MASC

MASC membership is strongly encouraged to contact House Education Committee Chair Marty Walz, House Ways & Means Chair Charlie Murphy and your own legislators and ask them to support amendment 14 to the pending House version of the State Budget. This  amendment, offered by Rep. Kevin Murphy (D-Lowell),  is the MASC-sponsored H.481 “An Act Relative  to Special Education” bill that would required the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to pay for a residential placement mandated by them until an IEP concludes that a current day collaborative or public entity placement no longer meets the needs of the child. The budget (and this amendment) is scheduled to be taken up this week, so please contact  your representatives as soon as possible.

Rationale: Prior to a 2004 Advisory from the Department of Education, placeme nts by DCFS were addressed as described in MASC-sponsored H.481/budget amendment 14. As a result of the DESE Advisory, school districts are now paying millions of dollars for DCFS placements at a time of reduced funding of the Circuit Breaker and significantly fewer resources at the local level.

Contact information:
Marty Walz, Chair, House Education Committee
Phone: 617-722-2070
Fax: 617-626-0699
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Charles Murphy, Chair, House Ways & Means Committee
Phone: 617-722-2990
Fax: 617- 722-2998
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