Office of Educational Quality and Accountability Language
St. 2000, c. 384, s4

SECTION 4.  Chapter 15 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 55A, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 55A.  There shall be established an office of educational quality and accountability, hereinafter referred to as the office, within the department of education but not subject to its control.  The purpose of the office shall be to provide in independent mechanism to verify the efforts of schools and school districts to promote a higher level of academic achievement by students.

The governor shall appoint a five-member council, known as the educational management audit council, hereinafter referred to as the council.  One member shall be designated by the governor to serve as chairperson of the council.  Residency in the commonwealth shall not be required of the members of the council.  Members shall not be compensated for their service but may be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.  No members of said council shall be employed by or receive regular compensation from the department of education, or from any school system, public or independent, in the commonwealth, or serve as a member of any school committee or any board of trustees of a charter school.  Not more than two members of said council may be employed on a full-time basis by an agency of the commonwealth, including a public college or the University of Massachusetts.  Members shall be appointed for terms of five years.  Of the first members appointed, one shall be appointed for one year, one for two years, one for three years, one for four years and one for five years.

Members may be re-appointed but no person shall be appointed to serve more than two full terms.  Prior service on said council for a term of less than five years, resulting from an initial appointment or an appointment for the remainder of an unexpired term, shall not be counted as a full term.  If a member is absent from three regularly scheduled meetings in a calendar year, his position on the said council shall be deemed vacant.  The chairperson of the council shall forthwith notify the governor that such vacancy exists.

The council shall meet not less than quarterly on a date set by the chairperson and at such other times at the call of the chairperson.  The first meeting of the council shall be convened within 30 days after the members have been appointed.  The council shall: (1) establish the annual goals for the office; (2) review and approve the protocols for the audit and inspection of schools and school districts, including regional school districts; (3) review the findings of audits and inspections undertaken by the director pursuant to this section; (4) review the performance of the director of the office; and (5) make recommendations to the governor, the board of education, the general court and the local school committee or board of trustees, when appropriate, to facilitate the improvement of schools.  The council may coordinate with the activities of the board of education to implement section 1J of chapter 69 and with the activities of the education reform review commission established pursuant to section 79 of chapter 71 of the acts of 1993.

Subject to appropriation, the council shall employ a director and establish the salary for the director.  Pursuant to the office’s appropriation, the director shall employ such inspectors, auditors, professional assistants, attorneys, consultants and other staff as he deems necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of the office and shall determine their salaries and duties.  The provisions of section 45 of chapter 30, chapter 31 and chapter 150E shall not apply to employees of the office.  The request for the annual appropriation required to carry out the mandate of the office shall be submitted by the chairman of the council to the governor, the secretary of administration and finance and the chairman of the board of education.

The office shall act as an independent auditing body verifying educational measurements and tests conducted by or for the department of education in implementing the mandates and directives of chapter 71 of the acts of 1993.  The office shall perform not less than 24 school district audits annually.  Specifically, the office shall (1) verify the accuracy of reports of schools and districts by conducting or contracting for periodic program and fiscal audits as necessary; (2) investigate allegations of a breach of academic integrity in the administration of any assessments administered by the department of education; (3) undertake inspections of school and school districts to determine the quality of instruction, the performance of administrative, instructional and other staff and make recommendations about the school and school district goals and performance; (4) review a district’s MCAS success plan, if any, submitted to the department of education pursuant to section 11 of chapter 69 and evaluate the implementation of said plan; (5) review a district’s implementation of any MCAS grants received to develop or enhance academic support services for students scoring in level 1 or 2; (6) review the impact of unanticipated growth in enrollments and the cost of special education on municipal education budgets, where applicable, including, but not limited to, the impact of said costs on other areas of appropriation within the municipal budget; (7) evaluate the alignment of curriculum and professional development plans with the state curriculum and assessments; and (8) review the progress of student achievement.

For the purposes of an inspection or audit, the director shall have access to all necessary papers, vouchers, books and records pertaining to a school, including a charter school, a school district and a regional school district.  Schools, school districts and school personnel shall cooperate with the director for purposes of any inspection or audit pursuant to this section, including but not limited to, participating in interviews and producing books and documents.  The council shall ensure that any instance of noncompliance with law, misfeasance or malfeasance shall be referred to the attorney general and the commissioner of education for appropriate action.

The council shall transmit its findings and any resulting recommendations to the governor, the board of education, the attorney general, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives and the clerk of the house of representatives who shall forward the same to the joint committee on education, arts and the humanities.  The council shall compile these audits and inspections into annual reports due each year on the anniversary date of the first meeting of the council.