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S 378

Relates to higher education funding opportunities for foster youth

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Jabari Brisport and 4 co-sponsors

The bill requires assessing and funding the financial impact of charter schools on sending districts, tying approvals to a DESE report and annual state funding decisions.

REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION
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Bill Summary · S 378

Summary — S.378 (2025): "An Act relative to the financial impact of charter schools"

Purpose / Intent

The bill amends chapter 71, section 89 (Massachusetts charter school law) to require explicit consideration of the financial impact that creating or expanding a charter school has on the local (sending) public school district(s). It ties approval of new charter schools or expansions to (1) a department report on that financial impact and (2) annual legislative action to fund statutory reimbursements to affected districts.

Key provisions

  • Adds requirement that charter school applications address "the financial impact of establishing or expanding the charter school on the students and schools of the sending district or districts."
  • Prohibits approval of any charter application until the Department (presumably the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) has presented a report to the Board on the financial impact to the sending district(s).
  • Amends subsection (gg) to require the Department annually (no later than January 10) to request from the General Court (the Legislature) full funding of:
    • "this reimbursement" (the reimbursement referenced in the bill), and
    • the reimbursement calculated under subsection (ff).
  • Establishes a conditional bar: if the General Court rejects the Department’s annual funding request for those reimbursements, the Board shall not approve any new charter school application or charter expansion in the following school year.

Who would be affected

  • Sending (host) public school districts and their students — decisions and finances would be subject to formal review and protected by statutory reimbursement funding efforts.
  • Charter school applicants and existing charter operators — approvals and expansions could be delayed or blocked if the Legislature does not fund reimbursements.
  • Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Charter School Office/Board — they must prepare/receive and act upon financial impact reports and make annual funding requests to the Legislature.
  • Massachusetts General Court — gains an explicit annual fiscal decision point that can effectively allow or block charter growth through funding choices.

Procedural status and timeline (from provided actions)

  • Introduced: February 3, 2025
  • Passed Senate: February 24, 2025
  • Delivered to House/Assembly and referred to the Committee on Higher Education (multiple committee referrals also noted)
  • Various committee hearings and calendar actions listed through late 2025 (including hearings scheduled/rescheduled for September 2025)
  • Accompanied a new draft as S.2691 (noted 2025-11-17)

Fiscal and policy implications

  • Creates recurring budget pressure/decision point: annual legislative obligation to fund reimbursements for districts affected by charter attendance. If the Legislature refuses, expansion of charter capacity would be halted for one year.
  • Could slow or discourage charter expansion and create stronger procedural protections for sending districts; may shift political leverage to the Legislature in charter approval decisions.
  • Exact dollar impacts depend on reimbursement formulas (subsection (ff)) and the number of students shifting to charter schools.

Notes / metadata inconsistencies

  • The bill text and sponsor list in the provided material appear inconsistent with other header metadata: the bill text addresses charter school financial impacts (filed by Senator Patricia Jehlen and others in the Massachusetts Senate), whereas the top-line title supplied earlier refers to "higher education funding opportunities for foster youth" and the listed sponsors (e.g., James Lankford) do not match the Massachusetts context. This summary is based on the charter-school bill text included in the submission.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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