SENATE, No. 296

SECTION 1.  Sections 1J and 1K of chapter 69 of the General Laws are hereby repealed.

SECTION 2.   The General Laws are hereby amended by inserting after chapter 69 the following chapter:-      

CHAPTER 69A.

COMMONWEALTH TURNAROUND NETWORK.

Section 1.  As used in this chapter, the following words shall have the following meanings, unless the context requires otherwise:

“AYP”, annual yearly progress, toward proficiency, as determined by an index set by the department of education.

“Chronically Underperforming School” a school that chronically fails to improve the academic performance of its students in accordance with regulations promulgated by the commissioner.

“Commissioner”, the commissioner of education.

“Commonwealth Pilot Schools” aka “Co-Pilots”; commonwealth priority schools which have chosen, with the support of district and school administrators and teachers associations, to re-establish themselves using the pilot model as a means to turn around their underperformance.

“CTN”, the commonwealth turnaround network composed of priority schools, underperforming schools and Commonwealth Pilot schools

“Department”, the department of education.

“EMAC”, the educational management audit council.

“Intervention school”, a school which: is an under-performing school; appears on the federal corrective action list; has 35 to 50 per cent  students failing mathematics or English language arts in any single grade for 2 or more years; or has been voluntarily placed by a district in order to receive resources and assistance necessary to implement a rapid improvement plan;

“LEA”, Local Education Authority; schools grouped together, as in a district, for purposes such as AYP (annual yearly progress) determination.

 “MTAP”, the Massachusetts Turnaround Academy Program, a collaboration between a graduate school of business administration and a school of education to provide under contract an executive education program designed to produce a cadre of experts to lead turnaround processes.

“OATA”, the office of accountability and targeted assistance.

“Turnaround partner”, an entity assisting an underperforming or priority school, including, but not limited to an education institution, a profit or non-profit agency, a coach, a school superintendent, a school principal, a turnaround specialist, an education management organization or a teachers union.

“Turnaround School” a low performing school in need of improvement, i.e. a Commonwealth Priority School, Chronically Underperforming School, or Co-Pilot School.

“Priority School”, a school which is: underperforming or chronically underperforming; appears on the federal restructuring or corrective action list determined by the No Child Left Behind Act; has 50 per cent or more students failing or getting warnings in mathematics or English language arts MCAS in any grade for 2 or more consecutive years; or has been voluntarily placed by a district of an intervention school to gain additional resources and assistance to implement a rapid improvement plan.

“Underperforming school”, a school that consistently fails to improve the academic performance of its students in accordance with regulations promulgated by the commissioner.

 Section 2.  (a)  There shall be a commonwealth turnaround network, as defined in section 1, within the department and under the commissioner, sharing or incorporating functions of OATA.   OATA shall provide resources and expertise to CTN and shall continue to be responsible for school performance reviews and also providing assistance to schools outside CTN.

            CTN and OATA shall collaborate to ensure that districts have the capacity to make appropriate choices for intervention schools and are prepared to sustain turnaround schools that have left the stewardship of CTN.

(b)  It shall be the responsibility of CTN to: (1) provide the support, focus, resources and powers necessary for successful intervention in Commonwealth Priority Schools, Chronically Underperforming Schools, and Co-Pilot Schools; (2) identify and use models of change by school district to introduce necessary reforms;  (3) establish regional areas for providing services such as professional development and data analysis to local districts; and (4) negotiating alternative bargaining contracts on behalf of schools within CTN in accordance with federal regulations for schools designated as in restructuring.

(c)  The department shall foster the development of a network of experienced individuals and organizations that can act as lead turnaround partners and who have successfully completed the requirements of the Massachusetts turnaround academy program. 

In addition, the department shall recruit effective school administrators to join with graduates of the academy to provide expertise in high-need/high-impact areas such as data analysis, content coaching and budget management.

Talented individuals recruited by the department as turnaround leaders shall be offered an option to become turnaround partners in CTN, either as full-time employees or while on leave or sabbatical from district or school administrative positions, while still retaining tenure in the state retirement system.

Section 3.  (a)   CTN shall be managed by an executive director selected by the commissioner in collaboration with entities experienced in and active in educational reform.  The executive director shall report to the commissioner and shall be the liaison with partner districts and shall be a participant, with district, school and teacher leadership and the commissioner, in deciding turnaround strategies for schools meeting the criteria for inclusion in CTN.

(b)  The executive director may appoint a chief budget officer, a director of curriculum and instruction, an English language arts and humanities specialist, a mathematics and science specialist, a director of human resources and professional development, a director of assessment and data analysis, liaisons to Commonwealth Priority Schools, Chronically Underperforming Schools, and Co-Pilot Schools and turnaround partners and an administrative assistant, and such other staff as is deemed appropriate and important, within the budget provided for the network’s work.

Section 4.  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the superintendent of a district with Commonwealth Priority Schools, Chronically Underperforming Schools, or Co-Pilot Schools shall have the power to make changes necessary to significantly improve the performance of the schools in CTN, consistent with CTN bargaining agreements which shall include power:

(1)        to assign and organize teacher and administrator positions and schedules based on student need;

(2)        to obtain resources and outside partners required to improve teacher and administrator capabilities;

(3)        to extend the school day to provide more academic time for students, and common planning time and professional development opportunities for teachers and to acquire the resources necessary to accomplish the same;

(4)        to obtain resources necessary to compensate staff for these expanded roles, including differential pay for teaching in challenging conditions and high-need curriculum areas and for assuming new leadership responsibilities; and

(5)        to acquire resources necessary to create social support systems focused on diagnostics, treatment and remediation; the bargaining flexibility to staff this work with appropriate clinical personnel; and the creation of effective alternative programs for students requiring special attention.

Section 5.  (a)  Under the terms of the special collective bargaining agreement, and in consultation with a turnaround partner selected by the superintendent, school leadership and the executive director of CTN, the superintendents of the home district of Commonwealth Priority Schools, Chronically Underperforming Schools, or Co-Pilot Schools shall adopt clear, rigorous performance expectations for raising the level of student achievement at the school.  Said plan shall describe the changes in the district’s or school’s existing policies, structures, agreements, processes, and practices  necessary to ensure significant achievement gains for all students enrolled in the school.  All plans shall include the following elements, or a compelling rationale for alternative approaches designed to achieve comparable or superior results:

1)         The school’s principal has authority to select and assign staff to positions in the school without regard to seniority;

2)         The school’s principal has control over financial resources necessary to successfully implement the school improvement plan;

3)         The school is implementing curricula that are aligned to state frameworks in core academic subjects;

4)         The school implements systematically a program of interim assessments (4-6 times per year) in English language arts and math that are aligned to school curriculum and state frameworks;

5)         The school has a system to provide detailed tracking and analysis of assessment results and uses those results to inform curriculum, instruction and individual interventions;

6)         The school schedule for student learning provides adequate time on a daily and weekly basis for the delivery of instruction and provision of individualized support as needed in English language arts and math, which for students not yet proficient is presumed to be at least 90 minutes per day in each subject;

7)         The school provides daily after-school tutoring and homework help for students who need supplemental instruction and focused work on skill development;

8)         The school has a least two full-time subject-area coaches, one each for English language arts/reading and for mathematics, who are responsible to provide faculty at the school with consistent classroom observation and feedback on the quality and effectiveness of curriculum delivery, instructional practice, and data use;

9)         School administrators periodically evaluate faculty, including direct evaluation of applicable content knowledge and annual evaluation of overall performance tied in part to solid growth in student learning and commitment to the school’s culture, educational model, and improvement strategy;

10)         The weekly and annual work schedule for teachers provides adequate time for regular, frequent, department and/or grade-level faculty meetings to discuss individual student progress, curriculum issues, instructional practice, and school-wide improvement efforts, which as a general rule shall be no less than one hour per week of leadership directed collaborative work time and no fewer than 5 days, or hours equivalent thereto, per year when teachers are not responsible for supervising or teaching students  for professional development and planning activities directed by school leaders.

Section 6.  (a)  Upon Commonwealth Priority School, Chronically Underperforming School, or Co-Pilot School status determination, each school shall be appointed one lead turnaround partner who will be accountable for the improvement of that school. The partner shall be chosen by the superintendent of the home district for each school in collaboration with the executive director of CTN, based upon the needs of that school and any evaluations or reviews already conducted by the department or EMAC.

(b)  The turnaround partner, under the joint supervision of CTN and the school’s home district, will assist the district and school leadership with the development of the school’s improvement plan, assemble additional turnaround providers and personnel as needed, and provide other assistance as appropriate, including designing a revised budget, developing a new school schedule and revised school calendar, advising in the purchase of curricular materials, and collaborating with the principal to recruit, dismiss, and assign staff as required.

Section 7.  (a)  Commonwealth Priority Schools, Chronically Underperforming Schools, or Co-Pilot Schools and their home districts shall employ the following processes and powers to seek rapid, significant improvement in academic achievement by students attending these schools:

(1)        Upon turnaround determination a school will be automatically entered into partnership with CTN. The assigned turnaround partner shall work with the school’s district superintendent and, as appropriate, the principal and school leadership team, to present to the CTN administration a remedial plan by October 1 of the school year in which the school has been given turnaround status. The plan shall set forth specific goals for improvement, specific means for attaining the goals, and a timetable, not to exceed 24 months, for carrying out the plan. The plan shall be subject to the approval of the executive director of CTN. During the period of implementation, the department and CTN shall provide the school with technical assistance, and with adequate funds expended with the approval of the CTN for the implementation of the turnaround plan.

(2)        The collective bargaining unit of each Commonwealth Priority School, Chronically Underperforming School, or Co-Pilot School shall create an addendum to the agreement in effect at said school, which will cover the special circumstances of the improvement plan for each CTN school.  This addendum agreement shall allow for the implementation of longer school days, a longer school week or year, incentive pay, performance bonuses, and hiring, dismissals, and/or transferring as necessary. Teachers choosing to remain on staff in turnaround schools shall benefit and be subject to the rules of this additional CTN bargaining agreement during the school’s tenure in the Commonwealth Turnaround Network. These agreements collectively bargained by the district, CTN, and established teachers’ unions shall only pertain to those work rules that are specific to the schools in the CTN. Members of bargaining units will not lose seniority, benefits, or placement on salary scales bargained by district locals and will continue to accrue benefits as stipulated under those contracts while they work in CTN-supported schools. These collective bargaining agreements and teachers’ participation in the CTN unit will remain in effect for the duration of a school’s participation in the CTN.  Upon exiting the CTN, teachers then on staff in the school shall vote on keeping the package of reforms introduced by the CTN intact in the school, or to revert to pre-CTN rules. A simple majority vote shall be required to keep changes intact, or to revert to earlier rules. School committees, superintendents and local union leaders may also arrange to negotiate particularly successful contractual elements from CTN models in their district-wide agreements.

(3) The principal of the school may be removed upon Commonwealth Priority School, Chronically Underperforming School, or Co-Pilot School designation at the superintendent’s discretion, in consultation with the turnaround partner.

(4 )In order to recruit and retain highly qualified staff, and in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement in place for the CTN, the department shall make available funds to permit the superintendent to increase the salary of any principal, administrator, or teacher assigned to the turnaround school by not more than 20 per cent of his currently bargained salary. Salary increases shall be based on working additional hours as part of a longer-day or longer-year schedule and increased leadership responsibilities in the turnaround school.

(5) If the school does not receive funding from the district at least equal to the average per pupil funding received for students of the same classification and grade level in the district, the district shall provide additional monies sufficient to bring funding for that school to that level.

(b)  The district, in conjunction with the CTN and the turnaround partner at each school, may also implement at any Commonwealth Priority School, Chronically Underperforming School, or Co-Pilot School one of the following alternative governance arrangements (as articulated by federal No Child Left Behind legislation for chronically underperforming schools), but which shall be mandatory if the school fails to reach its improvement goals after three years:

(1) Restructuring or reconstitution of the school’s governance arrangement;

(2)        Entrance into a contract with an entity, such as a private management company, turnaround team, coach, or other appropriate entity, as long as the entity has a demonstrated record of effectiveness to operate or assist the school;

(3)        Immediate closure and reopening of the school as a Horace Mann charter school;

(4)        Closure of the school and dispersal of students to other district schools, provided there is space available.

Section 8.  Through the use of the powers and the resources granted under this chapter, each Commonwealth Priority School, Chronically Underperforming School, or Co-Pilot School shall implement a turnaround initiative drawing from the following strategies to improve academic achievement by its students:

(1)        lengthen the school day and/or year, in accordance with the CTN collective bargaining agreement;

(2)        participate in strategic planning as an entire staff;

(3)        create vertical and grade-level leadership teams to promote distributed leadership and strong participation by teachers in the reform process, and provide the time, compensation, and support necessary for those teams to work effectively;

(4)        create career ladders for teaching and administrative staff;

(5)        offer remediation and tutoring programs for students needing extra help;

(6)        provide training and support to teachers and administrators in the effective use of performance data, in particular for formative and value-added purposes;

(7)        provide mandatory professional development, including the creation of individualized professional development plans for each teacher;  professional development requirements may be increased by up to an additional 50 hours per school year, at least 35 hours of which would occur during the school day as in-classroom, subject-specific content coaching/modeling.

Additionally, Commonwealth Priority Schools, Chronically Underperforming Schools, or Co-Pilot Schools may contract with school improvement providers, with the joint approval of the superintendent, turnaround partner, and CTN with options that include contracting for the services of a turnaround principal, a turnaround team, or a proven, field-tested change model sponsored by an institution of higher education, a for- or not-for-profit organization, or a teachers union.

Section 9.  (a)  CTN financial and technical resources devoted to turnaround schools shall have a secondary purpose: encouraging improvement at the district level, as appropriate, as well as in other schools not associated with CTN within that district.

(b)  CTN and OATA resources shall assist superintendents, working with turnaround partners and intervention support specialists, to analyze and, where appropriate, incorporate effective-practice strategies implemented at Commonwealth Priority Schools, Chronically Underperforming Schools, or Co-Pilot Schools into wider district practice.  The support may include leadership development and provision of specialists in areas of demonstrated need at the district level.  School committees, superintendents and local union leaders may also negotiate particularly successful contractual elements from CTN models clearly contributing to increases in student achievement in turnaround or intervention schools in their districtwide agreements.

(c)  The CTN shall take an active role assisting districts that have been designated as underperforming districts by EMAC.  .

Section 10.  Districts with a Commonwealth Priority School, Chronically Underperforming School, or Co-Pilot School in the CTN shall form a district–wide advisory board, in consultation with and approval of the CTN, of 7 members: 2 of whom shall be teachers in CTN schools; 1 of whom shall be a principal; 1 of whom shall be a  parent of a student in a turnaround school in the district; 1 of whom shall be a community member; 1 of whom shall be a representative from a higher education institution or non-profit education organization with reform experience; and 1 of whom shall be a representative appointed by the department. The advisory board members shall receive training from the CTN office. While its role shall be strictly advisory, the board shall serve as a liaison between the school and the community, the local school committee, and the district office.

Section 11.  (a)  A Commonwealth Priority School or Chronically Underperforming School shall remain in the CTN for 5 years.  While a turnaround school should be able to demonstrate significant improvement in 3 years, the additional 2 years of affiliation with CTN will allow for cultural and structural change to take root in a Commonwealth Priority School or Chronically Underperforming School experiencing success in the CTN. A turnaround school that has not seen significant improvement in the first 3 years of CTN participation, as determined by performance benchmarks set upon entering CTN, shall be eligible for takeover by the commonwealth, reconstitution, or closure, as described above. For a turnaround school considered to have shown improvement based on the benchmarks, 4- and/or 5-year performance reviews shall be conducted by the CTN to prepare the school for a full return to its home district.

(b)  The staff of the turnaround school shall by majority vote on keeping the package of reforms introduced by the CTN intact in the school, or reverting to pre-CTC   membership rules. If lengthened time-on-learning or professional development requirements remain in place, the salary increases associated with those requirements shall also remain in place; otherwise, salaries shall revert to pre-CTN salary scales plus the annual cost of living or step changes the teachers would have received in non-CTN district schools.

(c)  If performance benchmarks are met at the end of a turnaround school’s 5-year partnership with the CTN, and schools are continuing with CTN reforms, school districts shall commit to funding 50 per cent of the overall annual cost of reforms that had been in place in the school’s final year in the CTN for 2 years, including extra compensation costs to pay for extended time, in order to maintain improvements.  A district may apply to a separate, chapter 70-supported fund for assistance with the costs.

Section 12.  (a)  A common funding formula shall be developed that establishes proportional funding for each turnaround school, based on its student enrollment. The formula shall provide support, based on an established student teacher ratio and the current pay scale in that district, for additional costs incurred in meeting an extended day or year, according to the specifics of each school’s plan.  In addition, each turnaround school shall receive a funding allotment to support additional staff as required by the plan, including but not limited to, curriculum and instruction experts, budget and finance consultants, data analysis expert, math or English language arts content coaches, or leadership development coach.  Additional funds provided by the department may be used for curricular materials including but not limited to textbooks, supplementary materials, assessments and assessment systems.  Funding shall also support additional professional development, as specified by the school’s turnaround plan.

Such funds shall be made available through the CTN for each participating school, overseen by the CTN budget director to ensure that schools meet appropriate spending requirements, that the money is spent directly at the school level, and that all investments are directly related to improving student achievement. The principal and superintendent will work with the CTN administration and budget director to make appropriate budget decisions as part of the turnaround planning process.

Ordinary school expenses and improvement activities typical in other district schools, such as professional development, shall continue to be drawn from the regular district budget. Turnaround school funding from the department may not be used to supplant other funding that would normally have been directed to these schools.

(b)  Subject to appropriation, an additional $5,000,000 will fund the office and support services offered by the CTN in its first year, within the department’s budget, with yearly review to ensure that the budget is sufficient to support potentially increasing levels of assistance provided to an increasing number of turnaround and intervention schools. The CTN will be responsible for paying for non-school based staff, recruiting all CTN personnel, providing training and on-going professional development of CTN personnel, external evaluation of CTN work, research and publication of lessons learned and promising practices, and maintaining regional offices and support staff as necessary.

In addition, Commonwealth Priority Schools, Chronically Underperforming Schools, and Co-Pilot Schools shall be eligible for a percentage of a separate fund of targeted monies, obtained through Chapter 70, in proportion to the number of failing students they serve, for use for specific reform strategies, as long as their home districts provide a local match for this state funding and it is used to support the core strategies in their turnaround or intervention plan.

Section 13.  (a)  All teachers who work in a Commonwealth Priority School, Chronically Underperforming School, or Co-Pilot School shall have the right, through their collective bargaining unit, to negotiate an addendum agreement pertaining to the special circumstances and conditions of working in a Commonwealth Priority School, Chronically Underperforming School, or Co-Pilot School.  Collectively bargaining such side agreements shall be the responsibility of representatives from the Massachusetts Federation of Teachers and the Massachusetts Teachers Association (including the heads of local teachers associations in districts with schools in the CTN), the executive director of CTN and the commissioner of education or their designees.  

(b)  While the details of the additional agreements are left to the bargaining entities, the following guidelines shall be negotiated by the parties:

(1)        how to support staff at the designated schools to work the longer school schedule which may have been implemented for turnaround or intervention schools, in return for a commensurate, percentage-basis salary increase across the board, taking into account the district’s current salary schedule;

(2)        whether a common evaluation procedure and protocol shall be agreed to (if so, all administrators with managerial responsibility shall receive training on the implementation of this evaluation process);

(3)        whether or not determinations for unacceptable performance by faculty members shall be made according to a uniform system which shall include provisions for dismissal and remediation;

(4)        in what manner seniority rights may or may not be suspended during any designated school’s participation in the CTN and whether and how those rights would be returned upon successful reentry into the district following 5 years in CTN.

(5)        whether staff members shall sign an annual performance-based contract for the duration of school participation in CTN, inclusive of teachers with professional teacher status.

(6)        how to determine whether current staff members of the school are unable to participate effectively in the school improvement plan, in which case the principal of a Commonwealth Priority School, Chronically Underperforming School, or Co-Pilot School would have the power to require intensive remediation and professional development for the staff, and after the 1 year of professional development, to dismiss any teacher or other employee within the school if an evaluation shows that he or she is unable to participate effectively in the improvement plan.

(7)        how a common, streamlined arbitration process shall be produced and made available to all schools and districts within the CTN

 Section 14.  (a)  A faculty member in a designated school shall be given the opportunity to opt out of working in that CTN member school before the beginning of the first full school year in the CTN. At that point, the faculty member shall retain full district rights and may transfer to another non-CTN district school.  If a faculty member does not opt out of employment at the CTN school, he or she must agree to negotiated working conditions.

(b)  A principal may dismiss a teacher, including a teacher with professional status, under the conditions described in section 14. If a review of a termination decision is requested by a teacher with professional status within 5 school days after receiving notice of termination, an arbitrator shall be selected according to the procedures set forth in section 42 of chapter 71.

(c)  In reviewing dismissal decisions, the arbitrator shall consider the turnaround status of the school to the degree that low performance is not due to factors beyond the control of the teacher, and the arbitrator shall consider any report from the audit team that evaluates the teacher's performance. The hearing shall occur within 10 school days of the dismissal, and the arbitrator's decision shall be issued within 5 school days from the completion of the hearing. Furthermore, the primary issue in the arbitrator’s decision shall be the welfare and academic achievement of the students. Procedural errors in teacher dismissals shall be taken into consideration only if it has been determined that the teacher did not physically, emotionally, or academically harm students.

Section 15.  (a) All school management and administrative personnel in CTN schools shall  be removed from collective bargaining units, thereby allowing superintendents and principals to negotiate single or multi-year contracts with their administrators, including provisions for performance measures aligned to school and student improvement, as they see fit.

(b)  Administrators in CTN schools shall receive increased professional development and training; and, in return for increased responsibilities and longer hours associated with CTN school work, they shall receive commensurate increased compensation.

Section 16.  (a)  To ensure a supply of well-trained, competent individuals to conduct efficient turnarounds of underperforming schools, the department shall support MTAP, the Massachusetts Turnaround Academy Program. MTAP fellows shall be chosen for their experience as strong educational leaders, and shall be employed in CTC schools as change agents during their fellowship year. The MTAP program shall focus on model practices in school reform, leadership challenges, strategic change, effective decision-making, communications, and partnering. The training shall include coursework, case studies, and practical experience in effective management strategies, including business management strategies, finance and accounting practices, organizational behavior, and restructuring and renewal of underperforming organizations. Graduates of the program shall earn a professional credential in education management. MTAP fellows will retain their status and benefits in the state’s retirement system during their tenure in this capacity.

(b)  During the year-long program, personnel from turnaround and intervention schools shall also participate in training programs sponsored by MTAP, providing professional development opportunities to them as well as networking, partnership and case study opportunities for MTAP fellows.

(c)  Further, the CTN, working with the OATA, will produce or foster the development of the range of expertise and resources cited throughout this legislative proposal, including but not limited to, professional development in incorporating extended-time effectively; analysis of performance data and its application to improving curriculum and teaching approaches; support for the development of effective school leadership teams and distributed leadership models.