reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71 - Public Schools › Section 71f - Nonresident or Foster Care Students; Deposit of Tuition Payments and State Reimbursements; Expenditures and Appropriations

Section 71F. In any city or town which accepts this section, all monies received by the school committee as tuition payments for nonresident students and as state reimbursements for students who are foster care children shall be deposited with the treasurer of the town or city and held as separate accounts. The receipts held in such a separate account may be expended by said school committee without further appropriation for expenses incurred in providing education for such nonresident students or for such students who are foster care children, notwithstanding the provisions of section fifty-three of chapter forty-four. A city or town may appropriate funds for expenses incurred in providing education for such nonresident students or for such students who are foster care children, which funds shall be expended by the school committee in addition to funds provided from other sources.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71 - Public Schools › Section 72a - Implementation the Federal Community Eligibility Provision; Waiver; Training; Certification of Students for Free School Meal Status

Section 72A. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:
''Federal community eligibility provision'', as described in 7 C.F.R. 245.9(f).
''Identified student percentage'', as defined in 7 C.F.R. 245.9(f)(1)(iii).
''Provision 2'', as described in 7 C.F.R. 245.9(b).
(b)(1) A school district or individual school with an identified student percentage that is not less than 60 per cent shall elect and implement the federal community eligibility provision or provision 2 to provide universal free school breakfast and lunch to all students. This paragraph may be waived by the department if a school district or individual school is able to justify to the department that implementation will result in financial hardship to the school district or individual school.
(2) A school district or an individual school with an identified student percentage that is not less than 50 per cent but less than 60 per cent shall elect and implement the federal community eligibility provision or provision 2 to provide universal free school breakfast and lunch to all students unless: (i) the school committee for the school district or individual school votes, not later than June 1 of the first year of eligibility, to decline to participate in either the federal community eligibility provision or provision 2; or (ii) the department determines that the school district or individual school no longer has the qualifying identified student percentage. This paragraph may be waived by the department if a school district or an individual school is able to justify to the department that implementation will result in financial hardship to the school district or individual school.
(3) A school nutrition director or their designee shall attend at least 1 training by the department to learn about the federal community eligibility provision and other federal options that may be available to a school district or an individual school before a school committee vote or determination by the department pursuant to paragraph (1) or paragraph (2).
(c) A school district that participates in the national school lunch program shall take steps to maximize federal revenues and minimize debt on families under a protocol determined by the department that promotes the certification of students for free school meal status. The department shall assist school districts with improving the direct certification process and reducing administrative burdens on school districts. The department shall consult with representatives from the School Nutrition Association of Massachusetts, Inc. and relevant stakeholders to promote best practices to maximize federal revenues.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71 - Public Schools › Section 72b - Unpaid Student Meal Debt; Determination of Whether Student Is Categorically-Eligible for Free or Reduced-Price Meals

[ Section effective until July 1, 2023. Deleted by 2023, 28, Sec. 37. See 2023, 28, Sec. 115.]
Section 72B. (a) A school district superintendent or their designee shall notify a parent or guardian of a student's unpaid meal debt that remains unresolved. Within 30 days of notifying a family of the unpaid meal debt, the school district shall determine if the student is categorically-eligible for free or reduced-price meals. During the 30-day period, while the school district determines the student's eligibility for free or reduced-price meals, the student shall not be denied access to a school meal until the district has made a determination that the family is ineligible for free or reduced-price meals. The department shall establish the protocol that a school district superintendent or their designee shall use when notifying a parent or guardian or a student's unpaid meal debt.
(b) No employee, agent or volunteer of a school or school district shall:
(i) take any action that would publicly identify a student when payment has not been received for a school meal or for meals previously served to the student;
(ii) serve a student with unpaid meal debt an alternative meal that is not also available to all students at the cafeteria; provided, however, that the alternative meal shall comply with the pattern for a federally-reimbursable meal;
(iii) deny a student a meal as a form of behavioral discipline or punishment;
(iv) dispose of an already served meal because of the student's lack of funds to pay for the meal or because of unresolved meal debt;
(v) prohibit a student or a sibling of a student from attending or participating in non-fee based extracurricular activities, field trips or school events solely because of the student's unresolved meal debt;
(vi) prohibit a student from receiving grades, official transcripts, report cards or from graduating or attending graduation events solely because of unresolved meal debt; or
(vii) require a parent or guardian to pay fees or costs in excess of the actual amounts owed for meals previously served to the student.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71 - Public Schools › Section 75 - Extended Courses of Instruction

Section 75. If the school committee of any city or town determines that sufficient need exists in such city or town for providing a course of school instruction beyond the regular high school course of instruction, it shall submit in writing a plan of such course to the state department of education for its written approval, and may thereafter establish and maintain such extended course of instruction on junior college level, and public funds may be appropriated for the purpose; provided, that the course of instruction proposed in said plan shall conform to such standards as said department may establish and shall be maintained by said school committee under the general regulations of said department.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71 - Public Schools › Section 76 - Rules of Admission

Section 76. Any such school committee shall establish as one of the rules of admission to the benefits of such extended course of instruction that the persons therein enrolled, or responsible agents acting in their behalf, shall pay into the treasury of such city or town, toward the cost of maintaining such course, such sum, not exceeding the actual cost thereof, as said school committee shall determine. If a city or town does not maintain such course of instruction, it may pay the charge authorized by this section in the case of any person who resides therein and obtains from its school committee a certificate to take the course in another city or town maintaining the same.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71 - Public Schools › Section 77 - Joint Establishment of Extended Courses

Section 77. Two or more cities or towns in which the establishment of such extended course of instruction has been voted and approved as hereinabove provided may jointly establish and maintain such a course for the accommodation of said municipalities. The management and control of such course of instruction, the location of the schoolhouse where such course will be maintained and the apportionment of the expenses of the maintenance of the course and all incidental expenses shall be determined, on a pro rata pupil basis, by the school committees of the participating towns.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71 - Public Schools › Section 79 - Junior College Designation, Degrees

Section 79. Any city or town may use the designation ''Junior College'' with respect to its maintenance of such extended course of instruction at a particular school therein, and the school committee of such city or town may, subject to the approval of the board of higher education, grant any one or more of the degrees of associate in arts, associate in engineering or associate in science to persons who complete such course of instruction.
Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, a school established hereunder may be designated by a name which does not include the word ''junior''; provided, however, that the charter of such school shall require that such name, when used on its official documents and publications, be accompanied by a descriptive phrase which, in the judgment of the board of regents, will effectively distinguish such school from a senior college.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71 - Public Schools › Section 80 - Lunch Period for Teachers

Section 80. Every teacher employed in any public school whose duties commence prior to twelve o'clock noon, shall be allowed a thirty-minute lunch period between the hours of ten o'clock in the forenoon and one o'clock in the afternoon, and shall not be required to perform any duties during said lunch period; provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall apply only in a city or town which accepts this section by vote of its school committee.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71 - Public Schools › Section 82 - Public Secondary Schools; Right of Students to Freedom of Expression; Limitations; Definitions

Section 82. The right of students to freedom of expression in the public schools of the commonwealth shall not be abridged, provided that such right shall not cause any disruption or disorder within the school. Freedom of expression shall include without limitation, the rights and responsibilities of students, collectively and individually, (a) to express their views through speech and symbols, (b) to write, publish and disseminate their views, (c) to assemble peaceably on school property for the purpose of expressing their opinions. Any assembly planned by students during regularly scheduled school hours shall be held only at a time and place approved in advance by the school principal or his designee.
No expression made by students in the exercise of such rights shall be deemed to be an expression of school policy and no school officials shall be held responsible in any civil or criminal action for any expression made or published by the students.
For the purposes of this section and sections eighty-three to eighty-five, inclusive, the word student shall mean any person attending a public secondary school in the commonwealth. The word school official shall mean any member or employee of the local school committee.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71 - Public Schools › Section 84 - Discipline of Students on Matters Unrelated to School-Sponsored Activities Prohibited

Section 84. No student shall be suspended, expelled, or otherwise disciplined on account of marriage, pregnancy, parenthood or for conduct which is not connected with any school-sponsored activities; provided, however, that in the case of a pregnant student, the school committee may require that the student be under the supervision of a physician.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71 - Public Schools › Section 85 - Guidelines Implementing Secs. 82 to 84; Rules and Regulations; Adoption; Emergencies; Procedures

Section 85. The board of education may adopt guidelines to implement the provisions of sections eighty-two to eighty-four, inclusive. School committees shall adopt rules and regulations consistent with guidelines of the board of education and the provisions of sections eighty-two to eighty-four, inclusive. The rules and regulations to be made by school officials shall be established only after notice to public school students and after a public hearing at which students' views, shall be presented and shall be taken into consideration by such officials. Said rules and regulations shall provide that, notwithstanding the existence of the rights and responsibilities described in the three preceding sections, school committees or school officials may take necessary action in cases of emergency. Students may petition for a hearing, to be held as soon as practicable after such emergency, as to whether such rules and regulations shall be revoked or modified.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71 - Public Schools › Section 90 - Classroom Placement of Twins or Higher Order Multiples

Section 90. A parent or guardian of twins or higher order multiples may, if the children are in the same grade level at the same school request that the children be placed in the same classroom or in separate classrooms. The school may recommend classroom placement to the parents and provide professional education advice to the parents to assist in making the best decision for their children's education; provided, however, that the school shall provide the placement requested by the children's parent or guardian. The parent or guardian must request the classroom placement not later than 14 days after the first day of each school year or 14 days after the first day of attendance of the children during a school year.
For purposes of this section, ''higher order multiples'', shall mean triplets, quadruplets, quintuplets, or more.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71 - Public Schools › Section 91 - Recovery High School; Definition; Enrollment; Student Performance; Rules and Regulations; Deduction of Home School District Allotment for Failure to Transfer Funds as Required

Section 91. (a) The term ''Recovery High School'' shall mean a public school or collaborative program for students diagnosed with substance use disorder or dependency, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV–TR, that provides: (1) a comprehensive 4–year high school education, and (2) a structured plan of recovery.
(b) A school district shall transfer the state average foundation budget per pupil to a Recovery High School for a student meeting the following criteria: (1) the student is currently enrolled in the district or currently resides in the municipality in which the district is located; (2) the student is considered by a clinician, as defined by 105 CMR 164.006, to be clinically appropriate, using the criteria for Substance Use Disorders as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV–TR; and (3) the student meets all matriculation criteria as outlined by the sending district and the department of elementary and secondary education, with determination of academic eligibility based on existing documentation provided by the district. The district and the Recovery High School shall arrange to confer a diploma when a student completes state and district-mandated graduation requirements.
(c) A Recovery High School shall submit to the board of elementary and secondary education data considered necessary by the board to provide information regarding each student's academic performance. A Recovery High School shall also submit to the department of public health data regarding each student's recovery.
(d) The board of elementary and secondary education, in consultation with the department of public health and the department of mental health, shall promulgate rules and regulations, as necessary to implement this section.
(e) Failure by a school district to transfer funds to a Recovery High School as required in subsection (b) shall result in a deduction of the amount therein from the home school district's chapter 70 per pupil allotment for the following fiscal year.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71 - Public Schools › Section 93 - Policy Regarding Internet Safety Measures for Schools Providing Computer Access to Students

Section 93. Every public school providing computer access to students shall have a policy regarding internet safety measures to protect students from inappropriate subject matter and materials that can be accessed via the internet and shall notify the parents or guardians of all students attending the school of the policy. The policy and any standards and rules enforcing the policy shall be prescribed by the school committee in conjunction with the superintendent or the board of trustees of a commonwealth charter school.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71 - Public Schools › Section 96 - Substance Use Prevention and Abuse Education Policies for Public Schools

Section 96. Each public school shall have a policy regarding substance use prevention and the education of its students about the dangers of substance abuse. The school shall notify the parents or guardians of all students attending the school of the policy and shall post the policy on the school's website. The policy, and any standards and rules enforcing the policy, shall be prescribed by the school committee in conjunction with the superintendent or the board of trustees of a charter school.
The department of elementary and secondary education, in consultation with the department of public health, shall provide guidance and recommendations to assist schools with developing and implementing effective substance use prevention and abuse education policies and shall make such guidance and recommendations publicly available on the department's website. Guidance and recommendations may include educating parents or guardians on recognizing warning signs of substance abuse and providing available resources. Guidance and recommendations shall be reviewed and regularly updated to reflect applicable research and best practices.
Each school district and charter school shall file its substance use prevention and abuse education policies with the department of elementary and secondary education in a manner and form prescribed by the department.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71a - English Language Education in Public Schools › Section 1 - Findings and Declarations

Section 1.
Findings and Declarations
The People of Massachusetts find and declare that:
(a) The English language is the common public language of the United States of America and of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is spoken by the vast majority of Massachusetts residents, and is also the leading world language for science, technology, and international business, thereby being the language of economic opportunity; and
(b) Immigrant parents are eager to have their children become fluent and literate in English, thereby allowing them to fully participate in the American Dream of economic and social advancement; and
(c) The government and the public schools of Massachusetts have a moral obligation and a constitutional duty to provide all of Massachusetts's children, regardless of their ethnicity or national origins, with the skills necessary to become productive members of our society. Of these skills, literacy in the English language is among the most important.
(d) The public schools of Massachusetts have done an inadequate job of educating many immigrant children, requiring that they be placed in native language programs whose failure over past decades is demonstrated by the low English literacy levels of those children.
(e) Immigrant children can easily acquire full fluency and literacy in a new language, such as English, if they are taught that language in the classroom as soon as they enter school.
(f) Therefore it is resolved that: all children in Massachusetts public schools shall be taught English as rapidly and effectively as possible.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71a - English Language Education in Public Schools › Section 3 - Census

Section 3.
Census
School districts shall annually ascertain, under regulations prescribed by the department, the number of English learners within their school system in grades pre-kindergarten through twelve, and shall classify them according to grade level, the language of which they possess a primary speaking ability, and the English learner program type in which they are enrolled, with all such information being made publicly available by school and school district on on the district's website in machine readable format, to the extent feasible. School districts shall also track the academic performance of students who have exited an English learner program to assess the academic achievement of English learners and the effectiveness of English language classroom programming.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71a - English Language Education in Public Schools › Section 5 - Parental Selection of English Learner Program Within District; Request for School Transfer

Section 5. (a) The parent or legal guardian of a student eligible to enroll in an English learner program may select any available English learner program offered by the school district; provided, however, that the program shall be appropriate for the age and grade level of the student; and provided further, that for any program selection that would require a student to transfer to a different school within the district, the transfer request shall be approved by the superintendent, in a form prescribed by the department. A school, under advisement of a teacher or guidance counselor, may request a program transfer for an individual child in writing, with notice of the transfer request provided to the child's parents, in a form prescribed by the department.
(b) If a school district or charter school receives requests from the parents or legal guardians of not less than 20 students to implement a specific program to provide language instruction in that school district or charter school, the school district or charter school shall, not later than 90 days after receiving the request, respond and provide: (i) a plan for implementation of the requested program; or (ii) a denial of the request, in writing, including an explanation of the denial.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71a - English Language Education in Public Schools › Section 6 - Legal Standing and Parental Enforcement

Section 6.
Legal standing and parental enforcement
(a) As set forth in Section 4 of this chapter, all school children are to be provided at their assigned school with an English language public education. The parent or legal guardian of any school child shall have legal standing to sue for enforcement of the provisions of this chapter, and if successful shall be awarded reasonable attorney's fees, costs and compensatory damages.
(b) Any school district employee, school committee member or other elected official or administrator who willfully and repeatedly refuses to implement the terms of this chapter may be held personally liable for reasonable attorney's fees, costs and compensatory damages by the child's parents or legal guardian, and shall not be subsequently indemnified for such monetary judgment by any public or private third party. Any individual found so liable shall be barred from election or reelection to any school committee and from employment in any public school district for a period of five years following the entry of final judgment.
(c) Parents and legal guardians who apply for and are granted exception waivers under Section 5(b)(3) of this chapter retain full and permanent legal right to sue the individuals who granted such waivers if they subsequently discover before the child reaches the age of eighteen that the application for waivers was induced by fraud or intentional misrepresentation and injured the education of their child.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71a - English Language Education in Public Schools › Section 6a - English Learner Parent Advisory Council

Section 6A. A school district or charter school operating a language acquisition program for English learners serving 100 or more English learners or in which English learners comprise at least 5 per cent of the district's or charter school's student population, whichever is less, shall establish an English learner parent advisory council; provided, however, that any other school district or charter school may establish a parent advisory council pursuant to this section. The council shall be composed of volunteer parents or legal guardians of students who are or have been identified as English learners and, to the extent feasible, the members of the council shall represent the native languages most commonly spoken by the students of the district or charter school. The duties of the council shall include, but not be limited to: (i) advising the school district, school committee and board of trustees on matters that pertain to English learners; (ii) meeting regularly with school officials to participate in the planning and development of programs designed to improve educational opportunities for English learners; and (iii) participating in the review of school improvement plans under section 59C of chapter 71 and district improvement plans under section 1I of chapter 69 as the plans relate to English learners. Upon request from a parent advisory council, each school committee or school council within that parent advisory council's district shall meet at least annually with the council; provided, however, that if the parent advisory council advises a charter school the board of the charter school shall, upon request from the parent advisory council, meet not less than annually with the council. The council shall establish by-laws regarding officers and operational procedures. In the course of its duties under this section, the council shall receive assistance from the director of language acquisition programs for the school district or charter school or other appropriate school personnel as designated by the superintendent. The department shall promulgate regulations for the implementation of this section including, but not limited to, the process for parents or legal guardians to be notified of English learner parent advisory councils and the process for the appointment of volunteer parents or legal guardians to a council.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71a - English Language Education in Public Schools › Section 7 - Standardized Testing for Monitoring Education Progress

Section 7.
Standardized testing for monitoring education programs
Each English learner shall participate, consistent with section 1
I
of chapter 69, in the statewide assessment system. A nationally-normed test of English proficiency shall similarly be administered at least once each year to all Massachusetts schoolchildren in grades Kindergarten and higher who are English learners and enrolled in a public school, including a charter school. Only English learners classified as severely learning disabled may be exempted from these tests. The particular tests to be used shall be selected by the Board of Education, and it is intended that the tests shall usually remain the same from year to year. The national percentile scores of students shall be confidentially provided to individual parents, and the aggregated percentile scores and distributional data for individual schools and school districts shall be made publicly available online in machine readable format, to the extent feasible; the scores for students classified as English learners shall be separately sub- aggregated and made publicly available there as well, with further sub- aggregation based on the English learner program type in which they are enrolled. School enrollment by race, ethnicity, and English learner program type shall also be made publicly available. Results of assessments shall be used as a factor in determining the efficacy of an English learner program offered by a school district but shall not be the sole basis for evaluation of a district, school, English learner program or individual educator.
English learners in any program shall be taught to the same academic standards and curriculum frameworks as all students, and shall be provided the same opportunities to master such standards and frameworks as other students. Districts shall regularly assess mastery of academic standards and curriculum frameworks.
The district shall send report cards and progress reports including, but not limited to, progress in becoming proficient in using the English language and other school communications to the parents or legal guardians of students in the English learners programs in the same manner and frequency as report cards and progress reports to other students enrolled in the district. The report cards and progress reports shall, to the maximum extent possible, be written in a language understandable to the parents and legal guardians of such students.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71a - English Language Education in Public Schools › Section 7a - On-Site Evaluations of English Learners

Section 7A. The department shall conduct on-site visits to school districts at least once every 6 years for the purposes of evaluating the effectiveness of programs serving English learners and to validate evidence of educational outcomes.
The evaluation shall include, but shall not be limited to: (i) a review of individual student records of English learners; (ii) a review of the programs and services provided to English learners; (iii) a review of the dropout, graduation, discipline and special education incidence rates of the English learner population in the district; (iv) using the best available data, a review of the dropout, graduation, discipline and special education rates of English learners who exited the English learner education program within the 3 school years preceding the on-site visit for that 3–year period; (v) a description of the processes by which school-based teams, consisting of educators, administrators and support staff, monitor the progress of English learners and former English learners; (vi) a review of the amount, frequency and effectiveness of English as a second language instruction; and (vii) a review of the administration and coordination of English learner education programs. The advisory council for bilingual education established under section 1G of chapter 15 shall annually review the results of the department's monitoring of English learner programs in school districts.
Nothing in this section shall prevent the department from conducting an evaluation of a language acquisition program at any time.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71a - English Language Education in Public Schools › Section 8 - Community-Based English Tutoring

Section 8.
Community-based English tutoring
In furtherance of its constitutional and legal obligation to provide all children with an adequate education, the state shall encourage family members and others to provide personal English language tutoring to such children as are English learners, and support these efforts by raising the general level of English language knowledge in the community. Subject to appropriation by the General Court, commencing with the fiscal year in which this initiative is enacted and for each of the nine fiscal years following thereafter, a sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000) per year shall be spent for the purpose of providing funding for free or subsidized programs of adult English language instruction to parents or other members of the community who pledge to provide personal English language tutoring to Massachusetts school children who are English learners. Programs funded pursuant to this section shall be provided through schools or community organizations. Funding for these programs shall be administered by the Department of Education, and shall be disbursed at the discretion of the local school committees in each district, under reasonable guidelines established by, and subject to the review of, the Board of Education.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71a - English Language Education in Public Schools › Section 10 - Qualifications and Endorsement of Teachers and Administrators Assigned to Language Acquisition Program

Section 10. Teachers and administrators assigned to a language acquisition program shall be properly qualified under state law for the program type. The department shall establish endorsements for educators who have completed coursework and field-based experience to provide instruction within sheltered English immersion programs, 2–way immersion programs, transitional bilingual programs and other programs that meet the requirements of this chapter.
Annually, not later than June 1, the department shall provide each district with a list of all educators who have current endorsements pursuant to this section. Prior to the beginning of each school year, districts, including charter schools shall verify that each of the educators in an English learner program is properly endorsed for that program.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71a - English Language Education in Public Schools › Section 11 - Benchmarks, Guidelines and Learning Success Templates for English Learner Programs

Section 11. The department shall develop: (i) benchmarks for attaining English proficiency for English learners, (ii) guidelines to assist school districts in the identification of English learners who do not meet benchmarks and (iii) an English learning success template for use by districts to assist English learners who do not meet English proficiency benchmarks.
The guidelines shall include: (i) recommendations for school districts to identify and monitor an English learner's progress in English proficiency; (ii) methods for school districts to provide personalized goals for English learners who are not meeting English proficiency benchmarks; (iii) best practices for ensuring that English learners meet English proficiency benchmarks and personalized goals including, but not limited to, methods to incorporate parental input; and (iv) methods for school districts to share best practices in assisting English learners in gaining English proficiency.
Upon the department's creation of the success templates and guidelines pursuant to this section, school districts shall adopt procedures to identify English learners who do not meet English proficiency benchmarks and shall establish a process for the district to: (i) identify areas in which identified English learners needs improvement and establish personalized goals for the identified English learners to attain English proficiency; (ii) assess and track the progress of English learners in the identified areas of improvement; (iii) review resources and services available to identified English learners that may assist said learners in the identified areas of improvement; and (iv) incorporate input from the parents or legal guardian of the identified English learner,.
The department shall solicit public comment prior to issuing the benchmarks, guidelines and English learning success template. The department shall review the benchmarks, guidelines and English learning success template not less than every 5 years. The review shall include a period of public comment. School districts shall provide a copy of the department guidelines, materials describing the benchmarks and the English learning success template to the parent or guardian of each English learner, in the English learner's primary language, at the beginning of each school year or upon enrollment of the child in an English learner program if the enrollment is not concurrent with the beginning of the school year.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71a - English Language Education in Public Schools › Section 12 - Duty to Inform Parents or Legal Guardians of English Learners of Their Rights

Section 12. School districts shall, at least annually, inform the parents or legal guardians of English learners of their rights to: (i) choose a language acquisition program among those offered by the school district under section 4; (ii) request a new language acquisition program under said section 4; or (iii) withdraw a student from a language acquisition program. Notice shall be sent by mail not later than 10 days after the enrollment of the student in the school district. The notice shall, to the extent possible: (A) be in a language that is understandable to the parents or legal guardians; (B) contain a simple, easy to understand description of the purpose, method and content of the available programs; (C) inform the parent or legal guardian of the right to visit an English learner program in the school district; and (D) inform the parent or legal guardian of available conferences or meetings to learn about the English learner programs offered in the school district.
If the school district recommends placing an English learner in an English learner program, the parent or legal guardian of the student shall have the right, at the time of the original notification under this section or at the close of a marking period, to withdraw the student from a program by sending written notice of the decision by mail or electronic communication to the school authority designated by the school district in which the student is enrolled; provided, however, that written confirmation of the withdrawal shall be provided annually to the school by the parent or legal guardian and such confirmation shall be retained in the student's cumulative folder; and provided further, that the student shall retain the right to enter into an English learner program at any time.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71b - Children With Special Needs › Section 3a - Administrator of Special Education; Duties; Joint Appointment

Section 3A. (a) A school committee with four thousand or more children enrolled in its school system shall appoint a person to be its administrator of special education. Such administrator shall devote full time to the duties involved in supervising the provision of all special education in the school system.
(b) A school committee with less than four thousand children enrolled in its school system shall appoint a person to be its administrator of special education. Such administrator shall have the duties involved in supervising the provision of all special education in the school system and other duties if the special education duties are not such as to require the devotion of full time.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b), the school committee of any city, town, or school district may, to meet its obligations under this section, with the approval of the department, enter into an agreement with any other school committee to jointly appoint an administrator of special education. The department shall promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this paragraph.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71b - Children With Special Needs › Section 4 - Agreements Between School Committees or With Public or Private Schools

Section 4. The school committee of any city, town or school district may, to meet its obligations under section three, with the approval of the department enter into an agreement with any other school committee to jointly provide special education or, subject to the consent of the parent or guardian affected thereby and subject to constitutional limitations, may enter into an agreement with any public or private school, agency, or institution to provide the necessary special education within the city, town or school district; provided, however, that every school committee, where feasible, shall be associated with an educational collaborative providing services to children with a disability which disability occurs in a low incidence in the population of children requiring special education.
In the case of an agreement between school committees to jointly provide special education, said agreement shall designate one city, town or school district as the operating agent. Funds received by such operating agent from other cities, towns or school districts or appropriated by such operating agent for the purposes of such agreement, in addition to gifts and grants shall be deposited with and held as a separate account by its treasurer. The school committee may apply said funds to the costs of programs operated pursuant to the agreement without further appropriation.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71b - Children With Special Needs › Section 5c - Zero Interest Loan Program for Extraordinary and Unanticipated Special Education Costs

Section 5C. (a) There is hereby established a zero interest loan program for extraordinary and unanticipated special education costs, to be administered by the department. The board of education shall promulgate regulations necessary for the operation of this program.
(b) Local and regional school districts may elect to apply to the loan program by vote of the school committee.
(c) The state comptroller shall establish on the books of the commonwealth a special education loan program trust fund. Any amounts appropriated for the purposes of this program shall be transferred into said trust fund.
(d) Any funds remaining in the trust fund at the end of a fiscal year shall be carried forward into the following fiscal year and shall remain available for expenditure without further appropriation.
(e) Districts may apply for zero interest loans to cover any portion of the amount by which the current year's total special education expenses are expected to exceed 110 per cent of the district's average total special education expenses of the prior three years. For the purposes of this section, total special education expenses shall include instructional costs, private school tuition costs and premiums paid to the risk pool trust fund established in section 5B, but shall not include transportation costs. Loan applications shall be subject to review and approval by the commissioner. Approved loan amounts shall be paid from the trust fund established in subsection (c).
(f) The commissioner may make such adjustments as are necessary to loan applications to account for reimbursements received under any other state or federal programs.
(g) Loans shall be repaid over a five-year period according to a schedule to be established through department regulations. At the direction of the commissioner, loan repayments due from participating districts shall be deducted from said district's quarterly local aid distributions and deposited in said trust fund.
(h) Commonwealth charter schools may participate in the program in the same manner as local and regional school districts provided that any payments due to the trust fund may be deducted from tuition payments otherwise to be deducted from district quarterly local aid distributions pursuant to subsection (nn) of section 89 of chapter 71. Said payments shall be deposited in said trust fund.
(i) A reasonable amount of administrative costs may be expended annually from the trust fund for the administration of the program.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71b - Children With Special Needs › Section 6 - Assignment of Children to Classes; Annual Report; Equal Educational Opportunities; Prima Facie Denial; Hearings; Injunctive or Other Relief

Section 6. School committees shall annually report to the department, pursuant to regulations promulgated by the department, the assignment by sex, national origin, economic status, race and religion, of children by age level to special education classes and the distribution of children residing in the district by sex, national origin, economic status, race and religion of children by age level. Within any school district if in any special education program there is a pattern of assignment throughout the district on the basis of sex, national origin, economic status, race or religion of the students which is substantially disproportionate from the distribution, the department shall notify such school district of its prima facie denial of equal educational opportunities. The department shall hold public hearings to investigate into such prima facie denial, at which hearings the local school district shall show that such disproportion is necessary to promote a compelling education interest of the children affected and of the commonwealth. If the local school district fails to make such showing, a denial of equal educational opportunities shall be declared by the department and it shall order said district to submit a plan to eliminate such denial to be effective for the school year immediately following such declaration and order. If in the view of the department the plan submitted is inadequate, or if implementation of said plan proves inadequate, the department may request the attorney general to proceed to the superior court for all necessary injunctive and other relief. If such prima facie denial has continued without elimination for a period of two consecutive years in any school district, any person residing in such school district may bring suit in the superior court of his residence to determine whether there is such adequate justification for the prima facie denial, and in the event there is not, to obtain the necessary and appropriate injunctive or other relief.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 71b - Children With Special Needs › Section 7 - Tests for Selection of Children for Referral, Diagnosis, or Evaluation

Section 7. No results of standardized or local tests of ability, aptitude, attitude, affect, achievement, or aspiration may be used exclusively in the selection of children for referral, diagnosis, or evaluation. Such tests shall be approved by the department in accordance with regulations issued by the board to insure that they are as free as possible from cultural and linguistic bias or, wherever necessary, separately evaluated with reference to the linguistic and cultural groups to which the child belongs.