[ Text of section effective until August 14, 2008. For text effective August 14, 2008, see below.]
Section 55A. 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.
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 members 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, one for two years, one for three years, one for four years and one for five years. Members may be reappointed but no person shall be appointed to serve more than two full terms. Prior service on said council for a term of less than five 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 chairperson 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. The council may coordinate with the activities of the board of education to implement section 1J of chapter 69 and with the activities of the education reform and review commission established pursuant to section 79 of chapter 71 of the acts of 1993.
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.
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. The office shall perform not less than 24 school district audits annually. 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; (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; (4) review the district's MCAS success plan, if any, submitted to the department of education pursuant to section 1I of chapter 69 and evaluate the implementation of said plan; (5) review the district's implementation of any MCAS grants received to develop or enhance academic support services for students scoring in level 1 or 2; (6) review the impact of unanticipated growth in enrollments and the cost of special education on municipal education budgets, where applicable including, but not limited to, the impact of said costs on other areas of appropriation within the municipal budget; (7) evaluate the alignment of curriculum and professional development plans with the state curriculum and assessments; (8) review the progress of student achievement.
For the purposes of any inspection, 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. Schools, school districts and school personnel shall cooperate with the director for purposes of any inspection or audit pursuant to this section, including but not limited to, participating in interviews and producing books and documents. The council shall ensure that any instance of noncompliance with law, misfeasance or malfeasance law shall be referred to the attorney general of the commonwealth and the commissioner of education for appropriate action.
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.
Chapter 15: Section 55A. Office of school and district accountability
[ Text of section as amended by 2008, 311, Sec. 3 effective August 14, 2008. For text effective until August 14, 2008, see above.]
Section 55A. In order to support the commissioner, department and board in fulfilling their duties under the provisions of chapter 69, including sections 1J and 1K, there shall be within the department an office of school and district accountability, hereinafter referred to as the office. The office shall provide a mechanism to review and report on the efforts of schools, charter schools and school districts, including regional school districts, to improve the academic achievement of their students and shall inform and assist the board and department in fulfilling their broader responsibilities to promote high levels of achievement in the schools and districts of the commonwealth.
The office shall be under the direction and supervision of 1 individual who shall be appointed by the commissioner. This individual shall also be responsible for the direction and supervision of the targeted assistance and intervention efforts of the department under chapter 69, such assistance efforts as the commissioner deems necessary to correct deficiencies identified by the office and compliance with the accountability provisions of federal law. This individual shall ensure that the auditing and assistance functions of the department are aligned to promote collaboration and communication across the auditing and assistance functions.
The office shall ensure that school and district review teams include experienced practitioners in the field of education, but no member shall have been previously or currently employed by the school, district or charter school being reviewed or so employed by a district, charter school or education collaborative serving a common student population with the school, district or charter school being reviewed.
The office shall act as an auditing body objectively reviewing the results of educational measurements and tests conducted by or for the department in implementing chapter 71 of the acts of 1993. The office shall perform not less than 40 school district audits annually, not less than 75 per cent of which shall be in districts whose students achieve at low levels either in absolute terms or relative to districts that educate similar student populations. The remainder of the audits shall be divided equally among districts whose students achieve at high levels relative to districts that educate similar student populations and randomly selected districts. The office shall ensure that no school or district is audited during the administration of any statewide assessments, and shall coordinate with other entities in the department to ensure that a school or district is not subject to multiple comprehensive audits or reviews by the department or any accrediting body within a 9 month period unless the board specifically votes to do so on an emergency basis.
The office shall have the following duties relative to school district audits: (1) objectively review the accuracy of the school and district reports by conducting or contracting for periodic program and fiscal audits as necessary; (2) undertake inspections of schools, charter schools and school districts, including regional school districts, to evaluate efforts to improve and support the quality of instruction and administration; (3) review the district's MCAS success plan, so-called, if any, submitted to the department pursuant to section 1I and evaluate the implementation of that plan; (4) review the district's implementation of any MCAS grants received to develop or enhance academic support services for students scoring in level 1 or 2; (5) evaluate the alignment of curriculum and professional development plans with the state curriculum and assessments; (6) review the progress of overall student achievement and; (7) evaluate student performance, school and district management, overall district governance and any other areas deemed necessary by the office. Such audits shall be in accordance with standards established by the board of elementary and secondary education, pursuant to section 1B of chapter 69. Following the school district audit, the office shall produce a comprehensive report detailing its findings and observations which the commissioner shall present to the board along with any recommendations for necessary action to be taken by the board. After the board's receipt of the report, the commissioner shall issue recommendations to districts not requiring further action pursuant to sections 1J and 1K of said chapter 69 relative to methods for improving any deficiencies identified by the office. The recommendations shall be transmitted to the reviewed district's superintendent and school committee within 90 days of the board's receipt of the report.
The office shall support the commissioner and the board in carrying out their duties under sections 1J and 1K of chapter 69. Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the ability of the department to contract with individuals, external partners or other entities to support the assistance functions established by said sections 1J and 1K of said chapter 69.
The office shall annually compile a report of best practices from the list of audits conducted that year and distribute the compiled list to all school districts in the commonwealth.
For the purposes of any inspection or audit, the office shall have access to all necessary papers, vouchers, books and records pertaining to a school, including a charter school, a school district or a regional school district. In establishing protocols for the conduct of school or district audits, the office shall, to the extent practicable, minimize the administrative burden on schools and districts by using existing, recently compiled or readily available data sources. Schools, school districts and school personnel shall cooperate with the office for any inspection or audit conducted pursuant to this section including, but not limited to, participating in interviews and producing books and documents. Each school district, including regional school districts, and charter schools shall annually file with the office, on or before October 1, a copy of its current personnel contracts and collective bargaining agreements in a form and manner prescribed by the commissioner. The office shall ensure that any noncompliance with law, misfeasance or malfeasance shall be referred to the commissioner for appropriate action.
The department shall transmit the office's findings, audit reports, recommendations and follow-up reports to the secretary of education, the board of elementary and secondary education, the attorney general and a local public library in the audited districts. The department shall report to the general court the results of its findings, audit reports, recommendations and follow-up reports and file such reports with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate, who shall forward the same to the senate president, the speaker of the house of representatives, the joint committee on education and the house and senate committees on ways and means.