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S 452

Relates to requiring agencies to report information about FOIL inquiries to the committee on open government

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Jabari Brisport and 10 co-sponsors

Strengthens MA charter-school oversight: 30-day confirmations, ban on monetary recruitment incentives, clearer revocation grounds, and formal waiver rules with a 2/3 vote.

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Bill Summary · S 452

Summary — S.452 (Massachusetts) — "An Act ensuring charter school integrity"

Status: Introduced (filed Jan 9, 2025); read twice and referred to Committee on Finance (Feb 6, 2025). Referred to Education (Feb 27, 2025). Hearing activity noted for Sep 30, 2025; new draft S2691 accompanied this bill on Nov 17, 2025.

Note: the supplied metadata contains inconsistencies (alternate titles, sponsor lists, and duplicate committee referrals). The bill text below reflects the Massachusetts Senate filing (Sen. Bruce E. Tarr) titled “An Act ensuring charter school integrity.”

Purpose

To strengthen oversight, transparency and accountability in the approval, recruitment and regulation-waiver processes for Commonwealth charter schools by amending Section 89 of Chapter 71 of the Massachusetts General Laws.

Key provisions

  • 30‑day written confirmation on new charters: Within 30 days of approving a new commonwealth charter school in any community, the authorizing board must issue written confirmation that the school meets all requirements in subsections (b), (e) and (f) of Section 89 and in implementing regulations, including a summary explaining the reasons for the confirmation.

  • Ban on monetary recruitment incentives: Adds a sentence to subsection (l) prohibiting charter schools from soliciting enrollment applications by offering money or gifts of any monetary value as an incentive.

  • Clarified grounds for revocation: Revises subsection (ee) so the board may revoke a charter if the school fails to fulfill conditions imposed at grant, violates any provision of its charter, or if the board substantially violated any provision of Section 89 or its implementing regulations in granting the charter.

  • Formal waiver procedures: Adds a new subsection (nn) requiring the board to develop procedures/guidelines for regulatory waivers. Waivers:

    • may only be issued at the written request of the charter applicant or the board itself,
    • are limited to “exceptional circumstances,”
    • must include a written explanation of reasons, and
    • require a 2/3 vote of the board to be granted.

Who is affected

  • Commonwealth charter schools and applicants (directly regulated by Section 89).
  • The state charter authorizing board (responsible for confirmations, revocations, waiver procedures).
  • Local communities where new charters are approved (receive the confirmation and rationale).

Potential impacts

  • Increased transparency and recordkeeping around charter approvals.
  • Limits on recruitment practices that use monetary incentives.
  • Stronger enforcement tools and clearer grounds for revocation of noncompliant schools.
  • Stricter controls on regulatory waivers (higher procedural thresholds and written justification), potentially reducing ad hoc exemptions but adding administrative steps.

Legislative notes & data issues

  • Bill filed by Sen. Bruce E. Tarr (First Essex and Middlesex). Some supplied metadata (alternate bill title “BARCODE Efficiency Act,” sponsor lists including federal senators, duplicate referrals) appears inconsistent with the Massachusetts filing and may reflect data merge errors. Consult the official Massachusetts Legislature docket for authoritative sponsorship, referral and amendment history.

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

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