WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

S 402

Vision Care Plans

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Brian Adams and 2 co-sponsors

Lowers the charter school tuition cap from 9% to 7% of net school spending and eliminates higher-cap exceptions, with grandfathering for students enrolled by 8/1/2024.

Referred to Committee on Banking and Insurance
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · S 402

Summary — S.402 (2025): "An Act updating the charter net school spending cap"

Note on source materials: the bill text provided amends Section 89 of Chapter 71 (Massachusetts General Laws) and concerns charter school tuition caps. Some surrounding metadata (title line about "temporarily erected structures," sponsor lists and committee referrals) appears inconsistent with the bill text. This summary is based on the statutory amendments contained in the bill text.

Purpose

To lower the percentage cap on a public school district’s allowable charter school tuition payments (measured as a share of the district’s net school spending) and to remove a previously available higher cap for qualifying districts, while grandfathering currently enrolled charter students.

Key provisions

  • Amends Section 89 of Chapter 71 of the Massachusetts General Laws.
  • Lowers the statutory percentage figure(s) from 9% to 7% where the statute currently uses the figure “9.” (The bill replaces the figure “9” with “7” in multiple places.)
  • Removes language that allowed a district’s total charter tuition payment to exceed the standard cap (previously permitting up to 18% of net school spending for districts that qualified under the repealed paragraph).
  • Grandfather protection: explicitly states that no student who attends a charter school on or before August 1, 2024 shall be required to stop attending due to the district’s total charter tuition payment exceeding 7% of net school spending.
  • Deletes subsections (i)(3) and (i)(4) (lines 214–290 of the existing statute), which appear to be the statutory provisions that created exceptions/qualifications for a higher cap.

Who is affected

  • Public school districts: districts currently spending more than 7% of net school spending on charter tuition would face a stricter statutory limit and loss of prior exceptions.
  • Commonwealth charter schools: districts constrained by the lower cap may reduce payments for charter tuition, potentially affecting charter school enrollment, budgets, or new seat openings.
  • Students: the bill protects current charter students (attending on or before 8/1/2024) from being forced to leave due solely to the new 7% cap; new enrollments could be constrained by district-level fiscal limits.
  • State education budgeting and municipal fiscal planning: changes how net school spending thresholds govern outflow to charter tuition.

Fiscal and policy implications (high-level)

  • Reduction from 9% to 7% is a 2 percentage-point tightening of the statutory cap; elimination of the 18% exception removes a path for higher charter tuition outlays by qualifying districts, potentially reducing charter tuition expenditures statewide.
  • May shift students back to district-operated schools if districts opt not to fund additional charter seats; could prompt requests for legislative or regulatory relief in high-demand districts.
  • Local fiscal planning and state aid dynamics may be affected; exact budget impacts depend on district-level enrollment patterns and current charter tuition commitments.

Procedure / status (from provided actions)

  • Introduced in the Senate: 02/05/2025 (read twice and referred to committee).
  • Referred to: committee(s) per materials include Education and Corporations, Authorities and Commissions (records show some committee action and scheduling inconsistencies).
  • Hearing(s) scheduled/rescheduled: materials list hearings for 09/30/2025 (Gardner Auditorium).
  • A subsequent draft/accompanying bill referenced as S2691 (11/17/2025).

If you would like, I can:
- Provide a plain-English explanation of how “net school spending” is calculated in Massachusetts and how this change would apply to a sample district budget, or
- Compare this bill to prior-session bills (S.7358, S.3425) to show how the policy has evolved.

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

Sign in to ask a question.