Massachusetts Statutes

Section 4. Upon action of the general court, there shall be a foundation budget review commission to review the way foundation budgets are calculated and to make recommendations for potential changes in those calculations as the commission deems appropriate; provided, however, th…

Section 6. In addition to the amounts appropriated for long-term debt service, school meals, adult education, student transportation and tuition revenue, each municipality shall annually appropriate for the support of public schools in the municipality in an amount not less than …

Section 6A. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, upon the request of the board of selectmen in a town, the city council in a city with a plan E form of government or the mayor in any other city, within any fiscal year, the department of revenue may reca…

Section 8. Except as required by General Law, each school district may determine how to allocate any funds appropriated for the support of public schools without regard to the categories employed in calculating the foundation budget; provided, however, that effective July 1, 1997…

Section 9. Each school district shall report district and school level data to the commissioner, in a form and manner prescribed by the commissioner, on expenditures and staffing for each foundation category. The reports shall provide actual spending for each foundation category.…

Section 1. Whereas the school building assistance program is the largest capital grant program operated by the commonwealth and is necessary for the establishment of public school buildings in the commonwealth; and whereas the costs of the school building assistance program are i…

Section 10. The grant percentage for approved school projects shall be calculated based on the following formula, but no grant percentage shall be greater than 80 per cent. (a) The percentage the commonwealth shall pay towards an approved school facilities project shall be determ…

Section 11. Grants for approved school projects shall be paid in accordance with a disbursement schedule approved by the authority.

Section 14. For approved projects that are an alternative to construction or renovation, the authority shall establish eligible cost criteria, and on a case by case basis, shall determine the allowable cost of the project. Eligible costs may include but shall not be limited to fu…

Section 15. (a) In the event that an eligible applicant sells or leases an assisted structure or facility, or a portion of that structure or facility, on account of which it is receiving grant payments for an approved school project or, in the case of an approved school project a…

Section 16. The authority shall create a maintenance assessment program for school buildings. Such assessment program shall include a review of all major building components, maintenance records, existing staff and vendor contracts. The authority shall use such assessment program…

Section 17. (a) On or before June 30 of each year, the authority shall submit a report to the governor, the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on education, arts and humanities, the joint committee on natural resources, the house and senate committ…

Section 19. Municipalities and school districts shall notify the authority no later than 14 days before refinancing any bond for which the municipality or district will receive state reimbursement under chapter 645 of the acts of 1948 or other law. The authority shall reimburse m…

Section 1A. (a) There is hereby created a body politic and corporate and a public instrumentality to be known as the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which shall be an independent public authority not subject to the supervision and control of any other executive office, d…

Section 2. For the purposes of this chapter, the following words shall have the following meanings:- ''Additional Revenues'', any moneys that are not defined as the dedicated sales tax revenue amount that are appropriated, gifted, granted, pledged, or otherwise made available to …

Section 20. The authority shall, in cooperation with a school district or municipality, submit plans or blueprints approved by the authority, associated with approved construction, renovation or reconstruction of a school building, to the local police department, fire department,…

Section 3. There is hereby established a school building assistance program. The purpose of said program is generally to encourage and foster the thoughtful establishment and maintenance of school facility space in and among the cities and towns of the commonwealth; to conduct su…

Section 3A. There shall be a school building advisory board comprised of: the state auditor or a designee; the inspector general or a designee; the superintendent of the state police or a designee; the state fire marshal or a designee; the director of the Massachusetts emergency …

Section 3B. (a) The authority may provide by resolution for the issuance from time to time of bonds for any purpose of the trust, which bonds may be issued as general obligations of the authority or as special obligations payable solely from particular revenues or moneys of the a…

Section 3C. The authority and its existence shall continue until terminated by law, but no such law shall take effect so long as the authority shall have bonds outstanding unless adequate provision has been made for the payment or satisfaction thereof. Upon termination of the aut…

Section 3D. The authority, in cooperation with the state treasurer, shall at all times keep accounts of all receipts, expenditures and disbursements and all assets and liabilities of the authority, which shall be open to inspection by any officer or duly appointed agent of the co…

Section 3E. In addition to other remedies of the authority under any bond, note or other evidence of indebtedness, if at any time any amount is distributable or payable by the commonwealth to any city, town or regional school district, and a sum is due to the authority from that …

Section 4. Any eligible applicant may apply to the board for reimbursement, in whole or in part, of any expenses incurred for educational, engineering and architectural services incidental to the planning of a regional school or any expenses incurred for surveys made of school bu…

Section 5. An eligible applicant may submit to the authority a statement of interest which shall be approved by a vote of the applicable local governing body or bodies as set forth and in a form prescribed by the authority, and which shall state what the eligible applicant believ…

Section 6. (a) Upon receipt of an application under section 5, from time to time, the authority may designate approved school projects. The authority shall examine forthwith the applications and any facts, estimates, or other information relative thereto, and shall make the follo…

Section 7. There shall be a limit on the estimated amount of grants approved by the authority during a fiscal year. For fiscal year 2023, the limit shall be $1,200,000,000; provided, however, that grant amounts relating to the authority's accelerated repair program shall not coun…

Section 8. The authority shall approve school projects and reimbursements under this chapter in accordance with the following order of priorities: (1) priority shall be given to school projects needed in the judgment of said board to replace or renovate a building which is struct…

Section 9. (a) In order to maximize the cost effective production of efficient and creative school projects, the authority shall require that every school project conform to standards and procedures as the authority considers appropriate including, not but limited to, the followi…

Section 1. Every town shall maintain, for at least the number of days required by the board of education in each school year unless specifically exempted as to any one year by said board, a sufficient number of schools for the instruction of all children who may legally attend a …

Section 10. If the school committee of a town of less than five hundred families or householders not maintaining a public high school offering four years of instruction, pays, with the approval of the department, for the instruction of a pupil who by reason of physical disability…

Section 100. The department shall encourage school districts to implement instruction in age-appropriate media literacy skills at all grade levels, including in any of the core subjects under section 1D of chapter 69, life skills programming or other subjects, to equip students w…

Section 101. (a) Public school districts and charter schools shall appoint or hire a diversity, equity and inclusion officer or establish a diversity team. The role and responsibilities of a diversity officer or team may be assigned to an existing school employee or existing scho…

Section 11. For the purposes of the six preceding sections, a ''high school'' is defined as that part of the school system which furnishes instruction in addition to that offered in the first eight grades and other than vocational instruction directly aided by the commonwealth.

Section 13. In every public school having not less than one hundred and fifty pupils, any course not included in the regular curriculum shall be taught if the parents or guardians of not less than thirty pupils or of a number of pupils equivalent to five per cent of the pupil enr…

Section 13D. Motor vehicle driving education may be incorporated as a phase of the safety education program in high schools of the commonwealth. The content of driver education courses shall be established by the registrar of motor vehicles. No school committee and no high school…

Section 13F. The course of study in elementary and high schools may include instruction by means of educational programs broadcast through the facilities of television stations. The cost of such programs may be shared by cities and towns within viewing range of such television st…

Section 13G. Subject to the approval of the board of education, the executive committee for educational television shall act in matters pertaining to educational television. Said committee may adopt rules for the conduct of its business. A majority of the members shall constitute…

Section 13H. The committee may establish and manage under such regulations as it may from time to time prescribe, a trust fund to be known as the Educational Television Program Fund. All funds received from school committees, organizations, or individuals for the purposes of sect…

Section 13I. In order to carry out its duties, said committee, from time to time and within the limits of appropriation therefor and of available trust funds, may— (a) Acquire, construct, hold, lease and dispose of real and personal property; (b) Prepare programs, enter into agre…

Section 14. Any town, either by a majority vote of its board of selectmen and a majority vote of the school committee or by vote in town meeting duly called therefor, may create a special unpaid committee to be known as a regional school district planning committee, to consist of…

Section 14A. It shall be the duty of the regional school district planning board to study the fiscal and educational advisability of establishing a regional school district, its organization, operation and control, and of constructing, maintaining and operating a school or school…

Section 14B. The said regional district planning board may recommend that there shall be established a regional school district which may include all the towns represented by its membership, or alternatively, any specified combination of such towns. If the said regional district …

Section 14C. The agreement made under section fourteen B, or any amendment to such an agreement, may contain provisions authorizing any member town to sell, lease or grant a license to use any school building and any land appurtenant thereto or used in connection therewith to the…

Section 14D. The agreement made under section fourteen B, or any amendment to such an agreement, may provide that the incurring of indebtedness by the district shall be approved by the registered voters in the member towns pursuant to the provisions of clause (n) of section sixte…

Section 14E. A regional school district may, by amendment to its regional school district agreement, provide for one of the following options concerning the members of its regional district school committee: (1) electing committee members by voters in member communities with each…