reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 70b § 3e (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 70b - School Building Assistance Program|Section 3e - Municipality Indebted to Authority; Offset of Deficiency by State Treasurer's Disbursement of Funds Payable to Indebted Municipality

Section 3E. In addition to other remedies of the authority under any bond, note or other evidence of indebtedness, if at any time any amount is distributable or payable by the commonwealth to any city, town or regional school district, and a sum is due to the authority from that city, town or regional school district, for any cause whatsoever, the sum due to the authority, as certified by the authority to the state treasurer, shall be deducted by the state treasurer from the amount distributable or payable to the city, town or regional school district and shall be paid promptly to the authority. Payment by the state treasurer under this section shall continue to be made until the deficiency on the part of the city, town or regional school district has been offset by the payments from the state treasurer. The authority may also recover from that city, town or regional school district, in an action in superior court, any amount due the authority, together with any other actual damages the authority shall have sustained from the failure or refusal of that city, town or regional school district to make payments owing to the authority.
MA Gen L ch 70b § 4 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 70b - School Building Assistance Program|Section 4 - Reimbursement for Incidental Educational, Engineering and Architectural Services; Application and Documentation

Section 4. Any eligible applicant may apply to the board for reimbursement, in whole or in part, of any expenses incurred for educational, engineering and architectural services incidental to the planning of a regional school or any expenses incurred for surveys made of school building needs and conditions, the contract for which has been approved by the authority. Such application shall be accompanied by information and documentation that the authority may require.
MA Gen L ch 70b § 7 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 70b - School Building Assistance Program|Section 7 - Limit on Estimated Amount of Grants Approved by Authority

Section 7. There shall be a limit on the estimated amount of grants approved by the authority during a fiscal year. For fiscal year 2020, the limit shall be $800,000,000. For each fiscal year thereafter, the limit shall be the limit for the previous fiscal year plus the lower of: (i) the rate of growth in the dedicated sales tax revenue amount as defined in subsection (a) of section 35BB of chapter 10; or (ii) 4.5 per cent.
MA Gen L ch 70b § 11 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 70b - School Building Assistance Program|Section 11 - Disbursement Schedule

Section 11. Grants for approved school projects shall be paid in accordance with a disbursement schedule approved by the authority.
MA Gen L ch 70b § 14 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 70b - School Building Assistance Program|Section 14 - Approved Alternative Projects; Allowable Costs

Section 14. For approved projects that are an alternative to construction or renovation, the authority shall establish eligible cost criteria, and on a case by case basis, shall determine the allowable cost of the project. Eligible costs may include but shall not be limited to furnishings and equipment, including upgrades and technological devices necessary for enhanced safety and security, lease costs, rental fees, tuition costs and transportation costs. In no event shall an alternative project be reimbursed if it is determined by the authority to be more costly than construction necessary to achieve the same end.
MA Gen L ch 70b § 16 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 70b - School Building Assistance Program|Section 16 - Maintenance Assessment Program for School Buildings

Section 16. The authority shall create a maintenance assessment program for school buildings. Such assessment program shall include a review of all major building components, maintenance records, existing staff and vendor contracts. The authority shall use such assessment program to issue ratings of the building conditions for each school district; survey current conditions, develop a model plan for the proper maintenance of school buildings, and provide technical assistance and information to municipalities and school districts.
MA Gen L ch 70b § 17 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 70b - School Building Assistance Program|Section 17 - Annual Report; Anticipated Needs for School Facilities Projects

Section 17. (a) On or before June 30 of each year, the authority shall submit a report to the governor, the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on education, arts and humanities, the joint committee on natural resources, the house and senate committees on long-term debt and capital expenditures and the joint committee on local affairs which analyzes the anticipated financial needs for school facilities projects of the kind that qualify for assistance under this chapter. The report shall include a listing of each school building within the commonwealth, together with a description of its size, capacity, age and state of maintenance and whether it is likely to require construction, enlargement, reconstruction, rehabilitation or improvement due to such factors as deterioration, lack of adequate facilities to meet educational standards and anticipated increases in school-age population.  (b) The authority shall also conduct periodic surveys of the cities, towns and regional school districts to determine the need for new school facility construction to meet demand.  (c) The authority shall develop a long-term capital plan in accordance with needs and funding projected to be available in the trust under this chapter for purposes of planning and guiding the policies of the authority.  (d) The capital plans, needs surveys and reports of the authority shall not give rise to any claim, legal or moral, or enforceable right in any party to benefits or funds from the trust or from other sources.
MA Gen L ch 70b § 19 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 70b - School Building Assistance Program|Section 19 - Notification of Actual Interest Rate for Bond Issuance

Section 19. Municipalities and school districts shall notify the authority no later than 14 days before refinancing any bond for which the municipality or district will receive state reimbursement under chapter 645 of the acts of 1948 or other law. The authority shall reimburse municipalities or districts at the actual interest rate obtained. The authority shall encourage municipalities and school districts to refinance any bond for which the municipality or district will receive state reimbursement where the refinancing would result in savings for the commonwealth or the municipality or school district and where the refinancing is otherwise in accordance with the law.
MA Gen L ch 70b § 20 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 70b - School Building Assistance Program|Section 20 - Submission of Plans or Blueprints Associated With Construction, Renovation or Reconstruction of School Building to Police and Fire Departments and Emergency Management Agency

Section 20. The authority shall, in cooperation with a school district or municipality, submit plans or blueprints approved by the authority, associated with approved construction, renovation or reconstruction of a school building, to the local police department, fire department, Massachusetts emergency management agency and any regional law enforcement entity. The plans shall identify points of entry into a school building, emergency access routes for ingress or egress and other public safety features, including, but not limited to: fire hydrants, utility access points and stairwells. Any department in receipt of such plans may submit comments to the authority and school district. Upon completion of the approved construction, the authority shall, subject to appropriation, in cooperation with a school district or municipality, submit updated, as-built plans to the local police department, fire department, Massachusetts emergency management agency and any regional law enforcement entity, a copy of which shall be maintained on file by each department or agency in receipt of the plans. Plans submitted pursuant to this section shall be deemed confidential and shall not be considered public records under clause Twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4.
MA Gen L ch 71 § 11/2 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 71 - Public Schools|Section 11/2 - Definitions; Applicability of Sec. 2 of Chapter 70

Section 11/2. The definitions in section 2 of chapter 70 shall apply to this chapter.
MA Gen L ch 71 § 1a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 71 - Public Schools|Section 1a - Period of Silence

Section 1A. At the commencement of the first class of each day in all grades in all public schools the teacher in charge of the room in which each such class is held shall announce that a period of silence not to exceed one minute in duration shall be observed for personal thoughts, and during any such period, silence shall be maintained and no activities engaged in.
MA Gen L ch 71 § 1b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 71 - Public Schools|Section 1b - Voluntary Prayer

Section 1B. The school committee of any city or town may permit any child attending its public schools to participate in voluntary prayer with the approval of such child's parents before the commencement of each daily school session. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no city or town which permits such prayer shall be denied any funds for school purposes to which it may be entitled from the commonwealth.
MA Gen L ch 71 § 1c (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 71 - Public Schools|Section 1c - Workshops on Rights of Students and Their Parents Under Special Education Laws of the Commonwealth and the Federal Government

Section 1C. Each school district shall conduct, in cooperation with the local parent advisory council, at least one workshop annually within the school district on the rights of students and their parents and guardians under the special education laws of the commonwealth and the federal government and shall make written materials explaining such rights available upon request.
MA Gen L ch 71 § 2a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 71 - Public Schools|Section 2a - Use of Tobacco Products Within School Buildings or Facilities or on School Grounds

Section 2A. No person shall use a tobacco product, as defined in section 6 of chapter 270, within the school buildings or facilities or on the grounds or school buses of a public or private primary or secondary school or at a school-sponsored event.  Each school committee or board of trustees shall establish a policy regarding violations of this section. The policy may include, but shall not be limited to, mandatory education classes on the hazards of using tobacco products.
MA Gen L ch 71 § 2b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 71 - Public Schools|Section 2b - Courses in American Sign Language

Section 2B. In all public elementary and secondary schools, American Sign Language shall be recognized as a standard, independent language with its own grammar, syntax, vocabulary, and cultural heritage. Courses in American Sign Language may be taught for the purpose of contributing to a greater understanding of the social and cultural dimensions of the language, and to encourage and enable increased interaction between hearing persons and deaf and hard-of-hearing persons in society. School committees may credit such courses toward satisfaction of foreign language requirements.
MA Gen L ch 71 § 2c (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 71 - Public Schools|Section 2c - Implementation of Policy and Discipline Code Addressing Teen Dating Violence in Public Schools

Section 2C. Each school district in the commonwealth, subject to appropriation, shall implement a specific policy and discipline code to address teen dating violence in public schools. The policy shall clearly state that dating violence will not be tolerated and shall include guidelines for addressing alleged incidents of dating violence. The policy may include a teen dating violence prevention task force comprised of staff, students and parents to provide awareness training and education for the school community. Topics to be covered in the policy include, without limitation, defining the issue of teen dating violence, recognizing warning signs, identifying issues of confidentiality, safety and appropriate legal school-based interventions.
MA Gen L ch 71 § 3 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 71 - Public Schools|Section 3 - Physical Education

Section 3. Physical education shall be taught as a required subject in all grades for all students in the public schools for the purpose of promoting the physical well-being of such students. Instruction in physical education may include calisthenics, gymnastics and military drill; but no pupil shall be required to take part in any military exercise if his parent or guardian is of any religious denomination conscientiously opposed to bearing arms, or is himself so opposed, and the school committee is so notified in writing; and no pupil shall be required to take part in physical education exercises if a licensed physician certifies in writing that in his opinion such physical education exercises would be injurious to the pupil.
MA Gen L ch 71 § 4 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 71 - Public Schools|Section 4 - High Schools; Maintenance; Diplomas Awarded to Veterans

Section 4. Every town containing, according to the latest federal census, five hundred families or householders, shall, unless specifically exempted by the board of education and under conditions defined by it, maintain a high school, adequately equipped, which shall be kept by a principal and such assistants as may be needed, of competent ability and good morals, who shall give instruction in such subjects as the school committee considers expedient. One or more courses of study, at least four years in length, shall be maintained in such high school and it shall be kept open for the benefit of all inhabitants of the town for at least the number of days required by said board, exclusive of vacations, in each school year; provided, however, that the date of graduation from such high school may precede the regular closing date of the school by not more than twelve school days. A school committee may determine that such school shall be conducted for less than the number of days required by said board in any year during which school has been closed because of epidemic, extraordinary weather conditions dangerous to the health or safety of pupils or other emergency, subject, however, to the provisions of section four A. Each high school maintained by a town required to belong to a superintendency union shall be conducted in accordance with standards of organization, equipment and instruction approved, from time to time, by the board.  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, school committees may award diplomas to any World War II veteran, Korean War veteran or Vietnam War veteran as defined in clause Forty-third of section 7 of chapter 4, who is a resident of the commonwealth, who attended the high school maintained by the school committee, who withdrew from secondary school before graduation in order to serve in the armed forces of the United States, who did not receive a high school diploma as a consequence of that service, and who was honorably discharged from the armed services. The department of education and the department of veterans' services shall jointly promulgate guidelines for the identification of eligible veterans by school districts and for the awarding of the diplomas by school committees.  Family members of deceased veterans, who otherwise are eligible to apply for the diplomas, may apply for a diploma for the veteran posthumously under the same guidelines set forth by the department of education and department of veterans services.
MA Gen L ch 71 § 4a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 71 - Public Schools|Section 4a - Failure to Keep Schools Open for Required Period; Penalty

Section 4A. Every town which, without having received a specific exemption from the board of education, fails to keep open all schools required to be maintained under sections one and four or fails to provide school facilities under section six for grade nine through twelve, the number of days required by said board in each school year shall have deducted from the sum of school aid payable to it under chapter seventy an amount equal to the proportion which the number of such days during which schools were not kept open bears to the total number of days required that they be kept open by said board.
MA Gen L ch 71 § 6 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 71 - Public Schools|Section 6 - Education in Out-of-Town High Schools

Section 6. If a town of less than five hundred families or householders, according to such census, does not maintain a public high school offering four years of instruction, it shall pay the tuition of any pupil who resides therein and obtains from its school committee a certificate to attend a high school of another town included in the list of high schools approved for this purpose by the department. The department shall approve the high schools which may be attended by such pupils, and it may, for this purpose, approve a public high school in an adjoining state. Whenever, in the judgment of the department, it is expedient that such a pupil should board in the town of attendance the town of residence may, through its school committee, pay toward such board, in lieu of transportation, such sum as the said committee may fix.  If the school committee refuses to issue a certificate as aforesaid, application may be made to the department, which, if it finds that the educational needs of the pupil in question are not reasonably provided for, may issue a certificate having the same force and effect as if issued by the said committee. The application shall be filed with the superintendent of schools of the town of residence, and by him transmitted forthwith to the department with a report of the facts relative thereto.
MA Gen L ch 71 § 6a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 71 - Public Schools|Section 6a - Admission of Students From Outside Commonwealth

Section 6A. Any city, town, or regional school district, acting through its school committee, may, if the school committee finds it has adequate space, accept in any of its schools, including vocational schools, any pupil who resides outside the commonwealth and may contract with the parent or guardian of the pupil, or, if the school committee of the city or town where the child resides, is authorized by law to so contract, with such school committee, for the admission of the pupil into its school system and for a tuition charge which shall in no case be less than the average expense per pupil in such school for the period of attendance. The school committee may vote to waive all or part of such tuition charge.
MA Gen L ch 71 § 7b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 71 - Public Schools|Section 7b - Transportation of Pupils; Reimbursement of Costs; Determination of Amount; Use of Funds

Section 7B. To provide for the reimbursement of part of the cost not reimbursable under section seven A incurred directly by a school department or indirectly by a city or town on account of an assessment made to meet the cost of maintaining a public transportation system used for the transportation of pupils in a city or town using public transportation facilities licensed under the provisions of sections one and seven of chapter one hundred and fifty-nine A or operated under the provisions of chapter one hundred and sixty-one A or chapter one hundred and sixty-one B for the transporting of pupils to and from school who reside more than one and one half miles from the school they attend as determined by the commissioner, or, if the determination of the number of pupils residing more than one and one half miles from the school of attendance is impracticable, the commissioner shall make such determination according to the following formula: From the net average membership in the public and private schools, determined as provided in section five of chapter seventy, the commissioner shall estimate the number of pupils who reside more than one and one half miles from the school they attend, which number shall not exceed ten per cent of said net average membership.  The commissioner shall on or before November first of each year, certify to the commissioner of revenue a transportation allowance payable to such city or town for the preceding school year, the amount of such allowance to be determined by him by multiplying the number of pupils or the estimated number of pupils residing more than one and one half miles from the school by the average cost per pupil in the city or town for transporting all such pupils; provided that such cost shall not exceed twenty cents per pupil per day.  Funds received by each city or town shall be used to pay the cost of providing public transportation or to reimburse a city or town for payments on account of any assessment made upon it to meet the cost of maintaining a public transportation system, provided that notwithstanding the provisions of this section, no amount shall be approved as a reimbursement by the commissioner as herein provided in excess of the amount to be paid by such a city or town for said public transportation.
MA Gen L ch 71 § 7c (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XII - Education|Chapter 71 - Public Schools|Section 7c - Bus Transportation Programs; Financial Assistance

Section 7C. No financial assistance shall be provided by the commonwealth for the purchase of buses or the operation thereof to any applicant for such assistance unless such applicant and the secretary of transportation and construction shall have first entered into an agreement that such applicant will not engage in school bus operations, exclusively for the transportation of students and school personnel, in competition with private school bus operators. This section shall not apply to an applicant with respect to operation of a school bus program if the applicant operates a school system in the area to be served and operates a separate and exclusive school bus program for this school system. This section shall not apply unless private school bus operators are able to provide adequate transportation at reasonable rates, and in conformance with applicable safety standards.