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Legislative
Update
- March 2008
The current legislative session, which got underway in January
of 2007, will end in December of 2008. There has been activity
on several bills that AHEM has been tracking.
The
following bills have been included in SB 2462, "An Act to
Improve Dropout Prevention and Reporting of Graduation Rates":
•
HB
394, "An Act Raising the Compulsory Attendance Age to 18"
•
HB
401, "An Act Relative to School Age Attendance Requirements"
•
HB
402, "An Act to Prevent Students From Dropping Out of School"
•
HB
463, "An Act Relative to Encouraging Students to Stay in
School"
•
HB
576, "An Act to Increase the Mandatory School Age"
•
HB
577, "An Act Relative to the Development of a Comprehensive
Strategy to Prevent Students from Dropping Out of School"
•
SB
304, "An Act Relative to School Attendance"
•
SB
329, "An Act Changing the Maximum Required Age for School
Attendance"
•
SB
343, "An Act to Encourage School Attendance and to Strengthen
Parental Responsibility"
•
SB
357, "An Act Relative to School Attendance"
•
SB
366, "An Act to Amend School Attendance"
This
new bill, SB 2462, makes tools available to school districts for
accurate reporting of high school graduation and drop out data.
It also establishes the "Graduation and Dropout Commission"
to study dropout prevention and dropout recovery programs throughout
the state. This commission will make recommendations on certain
issues, such as raising the compulsory attendance age from 16
to 18. The text of the new bill can be found at http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/senate/185/st02/st02462.htm.
HB 400,
"An Act Relative to the Awarding of High School Diplomas,"
has been included in HB 4536, an order that gives the Education
committee the authority to sit during the recess of the General
Court to investigate and study issues relating to MCAS. The committee
will make recommendations to the General Court on or before 12/31/08.
The text of this order can be found at http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/house/185/ht04pdf/ht04536.pdf.
HB 416,
"An Act Providing That Parents and Legal Guardians be Held
Responsible for School Attendance of Children in Their Care,"
is now part of HB 4596, a study order relative to authorizing
the committee on Education to make an investigation and study
of certain House documents concerning governance, parents and
bilingual education.
HB 507,
"An Act Relative to Homeschooling" and HB 523, "An
Act Permitting Non Public School Students to take MCAS Exam"
have become part of HB 4530. This bill gives the DOE responsibility
for investigating the feasibility and costs associated with allowing
non-public school and homeschool students to voluntarily be allowed
to take MCAS in grade 10. The DOE will report their findings by
November 15th, 2008. We have included the full text HB 4530 below.
"AN
ACT PERMITTING NON PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS TO TAKE MCAS EXAM.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in
General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as
follows:
The Department of Education shall issue a report, not later
than November 15, 2008, on the feasibility and costs associated
with non-public school students and home schooled students in
grade 10 voluntarily taking the MCAS exam at a non-public school
site; and provided further, that said report shall be provided
to the secretary of administration and finance, the secretary
of education, the chair of the house ways and means committee,
the chair of the senate ways and means committee, the house
and senate chairs of the joint committee on education."
In MA
law, homeschoolers are referred to as "otherwise instructed"
in the compulsory attendance statute, Chapter 76, section 1. AHEM
has contacted the Research Director of the Education committee,
Nate Mackinnon, to ask that the term "home schooled"
either be replaced with the term "otherwise instructed"
or left out completely if otherwise instructed students are considered
as "non-public school students." Mr. Mackinnon is going
to check with counsel about whether changing the term is advisable
(it may not be necessary since the bill does not amend a statute),
but if it is, they will change the terminology. He says the intent
in including it was a gesture to assure homeschoolers they were
not being overlooked as a population, should voluntarily taking
the MCAS become an option.
There
has been no activity on HB 399, "An Act Relative to Full
Day Kindergarten" and HB 527, "An Act Relative to Mandatory
Minimum Age for School Attendance."
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information on this website does not constitute legal advice;
it is provided for informational purposes only.
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