Supplemental Budget Enacted by the Legislature and Forwarded to the Governor
The Legislature on the last day of the formal session (November 19, 2003) until January 2004 sent H.4330 to the Governor for his approval or disapproval, while amending the rules to allow for their return to address potential overrides of Governor Romney’s vetoes. Slightly in excess of $100 million has been included in the legislation forwarded to the Governor.

MCAS Special Education Appeals Process Modified
Section 119 of H.4330 contains a significant revision of the MCAS special education appeals procedure. The legislation requires the Board of Education to take any action necessary to modify the MCAS/SPED appeals process. The performance appeals process shall provide that a child with a disability shall be eligible for an MCAS appeal if the following criteria are met: (a) the child has taken the Grade 10 MCAS at least three times in each subject area required by the Board of Education for the competency determination and did not achieve a passing score or submitted a portfolio assessment through the MCAS Alternative Assessment at least twice without being granted a competency determination; (b) the child has maintained an adequate attendance level as established by the Department of Education or the child’s days of absences from school in excess of the number allowed by the Department are excused; (c) the child has demonstrated participation in academic support services made available and accessible by or approved by the school district under an individual student success plan or under any other plan designed to strengthen the student’s knowledge and skills in the subjects at issue, or the child’s lack of participation in available academic support services has been related to the child’s disability. As provided in said regulations, the Commissioner may, for good cause, waive any of the eligibility criteria upon the written request of the superintendent.

The regulations shall require that, at the request of the child’s parent or guardian or the student who has reached the age of majority, the superintendent of schools or his designee for the school district in which the student is enrolled shall file an appeal on behalf of a child with a disability provided that the student meets the eligibility criteria set forth in the first paragraph. The superintendent may initiate an appeal for a child with a disability with the consent of the parent, guardian, or student who has reached the age of majority, if the student meets the eligibility criteria set forth in said first paragraph. The superintendent may submit any written comments or evidence relevant to the appeal. Denial of an earlier appeal shall not prevent a new appeal under this section.

The regulations shall require that the superintendent include in the performance appeal evidence of the child’s knowledge and skills in the subject at issue, including:
(1) documentation that the child has met the local graduation criteria established by the local school committee; (2) a recommendation from at least one of the student’s teachers in the area of appeal assessing the level of the student’s knowledge and skills in the subject area at issue; (3) where possible, a meaningful comparison of the student with a group of other students who passed the MCAS in the subject area of the student’s appeal. In the event of an inability to identify an appropriate set of students to enable a meaningful comparison with other students, this clause shall be waived and the superintendent may submit a portfolio of the student’s work in the area of the appeal, as specified by the Commissioner, sufficient to demonstrate whether the student’s knowledge and skills meet or exceed the performance level established by the board of education for the competency determination if the portfolio has been maintained by the school district; (4) documentation that the child’s individual education plan team, if any, with the approval of a parent or guardian of the child, supports the graduation of the student; (5) any additional information that the student’s individual education plan team, if any, with the approval of the student’s parent or guardian, requests the superintendent to submit evidence indicating that the child’s knowledge and skill in the subject area of the appeal meets or exceeds the performance level established by the Board of Education for the competency determination and that the child’s MCAS scores do not accurately measure the student’s abilities; and (6) other supporting information relevant as to whether the student’s knowledge and skills in the subject area(s) of the appeal meet or exceed the performance level established by Board of Education for competency determination, which may include work samples, scores of the child on other standardized tests in the subject area(s), evidence of acceptance to college courses, or other evidence of academic achievement which demonstrates that the child meets the competency determination standard.

Any documentation of an individual education plan team submitted in connection with an MCAS performance appeal shall not constitute a modification of the child’s individual education plan under 34 C.F.R. 300.347 and is therefore not appealable to the Bureau of Special Education Appeals pursuant to 34 C.F.R. 300.507(a) or Chapter 71B of the General Laws. Nothing herein shall limit or expand a child’s rights available under said Chapter 71B, IDEA or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

The Commissioner shall grant the appeal for a child with a disability if there is a preponderance of evidence in the documentation provided in clause (1) to (6), inclusive, and any other evidence submitted by the superintendent that the child’s knowledge and skills in the subject area of the appeal meets or exceeds the performance level established by the Board of Education for the competency determination. The Commissioner shall provide notice of the results of the appeal and, in the case of a denial, written findings, to the student, parents or guardian and the superintendent. The Commissioner’s decision on this appeal shall be final and shall not be subject to further review or appeal to any other entity; except that the regulations shall permit the superintendent to seek reconsideration from the Commissioner.

Budget Contains Money for School Health Services
The Budget allows the Department of Public Health to expend an amount not to exceed $6 million for additional resources for the school health services program.

SBAB Funds Restored
In the 2004 state budget signed into law in July the line item (7052-2005), for general obligation payments for projects that have already received their first annual payment, was reduced by one percent or $3.8 million. H.4330 in Section 129 will fully fund the program by restoring the $3.8 million.

Special Education Circuit Breaker Report
The Commissioner of Education shall report to the legislature on the FY2004 implementation of the special education Circuit Breaker. The report shall include all data available as of January 15, 2004 and include a comparison of claims submitted by each district, the estimated reimbursement rate for said claims, and the amount awarded each district on the basis of that rate. This report shall be filed not later than January 31, 2004.

Chapter 70 Legislative Commission
The Chapter 70 working group shall now submit a preliminary recommendation to the Joint Committee on Education on or before December 12, 2003, according to H.4330.