2021 Claim Form Reporting

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's school finance regulations require Commonwealth charter schools report enrollment as of February 15^th of each year. This reporting represents the final claim period for fiscal year 2021 and is used to determine each school's final, June tuition payment.

The claim form workbook should be available for download from the Charter School Claim Form Drop Box by Monday, February 8, 2021. Drop Box link: https://gateway.edu.state.ma.us. The file is named 21febxxxx.xls, where "xxxx" is the school's four digit LEA. Inside each workbook users will find several tools to assist them in data reporting. There is an instruction sheet , a FAQ (frequently asked questions) sheet, a Certification Form, as well as the main spreadsheet, the claim form.

The submission deadline for the claim form is 5:00 p.m. Monday, March 1, 2021. Any charter school that fails to submit their claim form by this date and time may be subject to the withholding of their March 31, 2021 tuition payment.

Please keep in mind the following requirements when completing this critical data submission:

• New in 2021: Pupils who gained admission through sibling preference must be identified. Several data points are required to identify these pupils, such as their original offer of enrollment and the first date of their attendance. Incomplete sibling preference identification may lead to loss of tuition for both the individual pupil and possibly all sibling enrollment from their sending district. Please see the claim form Instructions and FAQ worksheets for guidance.

• Any pupil that has been enrolled at any time, and for any length of time, since the first day of school through February 15^th, must be included on the claim form;

• As many data fields on the claim form are not collected by SIMS, data from the FY2020 charter school database and the FY2021 October 2020 sibling claim will be provided, where available. The school is responsible for verifying the accuracy of all pupil data, as well as providing the remainder of the information; and

• The claim form submission is considered incomplete without the concurrent submission of a signed, original Certification Form attesting to the accuracy of the data submitted. The signed, original Certification Form should be submitted via postal mail to:

  • Hadley Cabral
    Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
    School Finance Office
    75 Pleasant Street
    Malden, Massachusetts 02148

If you have any questions, I may be reached at (781) 338-6586 or by email at Hadley.B.Cabral@mass.gov.