The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
Proposed Regulations on School and District Accountability and Assistance (Amendments to Regulations on Underperforming Schools and School Districts, 603 CMR 2.00)
| To: | Members of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education |
| From: | Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D., Commissioner |
| Date: | February 12, 2010 |
Chapter 12 of the Acts of 2010, An Act Relative to the Achievement Gap, was signed into law on January 18, 2010 and took effect immediately. Its purpose is to foster educational innovation and turn around underperforming schools forthwith. Among other things, the new law makes sweeping changes to the statutes on underperforming schools and school districts, Mass. General Laws chapter 69, sections 1J and 1K.
Over the last year and a half, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has worked with a wide range of stakeholders, including the School and District Accountability and Assistance Advisory Council, to develop a framework for identifying and intervening in the lowest performing schools in order to bring about rapid improvements. The Board has reviewed and discussed the framework at several meetings. This work puts us in a strong position to carry out our responsibilities under the new law.
As I explained to the Board last month, we have to revise our current Regulations on Underperforming Schools and School Districts, 603 CMR 2.00, to carry out the purpose and intent of the newly amended statutes and advance the new system of accountability and assistance for schools and districts. In January, I presented to you one section of the proposed new regulations, on identification of Level 4 (underperforming) schools, as the first step in the process. That regulation is included in the full set of proposed Regulations on Accountability and Assistance for Schools and School Districts that I am presenting this month.
With the Board's approval, we will solicit public comment on the proposed regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act and send them to the Joint Committee on Education as required by Mass. General Laws c. 69, § 1J (attached). We expect to bring the regulations back to the Board for a final vote in April or May 2010.
Deputy Commissioner Karla Brooks Baehr and I will be pleased to respond to your questions at the February 23rd Board meeting.
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