Massachusetts Statutes

Section 71F. In any city or town which accepts this section, all monies received by the school committee as tuition payments for nonresident students and as state reimbursements for students who are foster care children shall be deposited with the treasurer of the town or city an…

Section 72. The school committee may prepare and sell lunches at one or more school buildings for the pupils and teachers of the public schools at such prices as it deems reasonable.

Section 72A. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings: ''Federal community eligibility provision'', as described in 7 C.F.R. 245.9(f). ''Identified student percentage'', as defined in 7 C.F.…

Section 73. The superintendent of schools may, unless the committee votes otherwise, direct the closing of schools under his supervision in order that teachers may attend a meeting of a county association of teachers or an institute, conference, or convention held under the direc…

Section 74. This chapter shall not affect the right of any corporation established in a town to manage any estate or funds given or obtained for the purpose of supporting schools therein, or in any wise affect such estate or funds.

Section 75. If the school committee of any city or town determines that sufficient need exists in such city or town for providing a course of school instruction beyond the regular high school course of instruction, it shall submit in writing a plan of such course to the state dep…

Section 76. Any such school committee shall establish as one of the rules of admission to the benefits of such extended course of instruction that the persons therein enrolled, or responsible agents acting in their behalf, shall pay into the treasury of such city or town, toward …

Section 77. Two or more cities or towns in which the establishment of such extended course of instruction has been voted and approved as hereinabove provided may jointly establish and maintain such a course for the accommodation of said municipalities. The management and control …

Section 79. Any city or town may use the designation ''Junior College'' with respect to its maintenance of such extended course of instruction at a particular school therein, and the school committee of such city or town may, subject to the approval of the board of higher educati…

Section 7A. The state treasurer shall annually, on or before November twentieth, pay to the several towns subject to appropriation, the sums required as reimbursement for expenses approved by the commissioner of education, incurred by any town for the transportation of pupils not…

Section 7B. To provide for the reimbursement of part of the cost not reimbursable under section seven A incurred directly by a school department or indirectly by a city or town on account of an assessment made to meet the cost of maintaining a public transportation system used fo…

Section 7C. No financial assistance shall be provided by the commonwealth for the purchase of buses or the operation thereof to any applicant for such assistance unless such applicant and the secretary of transportation and construction shall have first entered into an agreement …

Section 80. Every teacher employed in any public school whose duties commence prior to twelve o'clock noon, shall be allowed a thirty-minute lunch period between the hours of ten o'clock in the forenoon and one o'clock in the afternoon, and shall not be required to perform any du…

Section 81. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections seventy-five to seventy-nine, inclusive, no junior college shall be established by a city or town after January first, nineteen hundred and fifty-nine.

Section 82. The right of students to freedom of expression in the public schools of the commonwealth shall not be abridged, provided that such right shall not cause any disruption or disorder within the school. Freedom of expression shall include without limitation, the rights an…

Section 83. School officials shall not abridge the rights of students as to personal dress and appearance except if such officials determine that such personal dress and appearance violate reasonable standards of health, safety and cleanliness.

Section 84. No student shall be suspended, expelled, or otherwise disciplined on account of marriage, pregnancy, parenthood or for conduct which is not connected with any school-sponsored activities; provided, however, that in the case of a pregnant student, the school committee …

Section 85. The board of education may adopt guidelines to implement the provisions of sections eighty-two to eighty-four, inclusive. School committees shall adopt rules and regulations consistent with guidelines of the board of education and the provisions of sections eighty-two…

Section 86. The provisions of sections eighty-three to eighty-five, inclusive, shall apply only to cities and towns which accept the same.

Section 87. The score of any group intelligence test administered to a student enrolled in a public school shall be removed from the record of said student at the end of the school year in which such test was so administered.

Section 88. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, all public high schools shall offer the same student information and on-campus recruiting opportunities to representatives of state or United States armed services as they offer to nonmilitary recruiters.

Section 89. (a) As used in this section the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:— ''Board'', the board of elementary and secondary education. ''Charter school'', commonwealth charter schools and Horace Mann charter sch…

Section 90. A parent or guardian of twins or higher order multiples may, if the children are in the same grade level at the same school request that the children be placed in the same classroom or in separate classrooms. The school may recommend classroom placement to the parents…

Section 91. (a) The term ''Recovery High School'' shall mean a public school or collaborative program for students diagnosed with substance use disorder or dependency, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV–TR, that provides: (1) a comprehensiv…

Section 92. (a) An Innovation School shall be a public school, operating within a public school district, that is established for the purpose of improving school performance and student achievement through increased autonomy and flexibility. An Innovation School may be establishe…

Section 93. Every public school providing computer access to students shall have a policy regarding internet safety measures to protect students from inappropriate subject matter and materials that can be accessed via the internet and shall notify the parents or guardians of all …

Section 94. (a) As used in this section the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:— ''Board'', the board of elementary and secondary education. ''Commissioner'', the commissioner of elementary and secondary education. ''…

Section 95. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:- ''Federal military reservation'', the Joint Base Cape Cod and Hanscom Air Force Base. ''Federal military reservation students'', childr…

Section 96. Each public school shall have a policy regarding substance use prevention and the education of its students about the dangers of substance abuse. The school shall notify the parents or guardians of all students attending the school of the policy and shall post the pol…

Section 97. (a) Subject to appropriation, each city, town, regional school district, charter school or vocational school district shall utilize a verbal screening tool to screen pupils for substance use disorders. Screenings shall occur on an annual basis and occur at 2 different…

Section 98. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings: ''Community-based organization'', a public or private non-profit organization that: (i) is representative of a community or sig…

Section 98A. The department shall make available to school districts, charter schools, approved private day or residential schools and collaborative schools resources relative to antisemitism and societal bias, which shall include, but not be limited to: (i) model and evidence-ba…

Section 99. (a) For the purposes of this section, ''military-connected student'' shall mean a student who is an unemancipated person whose parent or guardian is: (i) a current, reserve or former member of the United States Army, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, Uni…

Section 1. Findings and Declarations The People of Massachusetts find and declare that: (a) The English language is the common public language of the United States of America and of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is spoken by the vast majority of Massachusetts residents, a…

Section 10. Teachers and administrators assigned to a language acquisition program shall be properly qualified under state law for the program type. The department shall establish endorsements for educators who have completed coursework and field-based experience to provide instr…

Section 11. The department shall develop: (i) benchmarks for attaining English proficiency for English learners, (ii) guidelines to assist school districts in the identification of English learners who do not meet benchmarks and (iii) an English learning success template for use …

Section 12. School districts shall, at least annually, inform the parents or legal guardians of English learners of their rights to: (i) choose a language acquisition program among those offered by the school district under section 4; (ii) request a new language acquisition progr…

Section 2. Definitions As used in this chapter, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise: ''Commissioner'', the commissioner of elementary and secondary education. ''Department'', the department of elementary and secondar…

Section 3. Census School districts shall annually ascertain, under regulations prescribed by the department, the number of English learners within their school system in grades pre-kindergarten through twelve, and shall classify them according to grade level, the language of whic…

Section 4. English language education [ First paragraph effective until August 5, 2025. For text effective August 5, 2025, see below.] All children in Massachusetts public schools who are not proficient in English shall be taught English. Subject to the exceptions in section 12, …

Section 5. (a) The parent or legal guardian of a student eligible to enroll in an English learner program may select any available English learner program offered by the school district; provided, however, that the program shall be appropriate for the age and grade level of the s…

Section 6. Legal standing and parental enforcement (a) As set forth in Section 4 of this chapter, all school children are to be provided at their assigned school with an English language public education. The parent or legal guardian of any school child shall have legal standing …

Section 6A. A school district or charter school operating a language acquisition program for English learners serving 100 or more English learners or in which English learners comprise at least 5 per cent of the district's or charter school's student population, whichever is less…

Section 7. Standardized testing for monitoring education programs Each English learner shall participate, consistent with section 1I of chapter 69, in the statewide assessment system. A nationally-normed test of English proficiency shall similarly be administered at least once ea…

Section 7A. The department shall conduct on-site visits to school districts at least once every 6 years for the purposes of evaluating the effectiveness of programs serving English learners and to validate evidence of educational outcomes. The evaluation shall include, but shall …

Section 8. Community-based English tutoring In furtherance of its constitutional and legal obligation to provide all children with an adequate education, the state shall encourage family members and others to provide personal English language tutoring to such children as are Engl…