SENATE, No. 283

SECTION 1. Chapter 69 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 1G and inserting in place thereof the following new section: -

Section 1G.

(a) The board shall establish the minimum length for a school day and the minimum number of days in the school year.

(b) There shall be an Expanded Learning Time Grant Program, hereinafter referred to as “the program”. The program shall be administered by the department and shall have the following purposes:

(1) To expand learning time in the form of longer school days, additional school days or a combination of longer school days and additional school days;

(2) To provide school districts the opportunity to add additional time to the school schedule in order to redesign their educational program and offer challenging learning experiences focused on raising student achievement. This additional time shall be designed to:

i. provide more instructional opportunities in mathematics, literacy, science and other core subjects to support academic proficiency;

ii. provide educators with increased opportunities to work collaboratively and to participate in professional development;

(3) To provide a framework for sustained state funding for school districts who voluntarily extend their school day or year;

(4) To provide school districts the opportunity to add or expand programs and curricula such as arts, music, health, sports, drama, and other learning opportunities for which they do not have time in the current school calendar;

(5) To encourage schools to form partnerships with community-based organizations and institutions of higher learning to provide additional opportunities to children; and

(6) To provide for accountability to ensure the efficient and effective implementation of expanded learning time in participating districts.

(c) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:

“Accountability plan”, plan developed by a school district to measure and track the efficiency and effectiveness of expanded learning time schools.

“Annual accountability review”, process by which the department will review the progress of a school district’s implementation of its expanded learning time program.

“Department”, The department of education

“Planning grant proposal”, application for planning grant submitted to the department by a school district.

“Planning grant:”, grant awarded to a school district for the purpose of planning for a longer school day or year.

“Implementation plan”, plan developed by a school district to expand the school day and/or year at selected schools.

“Implementation grant”, grant awarded to a school district to expand learning time by lengthening school days or the school year at selected schools through its implementation plan.

 (d)(1) All school districts shall be eligible for planning grants under this program, but priority shall be given to: (i) districts with more than 25% of students eligible for free and reduced lunch programs; (ii) districts in the bottom ten per-cent of statewide grade ten MCAS scores; (iii) districts whose proposals use partnerships with community-based organizations and institutions of higher education. Not less than 60% of all funds granted under this program shall be awarded to prioritized districts.

(2) In awarding grants, the department shall promote the inclusion of districts not given such priority in order to demonstrate the efficacy and value of the program across a broad range of districts and schools relative to the socioeconomic status and achievement levels of the students they educate. 

(3) Planning grant proposals under this act shall include, but not be limited to:

i. the process the district will use to create an expanded learning time implementation plan;

ii. a budget necessary to create this plan;

iii. a rationale for expanding learning time that describes how the expansion of time will help the school(s) attain its school improvement goals;

iv. the anticipated number of schools and students that will be affected; and

v. identification of individuals who will participate in the planning process, including representatives of teachers unions, parents, administrators and school partners.

(e) (1) Districts shall be eligible for implementation grants only after submitting an implementation plan and having the plan approved by the department. The department shall approve implementation plans that include:

i. no less than 315 additional hours than is standard for the implementing district

ii. mandatory additional time for all students in participating schools, provided that districts may phase in the additional time over a reasonable period of time as determined by the department and the department may provide for exceptions to this provision in extraordinary circumstances.

iii. a comprehensive restructuring of the entire school schedule and educational program to better utilize the time in school;

iv. a comprehensive budget sufficient to fund the approved plan;

v. evidence of support from any collective bargaining units, or community-based organizations or higher education institutions involved in implementation;

vi. documentation of leadership capacity to implement the expansion of learning time; and

(f) Districts that are already participating in the program shall be eligible for implementation grants under paragraph (1).

(g) The department shall develop guidelines to annually review the progress being made by each district with an approved implementation plan. These guidelines shall include, but not be limited to the requirement for:

(1) an accountability plan, using specific measurable goals to annually and longitudinally assess the implementation and the impact of additional learning time on student achievement, retention, attendance, higher educational attainment and other relevant measures. This plan may include but not be limited to the collection and reporting to the department of the following: attendance data, student, teacher, parent and school partner impact and satisfaction, disciplinary data, standardized test scores, grades, numbers of students attending the participating schools and all appropriate comparison data; and

(2) Each school and district must participate in any evaluation or accountability process implemented by or authorized by the department.

(3) In the event that the department is not satisfied with the results of the annual review, the department shall, within a reasonable period of time, notify the district of remedial steps necessary to be eligible for continued funding under this program. In the event that such remedial steps are not taken, the department may decline to include that district in its annual budget recommendation for subsequent years.

(h)(1) The department shall issue an annual report, not later than January 31 of each year, describing and analyzing the implementation of plans in all participating districts. The reports shall include, but not be limited to: the number of school and school districts participating; the number of students attending these schools; the nature and type of changes in school learning time funded through this program by school and school district; a list of outside vendors with whom the department has contracted to provide technical support services, the amount each vendor has received, and the results obtained in each instance; the annual assessments of impact provided by the districts and any other data related to expanded learning time in participating schools and districts. This report shall be provided to the secretary of administration and finance, the senate president, the speaker of the house, the chairs of the house and senate ways and means committees and the joint committee on education.

(2) The department shall also provide not later than January 15th a comprehensive budget for this program for the next fiscal year, provided that such budget include:

i. the number of anticipated participating students, including students enrolled with a longer school schedule pursuant to a previously approved implementation plan and the number of students enrolled in newly approved implementation plans.

ii. a comprehensive budget for funding subsequent planning grants; and

iii. a comprehensive budget for funding of implementation plans anticipated to be approved by the department, including state funding of not less than $1,350 per student in each participating school plus an annual inflation index consistent with the provisions of section 2 of Chapter 70 starting in fiscal year 2009.

(3) This recommendation shall be provided to the secretary of administration and finance, the senate president, the speaker of the house of representatives, the chairs of the house and senate ways and means committees and the joint committee on education.

(i)(1) The department may expend funds to administer this program. These expenditures shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (i) creation of an application process for planning grants; (ii) review and approval of qualifying planning grant proposals; (iii) review and approval of implementation plans submitted by those districts awarded planning grants, (iv) technical assistance to implementing districts (v) compliance monitoring of participating districts and (vi) annual and longitudinal evaluations of the impact of the program. These expenditures shall not exceed four percent of any funds appropriated for the purposes of this program.

(2) The department shall, for the purpose of this program, provide technical support to participating schools and districts that may include, but is not limited to: direct services, developing documentation of best practices and the creation of a network of implementing schools and districts. The department may partner or contract with external organizations as necessary to fulfill its obligations under this section.

(3) The department may promulgate appropriate regulations to carry out this section.

(j)(1) At the conclusion of the fourth year of this program, a program review commission shall convene to evaluate the effectiveness of this program. The commission shall be co-chaired by the House and Senate chairs of the Joint Committee on Education. The commission shall be made up of the president of the senate or his designee and the speaker of the house or his designee; the president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association or his designee; the president of the Massachusetts Federation of Teachers, or his designee; a member selected by the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents; a member selected by the Massachusetts Association of School Committees; one representative from an educational non-profit organization and one member representing the business community both chosen by the senate president; and one representative from an educational non-profit organization and one member representing the business community both chosen by the speaker of the house.

(2) The commission shall review the program in its entirety and issue a report of its findings, including an analysis of all relevant data so as to determine the effectiveness of the program. The report shall include specific legislative recommendations including, but not limited to, the following:

i. whether the current school calendar as defined by the department under subsection (a) is sufficient;

ii. whether the program should be expanded, maintained or discontinued;

iii. a schedule and method for ongoing accountability of implementation plans; and

iv. a permanent method of calculating the annual minimum state aid for an approved implementation plan, on a per pupil basis, and, if appropriate, on a per community basis.

(3) This report shall be provided to the secretary of administration and finance, the senate president, the speaker of the house, the chairs of the house and senate ways and means committees and the joint committee on education.