Tuesday, September 26, 2017

September Board of Ed: legislation

McKenna now a visiting professor at Tufts: on civics: doing a survey working on everything going on K-12 in civic engagement
Breakfast in the classroom: look at the budget, there is language on breakfast in the classroom
chair of the Joint Committee thinks that it already mandates DESE to do regulations by January 2018 to mandate implementation for all schools
Wulfson: will come back with data on what's required, on what requirements are, and next steps

The backup is here.
right in middle of process
Joint Committee currently has 338 bills in committee, has released 17 bills favorably, has had 9 hearings.
"make sure we are both proactively and reactively commenting on bills"
"many committees do ask us for our comments"
bills may look quite different by the time they get to the House or Senate floor "and then it gets amended"

Wulfson: as an executive agency, "we don't feel it's our role to advocate on specific legislation"
"we see our role as being the honest brokers and the technical experts"
resource for legislators in drafting bills
Legislature's job is to enact the laws; our job is to carry them out

Moriarty: is this the agency that calculates the unfunded level of mandates?
Wulfson: unofficially we'll be asked; office of local mandates in auditor's office
Not everything that costs money is an unfunded mandate

Doherty: believe Board has taken a position in the past on ballot questions
notes the Fair Share question is coming
should consider over the next several months "if this Board has a responsibility on taking a position on increased funding for education"

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