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2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 75 - University of Massachusetts › Section 46 - Office of Dispute Resolution

Section 46. There shall be at the University of Massachusetts at Boston an office of dispute resolution under the supervision and control of a director who shall be appointed by the provost with the approval of the chancellor and concurrence of the board of trustees. The director shall be a person with substantial training and professional experience in dispute resolution, shall maintain complete impartiality with respect to the matters coming before the office of dispute resolution, and shall devote full time to the duties of the office.
The office of dispute resolution shall be available to assist agencies and offices of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the commonwealth, as well as any political subdivision or public instrumentality created by the commonwealth or any county, city, or town, hereafter referred to as public agencies, to improve the resolution of disputes that arise within their respective jurisdictions. The office may: (a) facilitate the resolution of disputes through provision of impartial mediation and other dispute resolution services; (b) establish standards for the selection, assignment, and conduct of persons acting on behalf of the office in the resolution of disputes; (c) conduct educational programs and provide other services designed to reduce the occurrence, scope, complexity, or cost of disputes; (d) design, develop, or operate dispute resolution programs or to assist public agencies to improve or extend their existing dispute resolution programs; and (e) take other action to promote and facilitate dispute resolution by public agencies in the commonwealth. The director may establish reasonable fees to be charged to parties, litigants, or public agencies for the provision of the educational, consultation, dispute resolution, or other services authorized herein and may apply for and accept on behalf of the commonwealth any federal, local, or private grants, bequests, gifts, or contributions to aid in the financing of any of the programs or activities of the office. Fees, grants, bequests, gifts, or contributions shall be received by the University of Massachusetts at Boston and deposited in a separate account and shall be expended, without further appropriation, at the direction of the director, with the approval of the provost, for the cost of operation of the office, including personnel. The office may make agreements with public agencies and officers and may contract with other persons, including private agencies, corporations, or associations, to carry out any of the functions and purposes of this section. The office shall annually prepare a report on the activities of the office, including all income and expenditures, and file the report with the house and senate committees on ways and means on or before December 31.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 76 - School Attendance › Section 1a - Pupil Absence Notification Programs

Section 1A. Upon the acceptance of this section by the local legislative body of a city or town, or by a majority vote of two-thirds of the member communities of a regional school district, the school committee of a city, town or regional school district shall establish a pupil absence notification program in all schools under its control. Said program may be developed with the assistance of the department of education. The parents or guardians of each pupil shall, annually, at the commencement of each school year, be sent a notice instructing them to call a designated telephone number at a designated time to inform the school of the absence of a pupil and the reason therefor. Said notice shall also require such parent or guardian to furnish the school with a home, work or other emergency telephone number where they can be contacted during the school day. If a pupil is absent and the school has not been notified by the designated time, the school shall call the telephone number or numbers furnished to inquire about said absence.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 76 - School Attendance › Section 1b - Pupil Absence Notification Program

Section 1B. The school committee of each city, town or regional school district shall have a pupil absence notification program in each of its schools. The program shall be designed to ensure that each school notifies a parent or guardian of the child's absence if the school has not received notification of the absence from the parent or guardian within 3 days of the absence.
Each school committee shall have a policy of notifying the parent or guardian of a student who has at least 5 days in which the student has missed 2 or more periods unexcused in a school year or who has missed 5 or more school days unexcused in a school year. The notification policy shall require that the school principal or headmaster, or a designee, make a reasonable effort to meet with the parent or guardian of a student who has 5 or more unexcused absences to develop action steps for student attendance. The action steps shall be developed jointly and agreed upon by the school principal or headmaster, or a designee, the student and the student's parent or guardian and with input from other relevant school personnel and officials from relevant public safety, health and human service, housing and nonprofit agencies.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 76 - School Attendance › Section 2 - Duties of Parents; Penalty

Section 2. Every person in control of a child described in section one shall cause him to attend school as therein required, and, if he fails so to do for seven day sessions or fourteen half day sessions within any period of six months, he shall, on complaint by a supervisor of attendance, be punished by a fine of not more than twenty dollars. No physical or mental condition capable of correction, or rendering the child a fit subject for special instruction at public charge in institutions other than public day schools, shall avail as a defence unless it appears that the defendant has employed all reasonable measures for the correction of the condition and the suitable instruction of the child. The Boston juvenile court shall have jurisdiction within the territorial limits described in section fifty-seven of chapter two hundred and eighteen of complaints hereunder. The Worcester juvenile court shall have jurisdiction, concurrent with the central district court of Worcester, of complaints hereunder. The Springfield juvenile court shall have jurisdiction, concurrent with the district court of Springfield, of complaints hereunder. The Bristol county juvenile court shall have jurisdiction, concurrent with all of the district courts of Bristol county, of complaints hereunder, and the presiding judge of said court shall establish hearing dates on a circuit basis to be held in such respective courts. Complaints hereunder brought in other district courts shall be heard in the juvenile sessions thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 76 - School Attendance › Section 2a - Attendance of Deaf Children; Penalty

Section 2A. Every person in control of a deaf child between seven and eighteen shall cause such child to attend some suitable school, approved by the department, where the deaf are taught speech and speech reading; provided, that this section shall not apply to such a child whose mental condition or whose physical condition in other respects than deafness is such as to render such attendance inexpedient or impractical or who is being given private instruction, approved by the department, during the time the public schools are in session. Failure for one month during any school year by any person in control of such a child to cause his attendance as aforesaid shall, on complaint by a supervisor of attendance, be punished by a fine of not more than twenty dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 76 - School Attendance › Section 3 - Attendance of Illiterate Minors; Penalties

Section 3. Every minor between sixteen and eighteen who does not meet the requirements for the completion of the sixth grade of the public schools of the town where the minor resides shall, except as otherwise provided herein, attend some public evening school, if any, in the town of the minor's residence, for the whole time during which the public evening schools are in session, unless the minor attends a public day school, or a private school approved as provided in section one by the school committee, or unless the minor's physical or mental condition is such as to render the minor's attendance harmful or impractical. Any such minor may, with the consent of the school committee of the town in which the minor resides, attend a public evening school in the town where the minor is employed, upon such terms as may be agreed upon by the school committees of such towns. Wilful violations of this section by such a minor shall be punished by a fine of not less than five dollars; failure for six sessions within a period of one month by any person in control of such a minor to cause the minor's attendance shall, on complaint by a supervisor of attendance, be punished by a fine of not more than twenty dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 76 - School Attendance › Section 4 - Inducing Absences; Penalty

Section 4. Whoever induces or attempts to induce a minor to absent himself unlawfully from school, or unlawfully employs him or harbors a minor who, while school is in session, is absent unlawfully therefrom, shall be punished by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 76 - School Attendance › Section 5 - Place of Attendance; Violations; Discrimination

Section 5. Every person shall have a right to attend the public schools of the town where he actually resides, subject to the following section. No school committee is required to enroll a person who does not actually reside in the town unless said enrollment is authorized by law or by the school committee. Any person who violates or assists in the violation of this provision may be required to remit full restitution to the town of the improperly-attended public schools. No person shall be excluded from or discriminated against in admission to a public school of any town, or in obtaining the advantages, privileges and courses of study of such public school on account of race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin or sexual orientation.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 76 - School Attendance › Section 6 - Payment of Tuition for Non-Resident Children

Section 6. If a child resides temporarily in a town other than the legal residence of his parent or guardian for the special purpose of their attending school, the child may attend school with the authorization of the school committee of said town, and the said town may recover tuition from the parent or guardian, unless under section twelve of chapter seventy-six, such tuition is payable by a town. Tuition payable by the parent or guardian shall, for the period of attendance, be computed at the regular rate established by the school committee for non-resident pupils, but in no case exceeding the average expense per pupil in such school for said period. The school committee of the town in which a child is temporarily residing for the special purpose of their attending school may waive all or part of the tuition charge for such child.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 76 - School Attendance › Section 7 - Tuition; Children Under Control of Department of Children and Families; Foster Care; Reimbursement

Section 7. For the tuition in the public schools of any city, town, or regional school district of any school age child placed in foster care or group care elsewhere than in his home town by, or there kept under the control of, the department of children and families, the commonwealth shall fully reimburse said city, town, or regional school district for the child's tuition each day the child is enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school. The amount of said reimbursement shall be based on the average annual per pupil cost of education in the city, town, or regional school district, as determined by the department of education.
For purposes of reimbursement under this section, every superintendent of schools shall, as part of the annual statement required to be filed with the commissioner of education under chapter seventy, report on a form provided by the department of education the number of school age children placed in foster care or group care in the city, town or regional school district by the department of children and families and the duration of their public school enrollment there, and shall support each such claim with appropriate documentation as required by the commissioner of education.
The names and addresses of foster children enrolled in a school system and the designation of a student as a foster child or ward of the commonwealth shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed by any employee of the commonwealth or of any political subdivision thereof, except for the purpose of reporting to the commissioner of education pursuant to this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 76 - School Attendance › Section 9 - High School Tuition of Children Under Control of Department of Public Welfare, Etc.

Section 9. If a city or town where a school age child is placed or kept under section seven does not maintain a public high school offering four years of instruction, said school age child may, subject to section six of chapter seventy-one, attend the public high school of another city, town or regional school district, but the commonwealth shall under section seven reimburse the city or town where he is so placed or kept, for tuition paid by it on his account.
Said reimbursement shall be based on appropriate documentation filed by the superintendent of schools of said city or town, as required by the commissioner of education.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 76 - School Attendance › Section 11 - Tuition of Children in Institutions

Section 11. Any city, town or regional school district which provides instruction to any child who is a resident of an institution and who was not theretofore a resident of such city, town or regional school district may recover from the commonwealth the school expense incurred by reason of the school attendance of such child to be determined jointly by the school committee of such city, town or regional school district and the department of education or, in case of their disagreement, by the probate court. The amount recoverable by a city, town or regional school district under this section shall be limited to the annual per pupil cost of education as determined under section seven; provided, however, that any amount expended in excess of said annual per pupil expenditure in said city, town or regional school district shall be recoverable under the provisions of sections two and three of chapter seventy.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 76 - School Attendance › Section 12c - School Choice Tuition Trust Fund

Section 12C. There shall be established upon the books of the commonwealth a separate fund, to be known as the School Choice Tuition Trust Fund. The state treasurer shall deposit in such fund all school choice tuition amounts deducted from education aid of sending districts, all amounts deducted from other aid to cities and towns, and amounts appropriated due to an excess of deductions over such other aid, as such terms and amounts are defined in section twelve B. Monies in the fund shall be disbursed, without further appropriation, by the treasurer to receiving districts as such districts' school choice tuition amounts due such receiving districts, as such terms and amounts are defined in section twelve B.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 76 - School Attendance › Section 13 - Transfer Cards

Section 13. When any child described in section one leaves the school or institution where he is being educated because of change of residence to another town in the commonwealth, the superintendent of schools, in the case of a public school, or otherwise the person in charge, shall furnish such child a transfer card in a form prescribed by the department of education which shall contain, in addition to any other information relative to him, his name, age, grade in school, and in every case possible, his new street and number, and shall forthwith send a duplicate thereof to the superintendent of schools of the town where the child is to reside.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 76 - School Attendance › Section 15 - Vaccination and Immunization

Section 15. No child shall, except as hereinafter provided, be admitted to school except upon presentation of a physician's certificate that the child has been successfully immunized against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, measles and poliomyelitis and such other communicable diseases as may be specified from time to time by the department of public health.
A child shall be admitted to school upon certification by a physician that he has personally examined such child and that in his opinion the physical condition of the child is such that his health would be endangered by such vaccination or by any of such immunizations. Such certification shall be submitted at the beginning of each school year to the physician in charge of the school health program. If the physician in charge of the school health program does not agree with the opinion of the child's physician, the matter shall be referred to the department of public health, whose decision will be final.
In the absence of an emergency or epidemic of disease declared by the department of public health, no child whose parent or guardian states in writing that vaccination or immunization conflicts with his sincere religious beliefs shall be required to present said physician's certificate in order to be admitted to school.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 76 - School Attendance › Section 15a - Sickle Cell Anemia; Blood Tests

Section 15A. Every child, which the commissioner of public health, by rule or regulation, may determine is susceptible to the disease known as sickle cell trait or sickle cell anemia, shall be required to have a blood test to determine whether or not he has such disease before being admitted to a public school, or in the first year of attendance in a public school. Such rule or regulation shall include provisions for the preparation and distribution of educational materials relating to sickle cell trait and sickle cell anemia.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 76 - School Attendance › Section 15b - Screening Programs, Testing, Treatment, Etc. for Sickle Cell Anemia and Related Genetically-Linked Diseases; Rules and Regulations; Records and Information, Disclosure Restricted

Section 15B. The department of public health shall furnish necessary laboratory and testing facilities for a voluntary screening program for sickle cell anemia or for the sickle cell trait and for such genetically-linked diseases as may from time to time be determined by the commissioner of public health, such as Tay-sachs disease, Cooley's anemia and hemophilia, which shall be established by each city and town. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations for the testing, treatment, care and counseling of all susceptible persons. The most appropriate age for screening and the method of screening shall be determined and redetermined by the commissioner in accordance with said regulations in the light of technical and laboratory changes. Any screening programs which may be established shall include provisions for a complete health education and post-screening counseling service and for such treatment of those affected by any blood abnormality as the commissioner by regulation may determine to be appropriate or practical. Records maintained as part of any screening program shall be confidential and shall not be accessible to anyone other than the commissioner of public health or his agents or to the local health department which is conducting the screening program except by permission of the parents or guardian of any child or adolescent who has been screened. Information on the results of any particular screening program shall be limited to notification to the parents or guardian of the result if the person screened is under the age of eighteen or to said person himself if he is over the age of eighteen. The results may be used otherwise only for collective statistical purposes.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 76 - School Attendance › Section 15c - Immunization of College Health Science Students

Section 15C. No full-time student under thirty years of age or any full-time or part-time undergraduate or graduate students in a health science who is in contact with patients shall, except as hereinafter provided, be registered at an institution of higher education except upon presentation of a medical certificate that such student has been immunized against measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus and diphtheria; provided, however, that a student may be registered at such institution upon certification made, in writing, by a physician who has personally examined such student and in whose opinion the physical condition of such student is such that his health would be endangered by any such immunization; and provided, further, that students who have attended an elementary or secondary school in the commonwealth may submit a copy of their school immunization record, indicating receipt of the above required immunizations, in lieu of such certificate; and provided, further, that unimmunized students may be registered on the condition that the required immunizations be obtained within ten days of registration.
In the absence of an emergency or epidemic of disease declared by the department of public health, no student who states in writing that such immunization would conflict with his religious beliefs shall be required to present such medical certificate in order to be admitted to such institution.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 76 - School Attendance › Section 15d - Meningococcal Disease; College Students Immunization

Section 15D. No newly enrolled full-time student attending a college, university or secondary school who will be living in a dormitory or comparable congregate living arrangement licensed or approved by the college, university or secondary school shall be registered at the institution except upon presentation of a medical certificate that the student has been immunized against meningococcal disease or on the condition that a medical certificate documenting immunization against meningococcal disease shall be provided within 30 days of registration; but a student may be registered at the institution upon certification made, in writing, by a physician who has personally examined the student and in whose opinion the physical condition of the student is such that his health would be endangered by the immunization, or the student has signed a waiver stating that the student has received information provided by the school or the health department containing the information required by this section. A parent or guardian of a student less than 18 years of age shall sign the waiver. The department of public health shall promulgate rules and regulations for enforcement of this section and in developing the waiver forms, which shall contain information about the risks and dangers of meningococcal disease. In the absence of an emergency or epidemic of disease declared by the department of public health, no student who states in writing that immunization would conflict with his religious beliefs shall be required to present the medical certificate in order to be admitted to the institution. This section shall not require an institution to provide the vaccine or the expense for the vaccine against meningococcal disease.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 76 - School Attendance › Section 16 - Children Excluded From School; Remedies

Section 16. Any pupil who has attained age eighteen, or the parent, guardian or custodian of a pupil who has not attained said age of eighteen, who has been refused admission to or excluded from the public schools or from the advantages, privileges and courses of study of such public schools shall on application be furnished by the school committee with a written statement of the reasons therefor, and thereafter, if the refusal to admit or exclusion was unlawful, such pupil may recover from the town or, in the case of such refusal or exclusion by a regional school district from the district, in tort and may examine any member of the school committee or any other officer of the town or regional school district upon interrogatories.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 76 - School Attendance › Section 19 - Supervisors of Attendance; Employment

Section 19. Every school committee shall appoint, make regulations governing and fix the compensation of one or more supervisors of attendance, who may be either male or female, and who shall meet such standards of qualifications for such work as shall be established by the department of education; provided, that such supervisors shall have attained the age of twenty-one years. The committees of two or more towns may employ the same supervisors of attendance.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 76 - School Attendance › Section 20 - Powers and Duties of Supervisors of Attendance

Section 20. Supervisors of attendance shall inquire into all cases arising under sections two and eight of chapter seventy-two, sections one, two, four to eleven, inclusive, and fifteen of chapter seventy-six, and sections ninety, ninety-two, ninety-three, and ninety-five of chapter one hundred and forty-nine, and may apply for petitions under the provisions of section thirty-nine E of chapter one hundred and nineteen. They shall, if the court so orders, have oversight of children placed on probation; of minors licensed by the school committee under section nineteen of chapter one hundred and one; and of children admitted to or attending shows or entertainments in violation of section one hundred and ninety-seven of chapter one hundred and forty. They may apprehend and take to school without a warrant any truant or absentee found wandering in the streets or public places.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 78 - Libraries › Section 2 - Organization of County Law Libraries

Section 2. Attorneys at law who have been admitted to practice in the courts of the commonwealth and who are resident in a county for which there is no law library association may organize, under chapter one hundred and eighty, by the name of the law library association for such county, and may adopt by-laws which shall be subject to the approval of the superior court.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 78 - Libraries › Section 4 - Source of Funds

Section 4. The treasurer of each county shall annually pay for the support of law libraries therein such sums as may be appropriated therefor by the general court, and the county commissioners shall include in the estimates required to be filed under the provisions of section twenty-eight of chapter thirty-five such sums as they may recommend for such law libraries. Sums so appropriated shall be applied to the purchase of books and maintenance of libraries for the use of courts and of citizens. In counties having any law library association the county commissioners shall secure from such association recommendations as to the amount deemed necessary for such maintenance.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 78 - Libraries › Section 7 - Establishment by Cities and Towns; Records

Section 7. A town may establish and maintain public libraries for its inhabitants under regulations prescribed by the city council or by the town, and may receive, hold and manage any gift, bequest or devise therefor. The city council of a city or the selectmen of a town may place in such library the books, reports and laws which may be received from the commonwealth. That part of the records of a public library which reveals the identity and intellectual pursuits of a person using such library shall not be a public record as defined by clause Twenty-sixth of section seven of chapter four. Library authorities may disclose or exchange information relating to library users for the purposes of inter-library cooperation and coordination, including but not limited to, the purposes of facilitating the sharing of resources among library jurisdictions as authorized by clause (1) of section nineteen E or enforcing the provisions of sections ninety-nine and one hundred of chapter two hundred and sixty-six.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 78 - Libraries › Section 8 - Use of Facilities by Non-Residents

Section 8. Any free town public library may loan its books or other library material to any other such library or to citizens of other towns or non-residents, under such written conditions and regulations as may be made by the board of trustees or other authority having control of the library so loaning. Any town may raise money to pay the expenses of so borrowing books and other library material from the library of any other town.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 78 - Libraries › Section 9 - Return of Unwanted State Publications

Section 9. If the trustees of any town library shall vote not to keep or receive any of the books and reports which the state secretary is authorized to send thereto, the secretary, at the request of the supervisor of public records, may discontinue sending them. Any of said books and reports in the custody of any town library may be returned at its expense to the state library, or, with the sanction of the board of library commissioners, may otherwise be exchanged or disposed of.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 78 - Libraries › Section 10 - Town Libraries; Selection of Trustees and Officers

Section 10. A town which raises or appropriates money for the support of a free public library, or free public library and reading room, owned by the town, shall, unless the same has been acquired entirely or in part through some gift or bequest which contains other conditions or provisions for the election of its trustees, or for its care and management, which have been accepted by the town, elect by ballot at a meeting a board of trustees consisting of any number of persons, male or female, divisible by three, which the town determines to elect. When such board is first chosen, one third thereof shall be elected for one year, one third for two years and one third for three years, and thereafter one third shall be elected annually for a term of three years. The board shall, from its own number, annually choose a chairman and secretary and, if the town so votes, a treasurer, who shall give a bond similar to that given by the town treasurer, in an amount and with sureties to the satisfaction of the selectmen. Until the town otherwise directs the town treasurer shall act as treasurer of the board of trustees.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 78 - Libraries › Section 11 - Board of Trustees; Powers and Duties

Section 11. The board shall have the custody and management of the library and reading room and of all property owned by the town relating thereto. All money raised or appropriated by the town for its support and maintenance shall be expended by the board, and all money or property which the town may receive by gift or bequest for said library and reading room shall be administered by the board in accordance with the provisions of such gift or bequest. The board of any library, for the purpose of improving the services of said library, may enter into an agreement with the board or boards of any neighboring library or libraries, to pay for services in common, or to manage a facility to be operated jointly by more than one municipality, such payments to be shared in accordance with terms of such agreement.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 78 - Libraries › Section 14 - Board of Library Commissioners; Members; Appointment; Term; By-Laws; Reimbursement; Officers; Staff

Section 14. There shall be a board of library commissioners for the commonwealth, in this section and in sections fifteen to thirty, inclusive, called the board, consisting of nine residents of the commonwealth appointed by the governor. Upon the expiration of the term of office of a member of the board, his successor shall be appointed for a term of five years.
No person shall be appointed to serve more than two consecutive terms. Prior service on the board for a period of less than three years resulting from an initial appointment or an appointment for the remainder of an unexpired term shall not be considered a full term. The board shall prepare and adopt by-laws for the conduct of its business. Said by-laws shall provide for the election of one of its members to be chairman of the board, establish the term of office, and provide for the ways and means for the election of other officers and their terms of office as deemed necessary by the board.
The members of the board shall be reimbursed for their necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
The board shall appoint a director and determine his duties and responsibilities and may at its discretion remove him. The board shall, upon recommendation of the director, appoint a deputy director and determine his duties and responsibilities and may at its discretion remove him. The director and deputy director shall be classified in accordance with section forty-five of chapter thirty and the salary shall be determined in accordance with section forty-six C of said chapter thirty. The director and deputy director shall receive such other perquisites as the board may approve. The director and the deputy director shall not be subject to the provisions of section nine A of chapter thirty or of chapter thirty-one.
Subject to appropriation and to the approval of the board the director shall appoint or release such professional and subprofessional staff as the functions, powers, and duties of the board shall require; provided, however, that the provisions of said section nine A of said chapter thirty and said chapter thirty-one shall not apply to any such appointment or release.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 78 - Libraries › Section 15 - Duties Relating to Management and Maintenance of Libraries

Section 15. The board of library commissioners shall advise the librarian or trustees of any free public library, and may on request advise the librarian or other person in charge of the library of any state or county institution, relative to the selection or cataloguing of books and any other matter pertaining to the maintenance or administration of such library.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 78 - Libraries › Section 19 - Powers, Duties and Status of Board

Section 19. The board of library commissioners may expend such sums as may be appropriated for the extension and encouragement of library services within the commonwealth. The said board is hereby designated as the state agency to deal with the federal government with respect to federal grants which may be made available to the commonwealth for promoting library services, and to administer such state plans as may be approved as a condition of such grants. The board may contract with any other state agency, city or town, public or private library to provide improved library services in an area, or to secure such library services as may be agreed upon, which services may include, but need not be limited to, the lending of books and related library materials, the establishment of branch libraries, depositories or bookmobile service, and to co-operative purchasing and processing of books, recordings, films and related library materials. The board shall cooperate with the Library of Congress or its successors relative to the administration of the program of talking books and may expend such state, federal or other funds as are available for such purpose. The board shall also represent the commonwealth in the receipt and disbursement of funds made available to the commonwealth from any private source for the promotion of library services. The state treasurer shall be the custodian of funds for this purpose received from the federal government or private services.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 78 - Libraries › Section 19a - State Aid; Determination

Section 19A. The state treasurer shall annually, on or before July first, pay from monies appropriated from the Local Aid Fund for that purpose, to each city or town certified by the board of library commissioners to have met certain minimum standards of free public library service established by said board, an amount to be used for the free public library or libraries of said city or town, to be determined as follows:—
(1) to each town having a population of less than two thousand five hundred, a sum equivalent to the amount appropriated by it for free public library service during the preceding year, but in no event more than one thousand two hundred and fifty dollars;
(2) to each city and to each town having a population of two thousand five hundred or more, a sum not exceeding fifty cents for each resident therein; provided, however, that such city or town appropriates during the preceding year for its free public library service at least one thousand two hundred and fifty dollars;
(3) to each city and town, in addition to the amount specified in paragraph (1) or (2), a sum determined by allocating the remaining available amount among the cities and towns according to the provisions of section eighteen C of chapter fifty-eight.
(4) in addition to the amounts specified in paragraphs (1), (2) and (3), to each city or town whose library is designated a major nonresident lender by said board, an amount for the purpose of offsetting the costs of extending said service to nonresidents. Said amount shall be determined by said board by allocating the sum appropriated for this purpose according to criteria and formulae developed by said board in consultation with the regional public library systems established under section nineteen C.
No city or town shall receive any money under this section in any year when the appropriation of said city or town for free public library services is below an amount equal to the average of its appropriation for free public library service for the three years immediately preceding, increased by two and one-half per cent of said average. Said board may, upon petition of a community, waive aforesaid requirement upon demonstration of fiscal hardship. Said waiver may only be granted by said board in a given fiscal year to not more than ten cities and towns in the commonwealth.
For a joint public library, the board may approve, at the request of the cities or towns served by the joint public library, a single appropriation requirement in determining amounts under this section. The amount shall be calculated by aggregating the appropriations of the cities or towns administering the library. Upon petition by all of the cities or towns served by a joint public library, the board may waive the single appropriation requirement upon a demonstration of fiscal hardship. A joint public library shall be an undertaking of 2 or more cities or towns to provide public library service to their residents through a single administrative entity.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 78 - Libraries › Section 19b - State Aid; Annual Reports by Libraries; Requisites for Aid

Section 19B. The board of library commissioners, in setting up minimum standards of free public library service and in certifying such libraries for aid under section nineteen A shall require the filing of an annual report and shall require that such public libraries
(1) be open to all residents of the commonwealth,
(2) make no charge for normal library services,
(3) be kept open a minimum number of hours per week,
(4) employ trained personnel in accordance with regulations promulgated by the board of library commissioners; provided, however, that in cities of more than one hundred and fifty thousand residents, nothing in said regulations shall prevent the appointing authority from employing a chief executive officer of the library system in addition to the chief librarian,
(5) expend a reasonable portion of the library's total budget on library materials,
(6) lend books to other libraries in the commonwealth and extend privileges to the holders of cards issued by other public libraries in the commonwealth on a reciprocal basis,
(7) include in their annual report the total number of nonresident loans and nonresident circulation as a percentage of the library's total circulation, as certified by the librarian and subject to an audit by the state auditor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 78 - Libraries › Section 19c - Regional Public Library Service; Annual Appropriation

Section 19C. The board shall establish a comprehensive statewide program of regional library service, consisting of regional library systems, which shall not exceed six, for the purpose of providing reference and research services, interlibrary loan, delivery, and other regional services to public, school, academic, and special libraries in the region. For each regional library system, the board shall designate an administrative agency. For such purpose, there shall be an annual appropriation which the board shall apply in the following manner:
(1) Insofar as practicable the board shall enter into an arrangement or arrangements with such public library or libraries in each regional area as it may determine under the terms of which such library or libraries shall supply services or space, equipment, personnel, books, periodicals and other library materials to communities having fewer than twenty-five thousand inhabitants;
[There is no clause (2).]
(3) Any regional library system providing service under an approved plan shall be entitled to receive annually in state aid an amount per capita of its served population per square mile of the area served in accordance with the following schedules:
(4) In addition to the sums provided in clause (3), the Boston public library, as the library of the commonwealth for reference and research services, shall be entitled to receive in state aid the sum of fifty cents for each resident of the commonwealth;
(5) Any employee employed in a position identified as a regional position in a public library which accepts funds under this section shall not be required to comply with residency requirements. For purposes of this section, ''regional position'' shall mean a full-time or part-time position for which at least fifty per cent of the funding is provided by the commonwealth pursuant to this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 78 - Libraries › Section 19d - Regional Public Library Service; Council of Members

Section 19D. For each regional library system, the board shall establish a council of members which shall consist of the chief librarian or one trustee to be so designated by the board of trustees or other appropriate administrative authority of each participating library and one designated representative from participating libraries within each public school district and one representative from the participant private school libraries within each school district. The duties and responsibilities of the council of members shall be specified in the bylaws of the regional library systems as approved by the board of library commissioners.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 78 - Libraries › Section 19f - Regional Public Library Service; Arrangement for Delivery and Retrieval of Materials or Services

Section 19F. Any library system providing service under an approved plan as provided in clause (3) of section nineteen C or such public library or libraries designated by the board may through the board enter into an arrangement or arrangements with libraries not included by clauses (1) and (2) of said section nineteen C as the board may determine; under the terms of which such library system or such public library or libraries designated by the board may provide, and the amount arranged to be applied only to the related costs, for the delivery and retrieval of reference and research books, periodicals and other library materials, or other services within the approved plan.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 78 - Libraries › Section 19g - State Assistance for Public Library Projects

Section 19G. The board of library commissioners shall, subject to appropriation, establish and administer a program of state assistance to cities and towns in the planning, reconstruction, construction, design, acquisition of real property, renovation, preservation, rehabilitation, demolition or expansion of a facility to be used as a free public library.
The board may, in accordance with the provisions of this section and sections nineteen H to nineteen K, inclusive, provide grant funds to such cities and towns which apply for funding of projects authorized by this section; provided, however, that said grant shall not exceed seventy-five per cent of the cost of an approved library project, including interest and the cost of planning thereof.