Bill > S1374

This bill expands access to health care for employees of charter schools by amending Chapter 32B of the General Laws, which governs the insurance of public employees. Specifically, it removes the word "commonwealth" from the definition of "appropriate public authority," which likely broadens the scope of entities considered public authorities for insurance purposes. More importantly, the bill inserts language into several sections of Chapter 32B, including sections 7A, 9A, 9D, 9E, 9F, 10, 11F, and 16, to allow charter schools, through a vote of their board of trustees, to be included in the same way as regional district school committees are for the purpose of providing health insurance benefits to their employees. This means charter school employees will have a clearer pathway to accessing health insurance plans similar to those available to employees in traditional public school districts.