Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito plan to file legislation Monday that would allow school districts across Massachusetts to create new zones to encourage innovation or address underperformance by struggling schools.
Polito made the announcement at Bristol Community College, where she and Education Secretary James Peyser testified before the Joint Ways and Means Committee on Baker's education funding proposal for fiscal 2020.
The bill will be based on legislation filed last session by House Education Committee Chair Alice Peisch and Sen. Eric Lesser, following an "empowerment zone" used by Springfield schools, Polito said.
"These innovation partnership zones allow educators to make changes to provide a better learning environment," Polito said.
If adopted, the bill would allow schools to take a "collaborative approach that empowers educators to give them more autonomy," flexibility and resources, within a system of local accountability, Polito said.
Baker touted the Springfield Empowerment Zone in his 2018 State of the State address, calling it an "innovative program" to address achievement gaps and saying it "is producing impressive results for middle and high school students --- and deserves our attention."
The bill, according to the Baker administration, would define an innovation partnership zone as at least two schools or one school enrolling more than 1,000 students, governed by a board of directors with the approval of the local school committee or the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The empowerment zone in Springfield was established in 2015 as a partnership among the state, Springfield schools, a board of directors and the Springfield teachers union. It includes nine middle schools and Commerce High School, and principals or other educators at each school have discretion over scheduling, budgets, hiring working conditions, curriculum and professional development.
The teachers' union contract for the Springfield Empowerment Zone schools includes higher salaries, additional time for professional development, and new roles for teacher leaders, according to the administration.
Baker's bill would allow a superintendent, mayor, local teachers' union, school committee members, teachers, or a group of parents to start the process to create an innovation partnership zone. The elementary and secondary education commissioner could also initiate a zone instead of a receivership, or to transition out of receivership, for schools performing in approximately the lowest 15 percent statewide.
The zones would operate under renewable five-year performance agreements between their boards and the local school committee or state education commissioner. They would be able to negotiate directly with the local teachers' union and to contract with eligible operating entities for day-to-day management of their schools, including nonprofits, higher education institutions or "groups of experienced educators."
