Senator Richard Ross (R-Wrentham) submitted
a letter to the House Committee on Ways and Means yesterday asking for its immediate
consideration of House Bill 3722, An Act
establishing an educational mandate task force, which is intended to
provide much needed relief to towns struggling to fund their schools and
educational programs.
House Bill 3722 would establish a task force charged with
reviewing all mandates on public schools and districts and assessing the
feasibility of implementing a master reporting form.
“At a time when our school districts are struggling to meet
all of the needs of their students, it is important that we take the time to
assess the requirements we, as a legislature, are placing on schools to
determine that resources are being used as efficiently and constructively as
possible,” said Senator Ross.
As a member of the Joint Committee on Education, regulating
these mandates has been a major priority for Senator Ross. In January 2013, Senator
Ross sponsored a bill aimed at reducing paperwork and waste within the
department of elementary and secondary education. The bill called for the
elimination of wasteful publications by utilizing information technology in
order to increase efficiency and responsiveness in the Massachusetts school
system.
A new draft of this legislation was written in October,
accompanying H3722. The legislation is now before the House Committee on Ways
and Means.
“I am pushing for this legislation today in response to
extensive feedback I have received throughout my district,” said Senator Ross.
“With the new school year beginning for many this week, it is my hope that the
committee will consider this soon to better serve our administrators, teachers,
and students.”
Please contact the office of
Senator Ross with any questions or concerns at (617) 722-1555 or
Richard.Ross@masenate.gov.
