THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Wednesday, November 27, 2019 Page 7 Donato, Lewis and Ultrino vote to enact Student Opportunity Act State Senator Jason Lewis and State Representatives Paul Donato and Steven Ultrino recently joined both chambers of the Massachusetts Legislature as they unanimously voted to enact the Student Opportunity Act. This legislation, which provides an unprecedented $1.5 billion new investment in Massachusetts K-12 public education system, ensures that all public schools have adequate resources to provide high-quality education to students across the state, regardless of zip code or income level. Assuming inflation, over the seven-year implementation timeline the bill will provide an estimated $2.2 billion in support of public schools. The Student Opportunity Act provides significant support to school districts that serve English Learners (EL) and high concentrations of low-income students. At the same time, all school districts across the Commonwealth will benefit from updates to the existing funding formula, along with increased state investment in vital education aid programs, such as special education transportation, school construction and renovation and the 21st Century Education Trust Fund. “Access to a high-quality public education is a fundamental right for every child, and that’s why the Student Opportunity Act will make an unprecedented $1.5 billion investment in our public schools, ensuring that school districts across the Commonwealth have adequate and equitable resources to provide all students, especially those facing adversity, with a high-quality public education,” said Lewis, who is the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Education and a lead architect of the legislation. “I am confident that the Student Opportunity Act will effectively address opportunity and achievement gaps and make a meaningful difference to generations of Massachusetts students.” “From my previous experience as a school committee member, I know how important the increased funding as well as other aspects of this bill will be in providing our schools with important resources to ensure that all children receive an excellent education,” said Donato. “I am excited to see Massachusetts working to fix the disparities in funding among school districts,” said Ultrino. “This investment in education will help to remove barriers to educational opportunities and close achievement gaps in our lower income communities.” The Student Opportunity Act fully implements the recommendations of the 2015 Foundation Budget Review Commission (FBRC) in order to support the “educational programs and services necessary to achieve the Commonwealth’s educational goals” as stated in the Commission’s mission. The bill provides an estimated $1.4 billion in new Chapter 70 aid over and above inflation when fully implemented over the next seven years. The bill modernizes the K-12 education funding and policy landscape in four areas: • Estimates school districts’ employee and retiree health care costs using up-to-date health insurance trend data collected by the state’s Group Insurance Commission (GIC) • Increases special education enrollment and cost assumptions to more accurately reflect district enrollment • Increases EL funding and differentiates funding by grade level to reflect the greater resources required to educate older EL students • Addresses the needs of districts educating high concentrations of low-income students by providing additional funding based on the share of low-income students in each district; districts educating the largest percentage of low-income students will receive an additional increment equal to 100 percent of the base foundation; in addition, the definition of low-income is returned to 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, as opposed to the 133 percent level used in recent years. In addition to implementing the FBRC’s recommended formula changes, the Student Opportunity Act provides an additional $100 million in state financial support in several categories to help public schools and communities deliver a high-quality education to every student. Those fiscal supports include: • Increasing foundation rates for guidance and psychological services in recognition of the growing need for expanded social-emotional support and mental health services • Committing to fully funding charter school tuition reimbursement, which provides transitional aid to help districts when students leave to attend charter schools, Sen. Lewis announces drop-in office hours S tate Senator Jason Lewis will hold special drop-in office hours at his State House office on Tuesday, December 3 from noon to 1 p.m. in Room 511B of the State House (24 Beacon St. in Boston). This is a great opportunity for constituents who work in downtown Boston or are unable to attend the senator’s regularly scheduled office hours. Lunch will be provided. All residents are encouraged to drop in to speak with the senator and raise any concerns that they would like. Those who are unable to attend should contact his office at (617) 722-1206 to arrange a meeting. 405 Pearl St., Malden, MA 02148 It’s time to get back to the things you love. At Agility Orthopedics our commitment to keep you moving is more than just three words, it’s a promise to help you experience life in the ways that matter most to you. Appointments for the following services are now available at our Malden location: • Joint Replacement • Sports Medicine • Hand Surgery • Shoulder Surgery • Pain Management • Regenerative Medicine: PRP/Stem Cell Schedule an appointment at our Malden location (781) 279-7040 • agilitydoctor.com within a three-year timetable • Expanding the special education circuit breaker program, which reimburses districts for extraordinary special education costs, to include transportation as well as instructional cost, to be implemented over the next four years • Raising the annual cap on Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) spending for construction and renovation by $200 million (from $600 million to $800 million), enabling more school-building projects across the state to be accepted into the MSBA funding pipeline, which reimburses towns and cities for a portion of school-building costs. • In addition to new funding and other supports, the Student Opportunity Act establishes the 21st Century Education Trust Fund to provide districts and schools access to flexible funding to pursue creative approaches to student learning and district improvement. “The Student Opportunity Act is a true game-changer for low-income students and their communities, and we’re delighted to see it approach the finish line. We applaud Senate President Spilka, Speaker DeLeo, Senator Lewis, Representative Peisch, and the other members of the conference committee for their leadership in developing this bill. And we thank the entire Education Committee for delivering the major new school funding our students need, when some were pressuring them to think small,” said AFT Massachusetts President Beth Kontos. “The Student OpportuniVOTE | SEE PAGE 14 TIME & AGAIN GIRLS Start Your Weekend at the Marina Dance Party! Saturday, November 30 at 9 PM Dance to the Hits of Yesterday & Today DJ LOGIK Friday, November 29 at 9 PM Back By Popular Demand MONDAY'S SHUCK! $1.00 Oysters SUNDAY BRUNCH BUFFET Only $19.95 / 11am-2pm Featuring Al Whitney Jazz Band BOOK YOUR NEXT FUNCTION WITH US * GIFT CARDS AMPLE FREE www.marinaatthewharf.com 543 North Shore Rd. Revere 781-629-3798 PARKING AMAZING WATER VIEWS We’re Keeping You Moving in Stoneham and now Malden
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