District/School Administration Administration
The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

Proposed Technical Amendments to Regulations on Under-Performing Schools (603 CMR 2.00)

I am recommending that the Board of Education amend the Regulations on Under-Performing Schools and School Districts, 603 CMR 2.00, to incorporate the term "Priority 1 School" as equivalent to the term "chronically under-performing school" in the statute, Mass. Gen. Laws c. 69, § 1J. In practice, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has been using the term "Priority 1 Schools." This proposed amendment to the regulations would formalize it. As the Board has noted, at times the terminology of "under-performing" and "chronically under-performing" schools has been a distraction from the important business of improving teaching and learning in those schools. The proposed change would correspond to the amendment to the regulations that the Board adopted in October 2006, defining "Commonwealth Priority School" as equivalent to the term "under-performing school" used in the statute.

Attached is a copy of the regulations, indicating the amendments that are being proposed. These are technical changes and do not alter the substantive standards in the regulations. Later this year, we may propose amendments to the sections of the regulations dealing with school districts, but it makes sense to defer action on those provisions until the Legislature and the Administration have decided whether and how to change the structure of the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability.

I recommend that the Board review the proposed technical amendments and authorize me to disseminate them for public comment, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. After the public comment period, we will bring the proposed amendments back to the Board later in the spring for a final vote.

Enclosure:    Proposed Technical Amendments to Regulations on Underperforming Schools and Districts (603 CMR 2.00)