North Reading delegation supports Student Opportunity Act

North Reading’s State House delegation is backing a comprehensive education reform bill that will boost the state’s Chapter 70 aid to cities and towns by $1.5 billion over the next seven years while also establishing strong accountability standards to help local school districts close student achievement gaps.

House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading) and Senate Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr (R-Gloucester) said Senate Bill 2412, An Act relative to educational opportunity for students, represents the first major overhaul of the state’s education funding formula since the passage of the landmark 1993 Education Reform Act. The bill passed the House and Senate unanimously on November 20 and is now on Governor Charlie Baker’s desk awaiting his signature.

An early version of the Student Opportunity Act was released by the Joint Committee on Education on September 19. The Senate approved its version of the bill on October 3, while the House followed suit on October 23. Senate Bill 2412 represents a compromise version of the two bills negotiated by a six-member Conference Committee that was appointed on October 28.

“The Student Opportunity Act represents the culmination of many years of work that began with the release of the Foundation Budget Review Commission’s 2015 report, which identified serious deficiencies in the school funding formula,” said Representative Jones. “This bill provides a blueprint that, over time, will help close the achievement gaps between school districts so that every student in the Commonwealth will have access to a quality education, regardless of where they live.”

“The Student Opportunity Act represents not months of analysis and debate but rather years of strong collaboration from Republican and Democrat lawmakers working together to achieve a workable solution that represents a benefit to every school child in every school district in the Commonwealth,” said Senator Tarr. “High quality public education is a cornerstone of our state’s history and it remains a key to our success.”

The Student Opportunity Act requires school districts to develop 3-year plans to address persistent disparities in student achievement, and to submit annual reports to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by April 1 to demonstrate their progress in closing these achievement gaps. It also allows the Commissioner of Education to review each school district’s plan, and requires school districts to amend any plan that does not conform with the new statewide requirements set forth in the bill.

In keeping with the recommendations of the Foundation Budget Review Commission, the $1.5 billion in new Chapter 70 aid will be distributed using a revised formula that will factor in the needs of English learners, low-income students, special education programming, and the municipal costs associated with employee and retiree health care benefits. Senate Bill 2412 also includes language requiring the Foundation Budget Review Commission to convene at least once every 10 years to review the way foundation budgets are calculated and to recommend any needed changes to the formula.

The Student Opportunity Act also:

• raises the annual cap for school building assistance projects to $800 million, and requires future caps to be adjusted to factor in inflation;
• expands funding for out-of-district special education transportation costs;
• establishes a timeline for fully funding charter school reimbursements by Fiscal Year 2023;
• creates a Data Advisory Commission to ensure that resources are allocated effectively at the district and school levels;
• increases special education enrollment and cost assumptions to more accurately reflect district enrollment and costs;
• requires the Secretary of Education to make recommendations to establish statewide and regional targets for student preparedness for workforce and postsecondary education;
• sets financial literacy standards as a statewide educational goal so that all public elementary and secondary school students have an understanding of personal finances; and
• establishes a Twenty-First Century Education program, along with an Advisory Council and Trust Fund, to provide competitive grants to public schools and districts to help address achievement disparities and increase efficiencies.