Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Chapter 74 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 8, as most recently amended by chapter 730 of the acts of 1970, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 8. A town where a person resides who is admitted to the school of another town under section seven shall pay a tuition fee to be fixed by the commissioner under the direction of the state board, and in default of payment shall be liable therefor in contract to such other town. If an approved vocational school established by a regional school district accepts a student who resides in a town, other than a member town of said district, which does not maintain such a vocational school, the town in which such student resides shall pay a tuition fee to be fixed by the regional district school committee and approved by the commissioner under the direction of the state board; provided, however, that a town shall only be required to pay the tuition of any student residing therein who is enrolled in a post-secondary vocational program to the extent provided in sections thirty-seven B through thirty-seven F, inclusive.

SECTION 2. Said chapter 74 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 37A the following five sections:-

Section 37B. The commissioner under the direction of the state board may approve nondegree granting vocational education programs at the post-secondary level. In making his decision, the commissioner shall take into consideration the availability of similar training opportunities at the secondary and public regional community college levels.

Upon the vote of the school committee or board of trustees of any industrial, technical, or vocational school, tuition and other related fees may be charged to students residing in its city, town or regional school district admitted to approved post-secondary vocational education programs in an amount not to exceed fifty per cent of the average per pupil cost of such program.

Section 37C. A student who resides in a city or town which does not offer approved vocational education programs at the post-secondary level may, upon the approval of the commissioner under the direction of the state board be admitted to such program in another city, town or regional district. In making his determination the commissioner shall take into consideration the opportunities for free vocational training where the applicant resides, the preparation, aptitude and previous record of the applicant, and other relevant circumstances, including the level of state assistance to such program. Tuition and other related fees shall be charged to a student admitted under this provision in an amount not to exceed fifty per cent of the average per pupil cost of such program, as approved by the commissioner under the direction of the state board. Such students shall be eligible to apply for state scholarship aid pursuant to section seven of chapter fifteen A.

Section 37D. A city, town, regional school district or independent vocational school admitting students under section thirty-seven C shall be entitled to receive state aid under the provisions of chapter seventy on account of each such student.

Section 37E. Each city or town required to pay the tuition of a student enrolled in a post-secondary vocational program under the provisions of this chapter shall pay to the school committee or board of trustees of the industrial, technical, or vocational school in which such student is enrolled a tuition charge as determined by the commissioner. Said tuition charge shall be the difference between the average per pupil cost of the approved post-secondary program, and the sum of the tuition and other related fees charged to each student under section thirty-seven C and the per pupil school aid received under chapter seventy on account of students admitted pursuant to the provisions of section thirty-seven C.

In the case of any city or town which fails to pay tuition on account of a student admitted to a post-secondary vocational program under the provisions of section thirty-seven C, the commissioner shall be authorized in the succeeding fiscal year, pursuant to section four of chapter seventy, to reduce the school aid to which such city or town is otherwise entitled under chapter seventy in an amount equivalent to the unpaid tuition. The commissioner is further authorized to increase the school aid paid to the city, town or regional school district which provided the post-secondary vocational program to said student in an amount equivalent to the tuition to which it was due under the provisions of this section.

Section 37F. All receipts from tuition and other related fees shall be paid to the school committee or board of trustees of the city, town, regional school district or independent vocational school admitting students under sections thirty-seven B and thirty-seven C, and shall be deposited with the treasurer of the city, town, regional school district or independent vocational school and held as a separate account. The receipts held in such separate accounts may be expended by said school committee or board of trustees without further appropriation for general educational purposes.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on September first, nineteen hundred and eighty-five and shall apply only to students admitted on or after such date.