While
Lunch Line does a tremendous job explaining the mind - numbing complexities of the USDA's sorted relationship with the School
Lunch Program, the good news is that we don't
need to wait for a drifting barge to self - correct — parents and principals can make dramatic
improvements, right now, for free.
For a district qualifying under this paragraph whose charter school tuition payments exceed 9 per cent of the school district's net school spending, the board shall only approve an application for the establishment of a commonwealth charter school if an applicant, or a provider with which an applicant proposes to contract, has a record of operating at least 1 school or similar program that demonstrates academic success and organizational viability and serves student populations similar to those the proposed school seeks to serve, from the following categories of students, those: (i) eligible for free
lunch; (ii) eligible for reduced price
lunch; (iii) that require special education; (iv) limited English - proficient of similar language proficiency level as measured by the Massachusetts English Proficiency Assessment examination; (v) sub-proficient, which shall mean students who have scored in the «
needs improvement», «warning» or «failing» categories on the mathematics or English language arts exams of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System for 2 of the past 3 years or as defined by the department using a similar measurement; (vi) who are designated as at risk of dropping out of school based on predictors determined by the department; (vii) who have dropped out of school; or (viii) other at - risk students who should be targeted to eliminate achievement gaps among different groups of students.