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House
Bill 507
Update March 2008:
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.
Thoughts
on HB 507
HB
507, a bill filed by Rep. Paul Loscocco (Republican - Eighth Middlesex),
has been assigned to the Education committee. The bill would amend
Section 1I of chapter 69 of the general laws. The bill refers
to students who are "otherwise instructed." Since homeschoolers
in Massachusetts fall under the category of "otherwise instructed"
in the Massachusetts general laws, this bill would affect homeschoolers.
While the text of the bill refers to private and parochial students
as well as to otherwise instructed students, the title of the
bill says, "Home Schooling."
The bill (text below) would:
• require schools to allow homeschoolers and private school
students residing in their district to take the Massachusetts
Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exam;
• allow use of public funds to pay for the administration
of the test;
• require schools to award diplomas to homeschoolers who
pass MCAS and request a diploma;
• allow schools to offer "remedial" help for homeschoolers
who "fail… to meet the requirements of the competency
determination;"
AHEM's
position: As parents who have chosen to "otherwise educate"
our children, we feel this bill is unnecessary, and could possibly
create problems for homeschoolers in exchange for dubious benefit.
In
reading the bill, we find some grey areas to consider:
This bill could create administrative confusion for homeschoolers
and school officials.
• Is this bill asking for special treatment of homeschoolers
by requiring schools to issue diplomas based solely on passing
MCAS, thereby rendering local graduation requirements meaningless?
Or would superintendents feel the need to fulfill their mandate
to assure that every student receiving a high school diploma in
their district fulfills local graduation requirements, which include
coursework as well as a passing grade on the MCAS, and so make
excessive demands on homeschoolers?
• How might the requirement that schools issue diplomas
to homeschoolers who pass the MCAS affect the expectations schools
have for all homeschoolers in their district, any of whom
may decide to opt for the exam at some future date? Would approval
of plans become tied to how closely they are aligned to the Massachusetts
curriculum frameworks? Would superintendents feel obligated to
disapprove of future homeschool plans for homeschooled students
who have failed MCAS?
• How might superintendents respond to homeschoolers who
fail the exam, given that the current text of the bill appears
to allow the school to decide whether to provide a remedial plan
to a homeschooled student who fails MCAS? Although the bill allows
private and parochial students to take MCAS, those students are
not included in the section that addresses remedial plans.
Other concerns:
• According to the Massachusetts Department of Education,
"…the MCAS tests, … are designed to measure
the academic progress of students enrolled in publicly supported
schools and the performance of those schools." The MCAS
is intended to reflect how well actual schools are performing
in implementing the frameworks outlined in the Education Reform
Act of 1993, as well as to assess whether individual students
are being educated sufficiently through the application of the
frameworks. Might using a test that was created for these very
specific purposes as nothing more than a hoop to jump through
to be issued a diploma from a school the student did not actually
attend feel to school officials like mocking the test and the
system it is designed to evaluate? Might it create antagonism
between homeschoolers and schools?
• The federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB),
requires public school students to fulfill a range of requirements
for their school to be eligible for federal funding. These
include the statewide MCAS exam; providing the same academic standards
for all schools and children in the State; and "adequate
yearly progress," of which measurements include graduation
rates for high schools and attendance rates for elementary and
middle schools. Would it be a violation of NCLB to issue a diploma
to students who may not have met all the federal requirements?
Whether it actually is or not, will superintendents be confused
and concerned about this in practice, and make homeschoolers'
lives more difficult because of that confusion?
• Whenever a bill is introduced, the possibility exists
that it will be modified as it passes through the legislative
process. In the current climate of high stakes testing and
greater accountability, is it in homeschoolers' best interests
to push for a bill that would require spending state and local
time and money on homeschoolers, with no benefit to the public
school system? Does this bill create an opportunity and justification
for our legislature to demand greater regulation of homeschooling
in Massachusetts?
Also
consider:
• High school diplomas are not necessary for homeschoolers
to pursue college or other goals in the majority of cases.
For most of homeschooling history in Massachusetts, homeschoolers
have gone on to pursue goals after homeschooling, including matriculating
at selective universities, without diplomas.
• Most colleges are familiar with homeschooled applicants,
and are primarily interested in their portfolios, the meat of
the application, considering a high school diploma or GED a bureaucratic
box to check off in some cases. It is wise to check with places
of interest, such as candidate colleges, workplaces, or the military
to find out what their acceptance and matriculation requirements
are.
• High school diplomas are not necessary for federal financial
aid. See Homeschoolers
and Federal Student Aid.
• In cases where diplomas are required, alternatives to
public high school diplomas are currently available to homeschoolers.
The General Education Development Diploma (GED) already exists
as a widely accepted credential, as well as other alternatives
to public high school diplomas, such as parent issued diplomas,
or enrollment in an umbrella school or a correspondence school
that offers a diploma program.
• The GED is an appropriate test for students such as homeschoolers,
who have embraced an alternative education style, to measure their
knowledge and academic skills against those of today's traditional
high school graduates. The GED Tests measure knowledge in five
different areas: language arts, writing; social studies; science;
reading; and mathematics. Statistics: About two-fifths of graduating
high school seniors don't pass the tests under current score requirements.
About one in twenty first-year college students is a GED graduate.
(http://www.acenet.edu/clll/ged/index.cfm)
How
to respond
If
you'd like to voice your opinion about this bill, the most effective
thing you can do is to let your own state senator and representative
know your position. (Find their names and contact info here: www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php)
Best
is a letter in your own words, but even just a phone call or
email stating your position, no reason given, is better than saying
nothing at all. If you write a letter, it can also help to
copy your letter to the Chairs of the Joint committee on Education,
Senator Robert Antonioni and Representative Patricia Haddad.
If your
senator or representative happens to be a member of the Joint
committee on Education (see members here:
www.ahem.info/CommitteeonEducation
ArtsHumanities.htm), then we urge you to take the extra time
to write him or her a letter in your own words, as your opinion
will carry more weight than the average Joe's.
If you
would send AHEM a copy of your letter, or just let us know that
you've made your voice heard, we'd be most grateful. Please drop
us a line at info@ahem.info
or PO Box 1307, Arlington, MA 02474.
Points
to consider when formulating your thoughts:
• HB 507places an administrative and fiscal burden on
the public schools.
• The MCAS is intended to reflect how well actual schools
are performing in implementing the frameworks outlined in the
Education Reform Act of 1993, as well as to assess whether individual
students are being educated sufficiently through the application
of the frameworks. The MCAS were developed for a specific purpose,
one that is beyond the scope of homeschooling.
• Oversight of home education is a local function in Massachusetts,
enabling school authorities to exercise discretion and flexibility
in evaluating home education plans and student progress. This
bill interferes with local oversight by requiring schools to issue
diplomas to homeschoolers who pass the MCAS and request a diploma.
We are concerned that this requirement could create administrative
confusion for homeschoolers and school officials.
• Are the requirements of the bill in sync with the federal
No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which requires public
school students to fulfill a range of requirements for their school
to be eligible for federal funding?
• When we chose to homeschool, we did it with eyes open,
making the decision to forego public high school diplomas in favor
of the freedom that homeschooling allows us and our children.
• Most colleges are familiar with homeschooled applicants,
who have chosen an alternative form of education. Diplomas are
not necessary for college admission or to qualify for federal
financial aid.
Text
of H 507
AN ACT RELATIVE TO HOME SCHOOLING.
Be it
enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION
1. Section 1I of chapter 69 of the General Laws, as appearing
in the 2004 official edition, is hereby amended by inserting after
the sixth paragraph the following two paragraphs:
The
superintendent of every public school district in the commonwealth
shall on or before October 15 each year notify in writing the
headmaster of each private and parochial school and the parent
or guardian of every student who is otherwise instructed within
the district of the opportunity for said private or parochial
school or otherwise instructed student voluntarily to participate
in and with the statewide assessment of students in grades 4,
8, and 10 as authorized in section 1I of chapter 69; provided,
however, that the results of any such assessment tests by private
and parochial school students or of any student who is otherwise
instructed shall not be used to evaluate the performance of any
public school within the school district or the performance of
the school district and all records of such results shall be collected
and maintained separately by the department; provided further,
however, that no public funds shall be expended by the public
school district for any costs associated with the acquisition,
distribution, or administration of said tests relative to any
student of each such private and parochial school unless that
student resides in the public school district where such private
or parochial school is located. Any private or parochial school
or the parents or guardians of any student attending any private
or parochial school or of any student who is otherwise instructed
electing to have any student participate in said testing shall
notify the superintendent of the decision no later than November
15, with any such participation at all times to be voluntary.
Any
student who is otherwise instructed pursuant to this section and
who requests a diploma from a public high school shall be required
to satisfy the requirements of the competency determination established
in section 1D of chapter 69 as a condition for receiving said
diploma, which upon satisfaction of such requirements of competency
determination shall be granted; provided, however, that the assessment
instrument used to verify competency determination shall be given
at state expense; and provided further that in the case of any
student who is otherwise instructed and fails to meet the requirements
of the competency determination, the school district may, but
shall not be required to, provide a remedial plan as defined in
subsection (i) of section 1D of chapter 69; provided, however,
that nothing herein shall limit the rights of any student otherwise
instructed who re-enrolls as a student within the public school
district.
Links
Section 1I of chapter 69 of the general laws
http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/69-1i.htm
Section 1D of chapter 69 of the general laws
http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/69-1d.htm
Back to Legislative
Issues
The
information on this website does not constitute legal advice;
it is provided for informational purposes only.
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