Section 12B of chapter 76 of the general laws, as most recently appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 12B, the following new section 12B(1).

Section 12B(1). The school committee of any city or town or any regional district school district that experiences a disproportionate loss of enrollment as a result of students exercising the provisions of section 12B of this chapter, may adopt a plan for preservation of quality education for the remaining students enrolled in said district. Such plan shall tend to minimize or eliminate any adverse effects on the quality of education resulting from the decrease in enrollment as a result of a disproportionate reduction in enrollment of students choosing to attend another district in accordance with the provisions of Section 12B of this chapter, and shall include an estimate of the expenses necessary to implement such plan. Such school committee or regional district school committee shall file a copy of such plan and the vote by which it was adopted with the board of education, in this section called the board. The board shall approve or disapprove such plan within ninety days after the date of such filing. If it disapproves such plan, it shall state the reasons therefore. If it approves such plan, the board, acting through the commissioner of education and on behalf of the commonwealth, shall enter into an agreement with such school committee or regional district school committee providing that such school committee or regional district school committee shall immediately begin implementation of steps required in said plan that will mitigate the primary reasons for the disproportionate loss of enrollment, as provided by such plan and that the commonwealth shall provide financial assistance to such city, town, or regional district school district as provided by the plan required by this section.  No such school committee or regional district school committee shall be required to implement any such plan unless and until it and the board have entered into such an agreement providing for the amount of financial assistance and the terms on which such assistance shall be provided.  However, such plan may provide for financial assistance to address deficiencies resulting in the fiscal year prior to approval of the plan in addition to deficiencies in the current fiscal year, and any anticipated deficiencies in future years until the school committee or regional district committee certifies that it has achieved the provisions for mitigation of the loss of enrollment, provided however, that no mitigation plan shall extend beyond five years.

The department, in determining approval or disapproval shall give priority preference to a school district or regional school district that is in danger of losing accreditation or has lost accreditation, provided the plan includes actions that are likely to lead to a restoration of accreditation.

For the purposes of this section:

“Disproportionate loss of enrollment” shall mean a net loss of enrollment in any given year resulting exclusively from the provisions of section 12B of this chapter that exceeds five percent of the enrollment of the previous year, or a cumulative loss over three years that exceeds ten percent from the enrollment in the first of the three previous years.

“Net loss shall be the difference between the reduction in assistance resulting from students attending schools other than the district in which they reside and any increase in assistance resulting from non-resident students attending from other districts in accordance with the provisions of section 12B of this chapter.

“Plan” shall refer to a plan developed by the school committee of a city, town, or regional school district that

The commonwealth shall, subject to appropriation and upon certification by the board, provide financial assistance in accordance with such agreement. Such financial assistance shall include payments for: (i) up to fifty percent of the cost per pupil for each resident child attending a school in another school district pursuant to the provisions of Section 12B of this chapter; (ii) the cost of transportation of each such child provided that cost was not decreased by the enrollment of said child in another district; and (iii) the cost of special education services provided to each resident child enrolled in another district pursuant to the provisions of Section 12B of this chapter who are determined to be in need of such services pursuant to chapter seventy-one B shall be considered as an “out of district” placement even if the child is provided services within the district where the child is enrolled and the receiving district shall be so reimbursed.  The board shall, by regulation, define the special education costs eligible for such financial assistance.

  The board shall provide technical and other assistance to any city, town, or regional school district in the formulation and implementation of any such plan. A school committee, regional district school committee, or the board may accept, for the purpose of implementing any such plan, gifts, grants, or contributions from any source, whether public or private. Any gift, grant, or contribution so accepted by a school committee of a city or town or a regional district school committee for such purpose shall be deposited with the treasurer of such city, town, or regional school district and held in a separate account and may be expended without further appropriation, notwithstanding the provisions of section fifty-three of chapter forty-four.

SECTION 2. Disbursement to School District

Section 12C of chapter seventy-six of the general laws as most recently appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof, the following new section:

Section 12C(1) There shall be established upon the books of the commonwealth a separate fund, to be known as the School Choice Mitigation Trust Fund. The state treasurer shall deposit in such fund all amounts appropriated for the school choice mitigation program, as such terms and amounts are defined in section twelve B(1). Monies in the fund shall be disbursed, without further appropriation, by the treasurer to sending districts as such districts' school choice mitigation amounts due such sending districts, as such terms and amounts are defined in section twelve B(1).

SECTION 3.  Nothing in this act shall result in a reduction of aid for receiving school districts pursuant to the provisions of section 12 B of chapter seventy-six.