Consider this the early warning siren on FY27

 

A big thank you to Sam Drysdale of State House News Service for giving us a good look at the danger the potential federal funding cuts count have to how we calculate--and then what we get--in state education aid under Chapter 70. 

To figure that out, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) uses “direct certification,” matching students to benefit programs such as MassHealth (the state’s Medicaid program), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC). If a child shows up in one of those databases, the state counts them as low-income, meaning their household income is below 185% of the federal poverty line, the standard set under the Student Opportunity Act.

This system saves schools from the expensive and time-consuming work of verifying every family’s income. But it also creates a risk: if families lose eligibility for benefits because of federal policy changes, their children can disappear from the state’s low-income count — even if their actual household income hasn’t budged.

As Senator Lewis notes, the state can change this, but they'd have to actively DO that to avoid this for FY27. 

Let your legislators know now!