Goals 2000 Five Year Master Plan
Goal 4 Table of Contents
Streamline & Ensure Compliance with State and Federal
Regulations
Line-Item 1: Opportunity-to- Learn Standards ( OTL) Regulations, and Compliance
Line-Item 2: Foundation Aid (Chapter 70)
Line-Item 3: Special Education Reimbursements
Line-Item 4: Special Assistance
Line-Item 5: Transportation Reimbursements
Line-Item 6: Child Nutrition Programs
Line-Item 7: School Building Assistance
Line-Item 8: Racial Balance Programs
Over the next five years, as performance standards are established for
students, educators, schools and school districts, the necessity of mandating
programmatic inputs will become less important. Schools that evidence
sufficiently high performance may not need to meet strict regulations
concerning such areas as school spending or transportation. Nonetheless, there
do exist a set of requirements for which state and/or federal requirements will
remain in place for the foreseeable future.
Goal Four seeks to coordinate all state and federal regulations and
requirements into a single integrated process. These so-called
"Opportunity-to-Learn Standards" address programmatic imperatives that the
state or federal government have determined to be so universally important that
they should be applied to all schools.
Over the next two years, the Department will conduct a comprehensive
review of all relevant state and federal requirements to simplify, clarify,
coordinate, and where appropriate eliminate regulations. The Commonwealth will
seek federal waivers and pursue "Ed Flex" status from the United States
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to further streamline unnecessary regulations. Data
collection, program quality review, audits, and compliance enforcement will
also be coordinated into a single integrated system. The Department will
assist schools in meeting all aspects of these regulations with grants,
technical assistance, workshops, and other resources.
Schools and school districts with approved plans [see Initiative #24] and
satisfactory performance [see Initiative #20] will be eligible to receive
further regulatory relief. As part of the Commonwealth's Ed Flex application,
the state will apply for the authority to lift all regulations (except those
tied to safety, health, or students' rights) from schools and districts that
are proceeding on approved improvement plans.
Initiative
# 38:
The first step towards the development of integrated requirements, will be
to establish unified Opportunity-to-Learn (OTL) Standards. Over the next
eighteen months, staff from the Executive Office of Education and Department of
Education will work with the Board of Education and Commission on Regulatory
Relief to conduct a comprehensive review of all state and federal laws and
regulations. In addition, Massachusetts will apply to the USDE to be
designated as one of six pilot "Ed-Flex" states to further reduce the
regulatory environment. The result of this process will be a single,
integrated document that clearly articulates the minimum standards that all
schools and districts are expected to meet to remain in compliance with the
law. OTL Standards will establish uniform, minimum requirements in such areas
as: -
- Bilingual Education
- Civil Rights
- Early Childhood Education
- Enrollment
- Net School Spending
- Personnel
- School Administration
- Transportation
- Student Learning Time
- School Facilities
- School Nutrition and Health
- Students' Rights
- Special Education
Next, a coordinated system will be developed using technology to establish
a single, streamlined system of OTL data collection and reporting, fully
integrated with the broader Mass EdOnline plan. Audits, program quality review,
complaint resolution, and compliance enforcement will also be coordinated into
integrated systems. The objectives of this process will be to: 1) restrict OTL Standards to
those areas which are critical to improving student learning; 2) communicate
these standards in a clear and concise manner; 3) simplify the process by which
the state ensures that schools comply with these standards; and 4) work with
school districts to ensure that all schools comply with the standards.
Initiative
# 39
While the intention is to integrate school finance administration with
other OTL Standards, the complexities and importance of this process require a
distinct focus. In addition to generating clear expectations and projections
for net school spending and state aid, Department staff will work with school
districts to oversee the administration of tuition transfers for school choice
and charter schools.
In addition to the Foundation Budget, funds are distributed to schools to
fulfill certain other state requirements:
Initiative
# 40: Special Education Residential Placements (50% Reimbursements)
School districts with students with disabilities that require residential
placements are eligible for 50% reimbursement for the costs of such students'
programs.
Initiative
# 41: Private Special Education for State Wards
Subject to appropriations, the state funds the full tuition costs for
abandoned children and other wards of the state who are placed in private day
or residential special education schools.
Initiative
# 42: Special Education Reimbursements for State Wards
For the past two years, the state has provided additional assistance to all
school districts that educate state wards. However, since these communities
can count these students towards the calculation of their Foundation Budget, in
future years these funds will be targeted to reimburse those additional special
education expenses the district may incur beyond the assumptions of the
Foundation Budget.
Initiative
# 43: Special Education for Students in Institutional Schools
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education oversees the administration of special
education services for over 2000 students currently residing in over sixty
institutional settings. The Department coordinates these services with other
agencies such as the Department of Youth Services, County Houses of Corrections
and the Department of Public Health.
One of the major innovations of Education Reform is the consolidation of
numerous special assistance programs into the Foundation Budget. Although some
special assistance programs may always be necessary to meet special
circumstances not addressed by the Foundation Budget system, all efforts will
be made to minimize the number of these programs.
Initiative
# 44: Foundation Budget Special Assistance
No public policy formula, no matter how complex, can accommodate every
situation. The Foundation Budget is no different. In order to accommodate
unique circumstances (such as the impact of the Fort Devens closure on
neighboring schools) up to 5% of each year's new Foundation Budget allocation
will be held back from the general formula distribution. These funds will be
distributed by the Board of Education to assist school districts unfairly
burdened by the Foundation Budget formula. An approval system for these grants
will be established with the Legislature and the Governor.
Initiative
# 45: Charter School Start-Up Grants
In FY'95, Goals 2000 funds were used to provide planning grants to fourteen
charter schools. In FY'96, an initial grant is being provided to each of the
fourteen initial charter schools to assist them in opening their doors in
September. Additional supplemental funds may also be distributed in future
years.
Initiative
# 46: WPI Math and Science Academy
For several years, the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has engaged in
a cooperative relationship with area schools to bring together local teachers
with gifted and talented students in a special academy. By combining a
professional development institute with an alternative school focused on a
specific target group of students, the WPI Academy provides a model for both
professional development and charter schools.
Initiative
# 47: Temporary Food Assistance
The state has appropriated administrative funds for the operation of a food
assistance program similar to the federal Emergency Food Assistance Program
(TEFAP). The need for this appropriation arose out of a sever reduction in the
federal program
Initiative
# 48: General Transportation Reimbursement
In general, school districts must provide transportation only for students
grades K-6 who live more than 2 miles from a school. School districts are
eligible for state reimbursement for the costs associated with: 1)
transportation of students over 1.5 miles; 2) transportation of students with
special needs as called for in their individual education plan; and 3)
transportation of students called for by a state approved bilingual education
plan or racial balance plan [see Initiatives #55-57]. Private schools are also eligible for reimbursement of transportation
costs.
Initiative
# 49: Regional Transportation Reimbursement
Although regional school districts are eligible for full reimbursement for
all transportation costs, the actual level of reimbursement is prorated
according to the annual state appropriation.
Initiative
# 50: School Choice Transportation Reimbursements
As called for by the Education Reform Act, for the first two years of
implementation of statewide school choice, the so-called "sending" districts
were eligible for partial reimbursement for the funds they lost when tuition
costs were transferred to receiving districts. Beginning in FY'96, sending
districts are no longer eligible for tuition reimbursement. Transportation costs associated with school choice will be reimbursed
either to the providing school district at 150% of average pupil transportation
costs or directly to the parents at $.28 per mile.
Initiative
# 51
The Child Nutrition Program overseen by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
supports schools in administering the following seven programs: 1) School
Breakfast; 2) School Lunch; 3) Special Milk; 4) Child and Adult Care Food; 5)
Summer Food Service; 6) Food Distribution; and 7) Nutrition Education and
Training. Since 1992, the Department has administered the School Food Service
Outreach Campaign.
In 1948 the Commonwealth enacted Chapter 645, the School Building Assistance
Act. In decades that have followed, the state has assisted over a thousand
school construction or renovation projects. Each year the state authorizes a
particular level of spending to be appropriated the following year. The annual
appropriation pays the first year of the bonded amount. All subsequent
payments are made out of total debt service account.
Initiative
# 52: School Building Assistance (Desegregation Projects)
In 1991, the School Building Assistance Act was amended to place
desegregation related projects into a separate fund. The highest priority for
SBA funding goes to those projects related to state approved desegregation
plans [see Initiative #56]. In addition to rising to the top of the funding
list, these projects are eligible for the maximum reimbursement level, 90%.
Over the last three years since desegregation projects were placed in a
separate account, the state has fully funded all such approved projects.
Twenty new projects are expected to be filed for FY'96 that would need to be
authorized the following year.
Initiative
# 53: School Building Assistance (Non-Desegregation Projects)
School districts that do not have a state approved desegregation plan are
eligible for reimbursement on a sliding scale for all new construction and
major renovation projects. New construction receives higher priority than
major renovations. For the past several years, approved projects have had
their position "frozen" in relationship to other projects and funded a year or
two later. A substantial increase in annual authorization will be needed to keep pace
with the growing demand for new schools. Over fifty projects are currently on
the approved priority list and an additional hundred are expected to be filed
soon. The existing demands on the program have already made funding of major
renovation projects increasingly unrealistic. The impact of technology, new
teaching styles, and the emergence of the school's role as a human service
center will further challenge this system.
Initiative
# 54: School Building Assistance - Annual Debt Service
The annual debt service for those SBA projects currently receiving state
reimbursements is over $150,000,000. If the state expands the program to keep
pace with the growing demand, this annual liability is expected to grow to over
$200,000,000 by the Year 2000.
Initiative
# 55: School Building Assistance - Emergency Projects
In addition to the general SBA process, separate funds are reserved for
special assistance for emergency projects.
Initiative
# 56: Enrollment Projections and Facility Planning
Over the next five years the Commonwealth will become more proactive in
planning and prioritizing SBA funds. In 1994, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
conducted an initial statewide survey of school facilities. The results of
that survey will be integrated with statewide enrollment projects to develop a
comprehensive state plan.
In 1965, in response to the Willis-Harrington Report, the state enacted the
Racial Balance Act. That Act established the state's responsibilities to hold
school committees accountable for intra-district racial balance. The Act
established a state standard in which any district with a school or schools
with over 51% minority students would be required to file a racial balance plan
for State Board of Education approval. In 1974 the Act was amended to create
three distinct programs: Section One established Equal Education Improvement
Grants to districts with state Board approved desegregation plans. Section
Seven established state funding for METCO in Boston and Springfield. Section
Eight established Magnet School Grants for communities who are planning or
beginning to implement a racial balance plan. More recently, an additional
incentive was added for schools to file racial balance plans by increasing the
reimbursement rate for school construction projects included in approved
plans.
Over the next five years, in light of Education Reform, the state will need
to define a new role for itself to advance this agenda. During the 1995-96
school year, the Department will undertake a comprehensive review of the METCO
program and develop a long-range plan for racial balance.
Initiative
# 57: Equal Education Improvement Grants
School districts with state approved racial balance plans are eligible to
receive Equal Education Improvement Grants to increase racial balance and
improve student learning for minority students.
Initiative
# 58: METCO
For twenty years the state has supported the METCO program by providing
funds to participating school districts that accept minority students from
Boston or Springfield. While the program has had many successes, the new
context established by the Education Reform Act creates the need for a
comprehensive review of the program's objectives, administration, and future.
Specifically, the introduction of statewide school choice has exacerbated
racial imbalance in some communities and created inequities in the METCO
funding mechanism. In 1994 the Board of Education voted to conduct a comprehensive review of
METCO and requested the Commissioner to develop recommendations for a new
statewide policy on racial balance. This review will focus on both the
management and implementation of METCO and its relation to other Education
Reform initiatives.
Initiative
# 59: Magnet Education Grants
School districts that are planning or beginning to implement a racial
balance plan are eligible to apply for Magnet Education Grants. These funds can
be used to develop the district's desegregation plan or to fund magnet programs
that are part of the approved plan. More recently, these grants are now used
to fund parent education centers for those districts that use an intra-district
controlled choice plan as part of their racial balance plan.
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last updated: May 15, 1995
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