Bill
SD 510
Allows MA 4-H participation to count as up to 5 days of attendance like a field trip; prevents unexcused absences, requires docs, and ensures makeup work so grades aren't affected.
Status: House concurred
Introduced: February 27, 2025
Bill number: Senate Docket No. 510 (Senate No. 420)
Sponsor: Senator Patrick M. O’Connor and co-sponsors
Purpose
- To recognize participation in Massachusetts 4-H programs as a legitimate educational activity, granting students attendance credit and protecting their academic standing, similar to an educational field trip.
What the bill would do
- Create a new Section 22 in Chapter 76 of the General Laws.
- Allow a student who participates in a Massachusetts 4-H activity or program to be credited as present for up to 5 school days, treated the same as an educational field trip.
- Ensure school committees do not count up to 5 days as unexcused absence due to 4-H participation.
- Require Massachusetts 4-H agents to provide documentation of a student’s participation upon request by a school committee.
- Obligate schools to provide opportunities for students to makeup any missed work and to ensure grades are not adversely affected by 4-H participation.
- Exclude from attendance credit any 4-H participation that occurs during:
- The testing window for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), or
- A period of suspension or expulsion when such status would normally preclude participation in an educational field trip.
Effective date
- The act would take effect beginning with the 2025-2026 academic year.
Who is affected
- Students enrolled in Massachusetts schools who participate in Massachusetts 4-H activities.
- School committees and administrators, which would issue attendance credit and manage make-up work policies.
- Massachusetts 4-H agents, who would provide documentation of participation.
Procedural notes and context
- The bill is a reintroduction: similar matter previously filed in the 2023-2024 session as House No. 4427.
- Legislative track: filed January 13, 2025; referred to the Senate Committee on Education (and subsequently moved to House concurrence on February 27, 2025).
- This summary reflects the bill’s text as introduced and its stated provisions; fiscal impact is not specified in the provided text.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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