Local Aid - 1998 Census Data

SECTION 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of clause Forty-first of section 7 of chapter 4 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the commissioner of revenue or any other official responsible for a local reimbursement or assistance program reported by said commissioner pursuant to the provisions of section 25A of chapter 58 of the General Laws shall use the 1998 city and town population estimates of the United States Bureau of the Census in calculating distributions or assessments under said local reimbursement or assistance programs. Such distribution programs shall include, but not be limited to, the chapter 70 school aid program, so called, and aid to regional public libraries. Such assessments shall include, but not be limited to, air pollution control districts, the metropolitan area planning council, the Old Colony Planning Council, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, and any other entity for which said commissioner is required to give notice pursuant to said section 25A.

Advance Local Aid Payments

SECTION 5. The state treasurer shall make advance payments for some or all of periodic local reimbursement or assistance programs to any city, town, regional school district, or independent agricultural and technical school that demonstrates an emergency cash shortfall, as certified by the commissioner of revenue and approved by the secretary of administration and finance, pursuant to guidelines established by said secretary.

Highway Fund Distribution

SECTION 6. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 31 of chapter 81 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the portion of the Highway Fund allocated for reimbursements to cities and towns for costs actually incurred in constructing, maintaining, and policing city or town streets or roads, as appropriated in item 6005-0017 of section 2, shall be distributed in fiscal year 2001 in the same proportion as the fiscal year 2000 distribution of said Highway Fund reimbursements.

Dissemination of Criminal Offender Record Information

SECTION 7. Section 172 of chapter 6 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1998 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the fourth paragraph the following paragraph:-

       Local police departments may provide criminal offender record information to certified housing authorities and schools, certified pursuant to this section, as well as to individuals seeking access to their own criminal offender record information pursuant to section 175. Nothing herein shall prohibit such housing authorities, schools, or individuals from obtaining criminal offender record information from the criminal history systems board.

BORIM Trust Fund

SECTION 8. Section 35M of chapter 10 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the second sentence the following sentence:- In addition, revenues sufficient to cover the cost of indirect charges shall be deposited into said trust fund.

Division of Registration Name Change

SECTION 9. Section 8 of chapter 13 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out in line 1 the words "division of registration" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- division of professional licensure.

Said section is hereby further amended by striking out in line 2 the words "of registration".

Division of Registration Name Change

SECTION 10. Section 9 of said chapter 13, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out in line 2 the words "division of registration" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- division of professional licensure.

Division of Registration Name Change

SECTION 11. Section 9A of said chapter 13, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out in line 1 the words "of registration".

Division of Registration Name Change

SECTION 12. Section 11C of said chapter 13 , as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out in line 1 the words "division of registration" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- division of professional licensure.

Division of Registration Name Change

SECTION 13. Section 11D of said chapter 13, as most recently amended by section 25 of chapter 127 of the acts of 1999, is hereby further amended by striking out the words "division of registration" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- division of professional licensure.

Division of Registration Name Change

SECTION 14. Section 38 of said chapter 13, as appearing in the 1998 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out in line 5 the words "division of registration" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- division of professional licensure.

Division of Registration Name Change

SECTION 15. Section 43 of said chapter 13, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out in line 3 the words "division of registration" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- division of professional licensure.

Division of Registration Name Change

SECTION 16. Section 84 of said chapter 13, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out in line 21 the words "division of registration" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- division of professional licensure.

Division of Registration Name Change

SECTION 17. Section 88 of said chapter 13, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out in line 1 the words "division of registration" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- division of professional licensure.

Division of Registration Name Change

SECTION 18. Section 92 of said chapter 13, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out in lines 36 and 37 the words "division of registration" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- division of professional licensure.

Division of Registration Name Change

SECTION 19. Section 96 of said chapter 13, as most recently amended by section 1 of chapter 146 of the acts of 1999, is hereby further amended by striking out in the first sentence the words "division of registration" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- division of professional licensure.

Racial Desegregation

SECTION 20. Section 1 I of chapter 15 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1998 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out in line 34 the words "board shall not approve any project for school construction for such city, town, or regional school district under chapter six hundred forty-five of the acts of nineteen hundred and forty-eight, as amended," and inserting in place thereof the following words:- school facilities commission shall not approve any project for school construction for such city, town, or regional school district under chapter 70B,.

Said section is hereby further amended by striking out the third paragraph.

Office of Educational Quality and Accountability

SECTION 21. Said chapter 15, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out section 55A and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

       Section 55A. (a) There shall be established an office of educational quality and accountability, hereinafter referred to as the office, within the department of education but not subject to its control. The purpose of the office shall be to provide an independent mechanism to verify the efforts of schools and school districts to promote a higher level of academic achievement by students.

       (b) The governor shall appoint a five-member council, known as the educational management audit council, hereinafter referred to as the council. One member shall be designated by the governor to serve as chairperson of the council. Residency in the commonwealth shall not be required of the members of the council. Members shall not be compensated for their service but may be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. No member of said council shall be employed by or receive regular compensation from the department of education, or from any school system, public or independent, in the commonwealth, or serve as a member of any school committee or any board of trustees of a charter school. Not more than two members of said council may be employed on a full-time basis by any agency of the commonwealth, including a public college or the university of Massachusetts. Members shall be appointed for terms of five years; provided, however, that of the first members appointed, one shall be appointed for one year, two for two years, and two for three years. Members may be re-appointed but no person shall be appointed to serve more than two full terms. Prior service on said council for a term of less than three years, resulting from an initial appointment or an appointment for the remainder of an unexpired term, shall not be counted as a full term. If a member is absent from any three regularly scheduled meetings in any calendar year, his position on the said council shall be deemed vacant. The chairman of the council shall forthwith notify the governor that such vacancy exists.

       The council shall meet not less than quarterly on a date set by the chairperson and at such other times at the call of the chairperson; provided, however, that the first meeting of the council shall be convened within 30 days after the members have been appointed. The council shall:
       (1)       establish the annual goals for the office;
       (2)       review and approve the protocols for the audit and inspection of schools and school districts, including regional school districts;
       (3)       review the findings of audits and inspections undertaken by the director pursuant to this section;
       (4)       review the performance of the director of the office; and
       (5)       make recommendations to facilitate the improvement of schools to the governor, the board of education, the general court, and the local school committee or board of trustees, when appropriate.
       (c)       Subject to appropriation, the council shall employ a director and establish the salary for the director. Pursuant to the office's appropriation, the director shall employ such inspectors, auditors, professional assistants, attorneys, consultants and other staff as he deems necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of the office and shall determine their salaries and duties. The provisions of section 45 of chapter 30, chapter 31 and chapter 150E shall not apply to employees of the office.
       The request for the annual appropriation required to carry out the mandate of the office shall be submitted by the chairman of the council to the governor, the secretary of administration and finance, and the chairman of the board of education.
       (d)       The office shall act as an independent auditing body verifying educational measurements and tests conducted by or for the department of education in implementing the mandates and directives of chapter 71 of the acts of 1993. Specifically, the office shall have the following duties:
       (1)       verify the accuracy of reports of schools and districts by conducting or contracting for periodic program and fiscal audits as necessary;
       (2)       investigate allegations of any breach of academic integrity in the administration of any assessments administered by the department of education; and
       (3)       undertake inspections of schools and school districts to determine the quality of instruction, the performance of administrative, instructional, and other staff, and make recommendations about the school and school district goals and performance.
       (e)       For the purposes of any inspection, investigation, or audit, the director shall have access to all necessary papers, vouchers, books, and records pertaining to a school, including a charter school, a school district, and regional school district. The director may require the attendance of witnesses and the production of books and documents and may examine witnesses under oath in the same manner as in the superior court. The council shall ensure that any instance of noncompliance, misfeasance or malfeasance with law shall be referred to the attorney general of the commonwealth and the commissioner of education for appropriate action.
       (f)       All records of the office of educational quality and accountability shall be confidential unless it is necessary for the director to make such records public in the performance of his duties, and shall not be public records as defined in section 7 of chapter 4.
       (g)       The council shall transmit its findings and any resultant recommendations to the governor, the board of education, the attorney general, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the clerk of the house of representatives who shall forward the same to the joint committee on education, arts and the humanities. The council shall compile these audits and inspections into annual reports due each year on the anniversary date of the first meeting of the council.

Higher Education Fee Authority

SECTION 22. Section 9 of chapter 15A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (i) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
       (i)       develop a rational and equitable statewide tuition and fee plan for the state colleges and community colleges listed in section 5, which shall take into account per student educational costs, all student charges, and the need to maximize student access to higher education regardless of financial circumstances. The board shall establish guidelines, to which each board of trustees shall adhere, governing the implementation of said plan. Said guidelines shall be filed with the secretary of administration and finance, the house and senate committees on ways and means, and the joint committee on education. Said guidelines shall include definitions of charges and shall indicate whether said charges shall be classified as tuition or fees. Said guidelines shall establish a range for tuition and a range for total student fees. Each board of trustees shall establish tuition rates and fees that are within said ranges. Said guidelines shall be established in such a manner as to enable the boards of trustees to establish tuition rates and fees for the academic year on or before the preceding May 31.

Higher Education Fee Waiver

SECTION 23. The ninth paragraph of section 16 of said chapter 15A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting at the end thereof the following sentence:- Said guidelines shall include, but not be limited to, a waiver of mandatory fees.

Tuition Waiver for Children Adopted by State Employees through DSS

SECTION 24. The second paragraph of section 19 of said chapter 15A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out in line 11 the word "and", and by inserting in line 13 after the words "set of courses" the following words:- , and (v) shall provide full waiver of tuition for children adopted after December 31, 1994, through the department of social services by state employees of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the commonwealth and its constitutional offices and independent agencies.

Attracting Excellence to Teaching Program

SECTION 25. Said chapter 15A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out section 19A and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
       Section 19A.  There shall be a student loan repayment program known as the attracting excellence to teaching program, for the purpose of encouraging outstanding students to teach in the public schools of the commonwealth by providing financial assistance for the repayment of qualified education loans, as defined herein. The program shall be administered by the department of education in accordance with guidelines that the department establishes. The program shall be subject to appropriation. The term "qualified education loan" shall mean any indebtedness incurred to pay tuition or other direct expenses associated with the pursuit of an undergraduate or graduate degree by an applicant, but shall not include loans made by any person related to the applicant. The department shall establish guidelines governing the attracting excellence to teaching program. These guidelines shall include the following provisions: (1) eligibility for the program shall be limited to persons who have graduated in the top 15 per cent of their undergraduate or graduate classes or who have graduated with honors designations, as certified by the institution attended by any such applicant; (2) eligibility for the program shall be limited to persons entering the teaching profession after July 1, 1994; (3) the commonwealth shall repay a participating teacher's student loan at a rate not to exceed $200 per month for a period not to exceed 48 months; (4) repayment shall be made to the participating teacher annually upon the presentation by the participating teacher of satisfactory evidence of payments under the loan; (5) payments by the commonwealth shall cover only loan payments made by the participating teacher in the months during which the participating teacher is employed by public schools in the commonwealth; and (6) the department may limit the program to teachers who teach in school districts of high need, as determined by the commissioner of education. Expenses for administration of the program may be retained in an interest-bearing trust fund to be established by the department and expended for the costs of administering the program without further appropriation, and any funds remaining in the trust fund at the termination of the program shall be transferred to the General Fund.

DMA's Lien on Accident and Injury Recoveries

SECTION 26. Section 5G of chapter 18 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting in lines 11, 12, and 19 after the word "claimant" each time it appears the following words:- or the claimant's heirs, estate, or legal representative.