HOUSE DOCKET, NO.

1634 FILED ON: 1/13/2009

HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3547

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

PRESENTED BY:

Daniel E. Bosley and Stanley C. Rosenberg

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the passage of the accompanying bill:

Resolve establishing a commission relative to an index of creative and innovative education in

the Commonwealth.
_______________

PETITION OF:

NAME: DISTRICT/ADDRESS:
Stanley C. Rosenberg Hampshire and Franklin
Daniel E. Bosley 1st Berkshire
Benjamin B. Downing Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin
Carlo P. Basile 1st Suffolk
Bill Bowles 2nd Bristol
Denis E. Guyer 2nd Berkshire
John D. Keenan 7th Essex
David P. Linsky 5th Middlesex
Sarah K. Peake 4th Barnstable
Jeffrey Sánchez 15th Suffolk
John W. Scibak 2nd Hampshire
Frank I. Smizik 15th Norfolk
Ellen Story 3rd Hampshire
Walter F. Timilty 7th Norfolk
Timothy J. Toomey, Jr. 26th Middlesex
Steven M. Walsh 11th Essex
Alice K. Wolf 25th Middlesex
Peter v. Kocot 1st Hampshire
Mary E. Grant 6th Essex
Michael J. Rodrigues 8th Bristol
Matthew C. Patrick 3rd Barnstable
Stephen Kulik 1st Franklin
Ann-Margaret Ferrante 5th Essex
William Smitty Pignatelli 4th Berkshire
Geraldine Creedon 11th Plymouth
Kay Khan 11th Middlesex
Kate Hogan 3rd Middlesex
James E. Timilty Bristol and Norfolk
Bradford R. Hill 4th Essex
Christine E. Canavan 10th Plymouth
Cheryl A. Coakley-Rivera 10th Hampden
Stanley C. Rosenberg Hampshire and Franklin
Carl M. Sciortino, Jr. 34th Middlesex
Robert L. Rice, Jr. 2nd Worcester
James R. Miceli 19th Middlesex
Elizabeth A. Malia 11th Suffolk
Anthony D. Galluccio Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex
Thomas M. McGee Third Essex and Middlesex
Martha M. Walz 8th Suffolk
Katherine Clark 32nd Middlesex
Mark V. Falzone 9th Essex
Paul McMurtry 11th Norfolk
Timothy Madden Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket
Jonathan Hecht 29th Middlesex
Patricia A. Haddad 5th Bristol
James B. Eldridge Middlesex and Worcester
Stephen M. Brewer Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin
Alice Hanlon Peisch 14th Norfolk
Jay R. Kaufman 15th Middlesex
Cory Atkins 14th Middlesex
Thomas P. Conroy 13th Middlesex
Louis L. Kafka 8th Norfolk
Sean Garballey 23rd Middlesex
James J. O'Day 14th Worcester District
Pam Richardson 6th Middlesex
Bruce E. Tarr First Essex and Middlesex
 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the Year Two Thousand and Nine

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RESOLVE

Resolved,
1 There is hereby established a Special Commission to develop an Index of Creative and Innovative
2 Education in the Commonwealth.

3 The commission shall have 15 members which shall include: 7 members to be appointed by the governor
4 and who shall reside in different geographic regions of the commonwealth, 1 of whom shall be a
5 representative of the Massachusetts Advocates for the Arts, Sciences and Humanities, 1 of whom shall be
6 a representative of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, 1 of whom shall be a representative of the
7 Massachusetts Business Roundtable; 3 members to be appointed by the president of the senate and who
8 shall reside in different geographic regions of the commonwealth; and 3 members to be appointed by the
9 speaker of the house of representatives and who shall reside in different geographic regions of the
10 Commonwealth; and the executive director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council; and the commissioner
11 of elementary and secondary education, or his designee. Each member shall serve a term of 2 years. Each
12 of the members of the commission shall be an expert or shall have experience in the fields of education,
13 public policy, artistic development, workforce development or cultural development. One of the
14 members shall be appointed by the governor to serve as chairperson of the commission. The members of
15 the commission shall be appointed no later 90 days after the effective date of this resolve.

16 In the course of its deliberations, the commission shall examine strategies on how to produce an Index of
17 Creative and Innovative Education in the Commonwealth’s Public Schools. The index shall rate every
18 public school in the commonwealth on teaching, encouraging and fostering creativity in students. The
19 index would be based in part on the creative opportunities in each school as measured by the availability
20 of classes and before and after-school programs offered by and through school districts in the
21 commonwealth that provide creative opportunities for students in the public schools of the
22 commonwealth, including, but not limited to, arts education, debate clubs, science fairs, theatre
23 performances, concerts, film-making, and independent research.

24 The commission may hold public hearings to assist in the collection and evaluation of data and testimony.
25 The commission shall develop recommendations on what would be included in an Index of Creative and
26 Innovative Education in the Commonwealth’s Public Schools, how such an index would be produced and
27 implemented, what funding or finance measures the commonwealth would need to implement such an
28 index and any recommendation for inter-agency agreements, inter-municipal agreements, or other
29 cooperative agreements that would be required to foster creative and innovative education programs in the
30 commonwealth’s public schools.

31 The commission shall complete a written report detailing the factors to be considered in an Index of
32 Creative and Innovative Education in the Commonwealth’s Public Schools and any financial measures
33 that would be needed for implementation. The commission shall submit its initial report to the governor,
34 the secretary of housing and economic development, the clerks of the house of representatives and the
35 senate, the joint committee on tourism, arts and cultural development, and the joint committee on
36 education no later than December 31 of the year after the effective date of this resolve.

37 Any research, analysis or other staff support that the commission reasonably requires shall be provided by
38 the department of elementary and secondary education in cooperation with the Massachusetts Cultural
39 Council.