House and Senate negotiators on Tuesday filed a compromise bill that would change the course of state K-12 education funding over the next seven years.
House Education Committee Chair Rep. Alice Peisch said the bill is "very consistent" with bill that emerged from that committee and served as the basis for the House and Senate bills that were in conference committee.
A compromise on language intended to ensure that $1.5 billion in planned new education investments produce results "strikes the right balance" between district decision-making and state oversight, Peisch said.
Similar to the House bill, the compromise (S 2412) still calls for districts to amend plans that do not conform with the bill's requirements, following a review by the state education commissioner. Gov. Charlie Baker had viewed the Senate language around the plans as a weakening of the initial committee bill.
The compromise, which could be approved in both branches this week and sent to Gov. Charlie Baker, would mark the largest accomplishment of the year for the Legislature.
Baker offered his own plan for long-term K-12 investments. His views on the compromise are not clear, but when he gets a bill he'll have an opportunity to offer amendments.
Under the bills in conference, the state is pledging about $1.5 billion in new K-12 education spending over seven years, with most of the aid being channeled into communities to close stubborn achievement gaps. The bill does not call for new taxes or include appropriations, leaving funding decisions to be made year by year.
The bill "represents a nation-leading model for education funding equity," according to Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, who co-chaired the Education Committee last legislative session. She said "families across the state have been counting on us to start implementing these changes in next year’s budget."
Sen. Jason Lewis, who co-chaired the conference committee with Peisch, said the financial provisions have not changed from the Education Committee's original bill.
As staff arrived in the Senate clerk's office with the bill just before 11 a.m., the State House fire alarms went off. Peisch and Lewis spoke to reporters after evacuating the building.
The main difference between the House and Senate plans was how much authority the state education commissioner should have over plans districts would be required to prepare outlining steps they intend to take to close achievement gaps. The House bill, like the initial Education Committee bill, would require districts to "amend any plan deemed not in compliance" after a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education review, while the Senate amended its bill to leave the final say with individual districts.
Lewis said the conferees struck a compromise between the House and Senate language. Districts will develop plans in a "very collaborative process" with groups including teachers, parents and local school committees, Lewis said, and then submit those plans to the Elementary and Secondary Education Department, which will "have the ability to review all those plans as they see fit and to make sure that the plans do conform with the requirements of that section of the bill."
About two hours after the conferees filed their compromise, House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Karen Spilka released a joint statement. "Today we are one step closer to making an unprecedented $1.5 billion pre-inflation investment in new resources for public school students across the Commonwealth," they said. "The Student Opportunity Act is the result of a successful partnership between the House and Senate – led by Chairs Peisch and Lewis – that included the participation of stakeholders statewide. We thank Chairs Peisch and Lewis for their thoughtful and diligent efforts to move this significant piece of legislation during the first half of this session. This will make a real difference to our students for years to come. We look forward to taking up the bill in both the Senate and the House tomorrow."
