office until the expiration of his term and until the qualification of his successor. Upon the expiration of the term of office of any elected, chosen or appointed member or in case of a vacancy in either of said offices, a successor shall be elected, chosen or appointed as aforesaid for a four-year term or for the unexpired portion thereof, as the case may be, except that in no event shall the term of the seventh member expire in the same year as the term of either the fifth or sixth member.
MA Gen L ch 15 § 17 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15 - Department of Elementary and Secondary Education|Section 17 - Member's Reimbursement for Expenses

Section 17. The members of the teachers' retirement board shall serve without compensation, but they shall be reimbursed from the expense fund of the teachers' retirement system for any expense or loss of salary or wages which they may incur through service on the board. All claims for reimbursement on this account shall be subject to the approval of the governor and council.
MA Gen L ch 15 § 18 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15 - Department of Elementary and Secondary Education|Section 18 - Executive Director; Salary; Additional Employees

Section 18. The teachers' retirement board shall appoint and may remove an executive director and shall establish his salary. Subject to the approval of said board, the executive director shall employ other employees, prescribe their duties and fix their compensation; provided, however, that the salaries of said employees shall not exceed the sum annually approved therefor by said board. The provisions of sections nine A, forty-five, forty-six and forty-six C of chapter thirty, chapter thirty-one, and chapter one hundred and fifty E shall not apply to any employee of the board.
MA Gen L ch 15 § 57 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15 - Department of Elementary and Secondary Education|Section 57 - Instructional Materials Grant Program

Section 57. The board shall establish an instructional materials grant program to provide financial assistance to school districts for the purchase of textbooks, workbooks, audio-visual materials, library books and materials, laboratory kits, and other instructional materials. Grants shall be awarded to those districts in need of assistance as determined by the board following inventories of such materials conducted by the board from time to time. In awarding grants under this section, the board shall give priority to school districts receiving equal educational opportunity grants pursuant to chapter seventy A.
MA Gen L ch 15 § 58 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15 - Department of Elementary and Secondary Education|Section 58 - Leadership Academy; Training for School Principals and Supervisory Personnel

Section 58. The board shall establish a unit designated as the leadership academy which shall provide training to school principals and other supervisory personnel. Such training shall include, but not be limited to: training in personnel evaluation methods, techniques for developing cooperative relationships with parents and community organizations, school based management skills and curriculum development.
MA Gen L ch 15 § 60 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15 - Department of Elementary and Secondary Education|Section 60 - Reimbursement of Costs to Cities and Towns

Section 60. The commissioner of administration shall convene a working committee made up of his own designee, a designee of the commissioner of education and a designee of the local government advisory committee to establish guidelines for purposes of reimbursing cities and towns for the reasonable costs associated with the implementation of sections forty-nine and fifty of this chapter and section thirty-eight of chapter seventy-one. Such guidelines shall be filed by the working committee with the house and senate committees on ways and means and shall become effective only upon approval by said committees. Reimbursements of costs made pursuant to such guidelines shall constitute complete satisfaction of the obligation of the commonwealth to assume such costs pursuant to any general or special law.
MA Gen L ch 15 § 63 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15 - Department of Elementary and Secondary Education|Section 63 - Carnegie School Grant Program; Establishment

Section 63. There is hereby established a Carnegie school grant program for the purpose of encouraging the public schools of the commonwealth to plan and develop innovative organization and management systems at the school building level, aimed at empowering public school professionals and improving student learning. The Carnegie school grant program shall encourage and support the development of management systems that provide increased autonomy and discretion for school-based professionals and shall encourage innovative organizational strategies to enhance student learning.
MA Gen L ch 15 § 64 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15 - Department of Elementary and Secondary Education|Section 64 - Carnegie School Grant Program; Definitions

Section 64. As used in sections sixty-three to sixty-five, inclusive, the following words shall have the following meanings:—  ''Carnegie school'', an individual public school, including a school operated by an educational collaborative established under section four E of chapter forty, which operates pursuant to a system of governance set out in an approved Carnegie school plan.  ''Carnegie school plan'', a comprehensive three-year strategy approved by the board of education which restructures the school building governance and educational environment, and empowers public school teachers and other professional staff by enabling them to participate in and design the public school governance and organization. Such plan may also include financial decisions on how Carnegie school grant funds are to be allocated at the school building level.  ''Waiver'', a written agreement between the school-based planning team and an involved organization allowing exemptions from regulations, local school policies, or contractual provisions which, in the opinion of a school-based planning team, are necessary to implement the provisions of the Carnegie school plan. Said waiver may be approved by the board only when the board is convinced that the intent of existing rights and protections accorded to students is maintained or enhanced, and where there is reasonable promise of improved student achievement.
MA Gen L ch 15 § 66 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title II - Executive and Administrative Officers of the Commonwealth|Chapter 15 - Department of Elementary and Secondary Education|Section 66 - International Education Programs; School Recognition; Grants; Partnership Programs; Exchanges of Professional Personnel and Students

Section 66. (a) It shall be the policy of the commonwealth to encourage students, teachers, administrators and educational policy makers to participate in international studies, international exchange programs and other activities that advance cultural awareness and promote mutual understanding and respect for the citizens of other countries.  (b) The department of education may recognize a school that meets the standards for international education programs developed by the global education advisory council.  (c) The commissioner of education shall, annually, subject to appropriation, award grants not to exceed ten thousand dollars to local or regional school districts which operate schools recognized pursuant to this section. Such board shall use the funds to support the international education programs at such schools.  (d) The department of education may recognize sister school partnership programs between public schools of the commonwealth and foreign schools. Within available appropriations, participation in such partnership programs shall allow foreign schools access to state programs of professional development and technical assistance programs under the same terms and conditions as for public schools of this state with reciprocity for participation in such programs.  (e) Wherever possible, the department of education may promote exchanges of a limited number of professional personnel and students by state agencies and educational institutions, with institutions of other states and other countries and may pay the salaries of such personnel and may assign scholarships and grants-in-aid to such exchanges.
MA Gen L ch 15a § 3a (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 3a - Statewide Educational Technology Plan; Goals; Development and Implementation

Section 3A. A statewide educational technology plan, to be known as Massachusetts education-on-line, shall be developed by the Massachusetts corporation for educational telecommunication, hereinafter referred to as MCET. Said educational technology plan shall incorporate the following goals:  (a) the implementation and integration of technology into teaching and learning in public schools, including, but not limited to, the establishment of a statewide telecommunications and technology link among public college and university campuses and school districts through the use of computer and communications technology;  (b) the facilitation of the implementation of a statewide professional development plan for teachers, principals, and superintendents using distance learning in coordination with the commissioner of education; and,  (c) the increased involvement of parents, guardians, mentors or other volunteers with their students' education by utilization of distance learning.  For the purposes of this section, said educational technology plan shall be broadly construed to include, but not be limited to, programs, courses, and capital expenditures including computer hardware and software, networks, television, satellite transmissions, fiber optics cable, calculators and video and audio tapes. Subject to appropriation, MCET may provide grants to universities, colleges, schools and school districts for the purposes of purchasing the equipment and other materials necessary for the implementation of said educational technology plan. The MCET executive director, in consultation with the secretary and the board of education and the board of higher education, may establish such advisory groups or committees as he deems necessary for the development and implementation of said educational technology plan.
MA Gen L ch 15a § 5 (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 5 - Public Institutions of Higher Education System

Section 5. There shall be, for the purposes of this chapter, a system of public institutions of higher education, hereinafter called the system, which shall consist of the following segments: (i) the university of Massachusetts segment, which shall consist of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell and Worcester; (ii) the state university segment, which shall consist of Bridgewater State University, Fitchburg State University, Framingham State University, the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Salem State University, Westfield State University and Worcester State University; and (iii) the community college segment, which shall consist of Berkshire Community College, Bristol Community College, Bunker Hill Community College, Cape Cod Community College, Greenfield Community College, Holyoke Community College, Massachusetts Bay Community College, Massasoit Community College, Middlesex Community College, Mount Wachusett Community College, Northern Essex Community College, North Shore Community College, Quinsigamond Community College, Roxbury Community College and Springfield Technical Community College.  The board shall coordinate activities among the public institutions of higher education and shall engage in advocacy on their behalf, which advocacy shall include a sustained program to inform the public of the needs, importance, and accomplishments of the public institutions of higher education in the commonwealth.
MA Gen L ch 15a § 5a (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 5a - Governor Foster Furcolo Community Colleges

Section 5A. For the purposes of this chapter, those community colleges within the system of public institutions of higher education established in section 5 shall collectively be known as the Governor Foster Furcolo Community Colleges.