State Education Mandates - Part 5

From time to time, particular around the budget period, reference is generally made to Franklin Public Schools having to support "unfunded mandates." I managed to find a listing of such compiled by the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. This is Part 5 in the series:

Home Schooling

The district must monitor and document all home-schooled students. This includes identifying families and reviewing detailed home schooling plans for compliance with state guidelines. Though school districts are required to provide this oversight there are not funding or reporting requirements to or from the state.


MCAS Testing

MCAS testing is required annually in grades 3 through 10. Students must pass the grade 10 testing in math and English in order to graduate from high school. All students must be proficient in English/Math by 2014, requiring needed extra help and extra time on task to meet this goal. District must continually upgrade the curriculum to keep up with the testing.

• Districts must provide special tutoring for students who do not do well in the testing and must track and contact non-graduates if they fail MCAS. This requires guidance time and mailings.
• The costs for instructional time and funds associated with the preparation for, documentation for, administration of, and reporting about the multiple assessments in grades 3-10 are difficult to quantify.

The full listing is available here (DOC)