Districts Subject to Changes in the Charter School Cap — Lowest 10 Percent Ranking

The Massachusetts charter school law establishes limits on the amount of Commonwealth charter school tuition that can be charged to a sending school district in any given year. The limits are expressed as a percentage of the district's net school spending (NSS) for that year. NSS represents the district's spending on school operations from state and local general fund revenues, with the exception of certain types of spending, such as transportation, or funding by grants.

For the majority of districts, the limit for Commonwealth charter school tuition payments is 9 percent of the district's NSS. The charter school law, however, provides for a higher limit in school districts ranked in the lowest 10 percent of all statewide student performance scores based on the MCAS results from the two most recent school years. [See MGL c.71, s.89(i); 603 CMR 1.04(9).] The limit on charter school tuition costs for districts in the lowest 10 percent is 18 percent of the district's NSS. There are no comparable tuition limits for Horace Mann charter schools.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 district ranking will remain in place for the 2021, 2022, and 2023 district rankings as set forth in Charter 29, Section 59 of the Acts of 2021. A new district ranking with be made available in 2024 based on 2022 and 2023 MCAS results.

The current district ranking :

• is based on 2018 and 2019 MCAS results;
• informs the charter application cycle for 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24, with Board decisions on new charter applications and expansion requests to be made in the winter of 2022, 2023, and 2024;
• establishes tuition limits for the 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25 school years.

The ranking is not intended to be used for any other evaluative purpose and is unrelated to the performance determinations made for schools and districts within the state's accountability system.

Please contact the Office of Charter Schools and School Redesign for further information at 781-338-3227 or charterschools@doe.mass.edu .

Lowest 10% District Rankings from Prior Charter Application Cycles

Last Updated: August 23, 2021