Oakmont Regional High School

Upon the issuance of a criminal complaint charging a student with a felony or upon the issuance of a felony delinquency complaint against a student, the principal or headmaster of a school in which the student is enrolled may suspend such student for a period of time determined appropriate by said principal or headmaster if said principal or headmaster determines that the student’s continued presence in school would have a substantially detrimental effect on the general welfare of the school. The student shall receive written notification of the charges and the reasons for such suspension prior to such suspension taking effect. The student shall also receive written notification of his right to appeal and the process for appealing such suspension; provided, however, that such suspension shall remain in effect prior to any appeal hearing conducted by the superintendent. 

The student shall have the right to appeal the suspension to the superintendent. The student shall notify the superintendent in writing of his request for an appeal no later than five calendar days following the effective date of the suspension. The superintendent shall hold a hearing with the student and the student’s parent or guardian, within three calendar days of the student’s request for an appeal. At the hearing, the student shall have the right to present oral and written testimony on his behalf and shall have the right to counsel. The superintendent shall have the authority to overturn or alter the decision of the principal or headmaster, including recommending an alternate educational program for the student. The superintendent shall render a decision on the appeal within five calendar days of the hearing. Such decision shall be the final decision of the city, town, or regional school district with regard to the suspension. 

1. Any student who is found on school premises or at school-sponsored or school-related events, including athletic games, in possession of a dangerous weapon, including, but not limited to, a gun or a knife; or a controlled substance as defined in chapter ninety-four C, including, but not limited to, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin, may be subject to expulsion from the school or school district by the principal. 
2.  Any student who assaults a principal, assistant principal, teacher, teacher’s aide, or other educational staff on school premises or at school-sponsored or school-related events, including athletic games, may be subject to expulsion from the school or school district by the principal. 
3.  Any student who is charged with a violation of either paragraph (a) or (b) shall be notified in writing of an opportunity for a hearing; provided, however, that the student may have representation along with the opportunity to present evidence and witnesses at the said hearing before the principal. 
4.  After said hearing, a principal may, in his discretion, decide to suspend rather than expel a student who has been determined by the principal to have violated either paragraph (a) or (b). 
5.  Any student who has been expelled from a school district pursuant to these provisions shall have the right to appeal to the superintendent. The expelled student shall have ten days from the date of the expulsion in which to notify the superintendent of their appeal. The student has the right to counsel at a hearing before the superintendent. The subject matter of the appeal shall not be limited solely to a factual determination of whether the student has violated any provisions of this section. 

Upon a student being convicted of a felony or upon adjudication or admission in court of guilt with respect to such a felony or felony delinquency, the principal or headmaster of a school in which the student is enrolled may expel said student if such principal or headmaster determines that the student’s continued presence in school would have a substantially detrimental effect on the general welfare of the school. The student shall receive written notification of the charges and reasons for such expulsion prior to such expulsion taking effect. The student shall also receive written notification of his right to appeal and the process for appealing such expulsion; provided, however, that the expulsion shall remain in effect prior to any appeal hearing conducted by the superintendent. 

The student shall have the right to appeal the expulsion to the superintendent. The student shall notify the superintendent, in writing, of his request for an appeal no later than five calendar days following the effective date of the expulsion. The superintendent shall hold a hearing with the student and the student’s parent or guardian within three calendar days of the expulsion. At the hearing, the student shall have the right to present oral and written testimony on his behalf and shall have the right to counsel. The superintendent shall render a decision on the appeal within five calendar days of the hearing. Such a decision shall be the final decision of the city, town, or regional school district with regard to the expulsion. Upon expulsion of such student, no school or school district shall be required to provide educational services to such student. 

1.  When a student is expelled under the provisions of this section, no school or school district within the Commonwealth shall be required to admit such a student or to provide educational services to the said student. If the said student does apply for admission to another school or school district, the superintendent of the school district to which the application is made may request and shall receive from the superintendent of the school expelling said student a written statement of the reasons for said expulsion. 

1. This section shall govern the suspension and expulsion of students enrolled in a public school in the commonwealth who are not charged with a violation of subsections (a) or (b) of section 37H or with a felony under section 37H1/2. 
    
2. Any principal, headmaster, superintendent, or other person acting as a decision-maker at a student meeting or hearing, when deciding the consequences for the student, shall exercise discretion; consider ways to re-engage the student in the learning process, and avoid using expulsion as a consequence until other remedies and consequences have been employed. 
    
3. For any suspension or expulsion under this section, the principal or headmaster of a school in which the student is enrolled, or a designee, shall provide, to the student and to the parent or guardian of the student, notice of the charges and the reason for the suspension or expulsion in English and in the primary language spoken in the home of the student. The student shall receive the written notification and shall have the opportunity to meet with the principal or headmaster, or a designee, to discuss the charges and reasons for the suspension or expulsion prior to the suspension or expulsion taking effect. The principal or headmaster, or a designee, shall ensure that the parent or guardian of the student is included in the meeting, provided that such meeting may take place without the parent or guardian only if the principal or headmaster, or a designee, can document reasonable efforts to include the parent or guardian in that meeting. The department shall promulgate rules and regulations that address a principal’s duties under this subsection and procedures for including parents in student exclusion meetings, hearings or interviews under this subsection.
    
4. If a decision is made to suspend or expel the student after the meeting, the principal or headmaster, or a designee, shall update the notification for the suspension or expulsion to reflect the meeting with the student. If a student has been suspended or expelled for more than 10 school days for a single infraction or for more than 10 school days cumulatively for multiple infractions in any school year, the student and the parent or guardian of the student shall also receive, at the time of the suspension or expulsion decision, written notification of a right to appeal and the process for appealing the suspension or expulsion in English and in the primary language spoken in the home of the student; provided, however, that the suspension or expulsion shall remain in effect prior to any appeal hearing. The principal or headmaster or a designee shall notify the superintendent in writing, including, but not limited to, by electronic means, of any out-of-school suspension imposed on a student enrolled in kindergarten through grade 3 prior to such suspension taking effect. That notification shall describe the student’s alleged misconduct and the reasons for suspending the student out-of-school. For the purposes of this section, the term “out-of-school suspension” shall mean a disciplinary action imposed by school officials to remove a student from participation in school activities for 1 day or more.
    
5. A student who has been suspended or expelled from school for more than 10 school days for a single infraction or for more than 10 school days cumulatively for multiple infractions in any school year shall have the right to appeal the suspension or expulsion to the superintendent. The student or a parent or guardian of the student shall notify the superintendent in writing of a request for an appeal not later than 5 calendar days following the effective date of the suspension or expulsion; provided, that a student and a parent or guardian of the student may request, and if so requested, shall be granted an extension of up to 7 calendar days. The superintendent or a designee shall hold a hearing with the student and the parent or guardian of the student within 3 school days of the student’s request for an appeal; provided that a student or a parent or guardian of the student may request and, if so requested, shall be granted an extension of up to 7 calendar days; provided further, that the superintendent, or a designee, may proceed with a hearing without a parent or guardian of the student if the superintendent, or a designee, makes a good faith effort to include the parent or guardian. At the hearing, the student shall have the right to present oral and written testimony, cross-examine witnesses and shall have the right to counsel. The superintendent shall render a decision on the appeal in writing within 5 calendar days of the hearing. That decision shall be the final decision of the school district with regard to the suspension or expulsion. 
    
6. No student shall be suspended or expelled from a school or school district for a time period that exceeds 90 school days, beginning the first day the student is removed from an assigned school building. 

Summary of the Provisions of Chapter 222: An Act Relative to Students’ Access to Educational Services and Exclusion from School (Chapter 222 shall take effect on July 1, 2014.) Source: http://www.massadvocates.org/documents/SummaryofChapter222oftheActsof2012.pdf 

1. Access to Education ‐ All Disciplinary Exclusions

Students excluded for more than 10 consecutive school days, whether in or out of school, are entitled to educational services so they have an opportunity to make academic progress during the period of exclusion, to make up assignments, and earn credits missed, including but not limited to homework, quizzes, exams, papers and projects missed. 

Principals shall develop a school‐wide education service plan for all such students excluded more than 10 days. Such plans may include, but are not limited to: 

•  tutoring, 
•  alternative placement, 
•  Saturday school, and 
•  online or distance learning. 

Schools shall provide the student and the parent or guardian with a list of alternative educational services. Upon selection of an alternative educational service by the student and parent or guardian, the school shall facilitate and verify enrollment in the service. 

If the student moves to another school district during the period of exclusion, the new district shall either admit the student or provide educational services in an education service plan. 

Students suspended for 10 or fewer consecutive days, whether in or out of school, shall have an opportunity to: 

• make academic progress during the period of suspension, 
• make up assignments and earn credits missed, including but not limited to: 
  • homework 
  • quizzes 
  • exams 
  • papers and projects 

Procedures for suspension of students with disabilities when suspensions exceed 10 consecutive school days or a pattern has developed for suspensions exceeding 10 cumulative days; responsibilities of the Team; responsibilities of the district 

1. A suspension of longer than 10 consecutive days or a series of suspensions that are shorter than 10 consecutive days but constitute a pattern are considered to represent a change in placement. 2. Prior to a suspension that constitutes a change in the placement of a student with disabilities, district personnel, the parent, and other relevant members of the Team, as determined by the parent and the district, convene to review all relevant information in the student’s file, including the IEP, any teacher observations, and any relevant information from the parents, to determine whether the behavior was caused by or had a direct and substantial relationship to the disability or was the direct result of the district’s failure to implement the IEP-“a manifestation determination.” 
2. If district personnel, the parent, and other relevant members of the Team determine that the behavior is NOT a manifestation of the disability, then the district may suspend or expel the student consistent with policies applied to any student without disabilities, except that the district must still offer: 
3. services to enable the student, although in another setting, to continue to participate in the general education curriculum and to progress toward IEP goals; and 
4. as appropriate, a functional behavioral assessment and behavioral intervention services and modifications, to address the behavior so that it does not recur. 
5. Interim alternative educational setting. Regardless of the manifestation determination, the district may place the student in an interim alternative educational setting (as determined by the Team) for up to 45 school days a. on its own authority if the behavior involves weapons or illegal drugs or another controlled substance or the infliction of serious bodily injury on another person while at school or a school function or, considered case by case, unique circumstances; or 
6. on the authority of a hearing officer if the officer orders the alternative placement after the district provides evidence that the student is “substantially likely” to injure him/herself or others. 

Characteristics. In either case, the interim alternative education setting enables the student to continue in the general curriculum and to continue receiving services identified on the IEP and provides services to address the problem behavior. 

5. If district personnel, the parent, and other relevant members of the Team determine that the behavior IS a manifestation of the disability, then the Team completes a functional behavioral assessment and behavioral intervention plan if it has not already done so. If a behavioral intervention plan is already in place, the Team reviews it and modifies it, as necessary, to address the behavior. Except when he or she has been placed in an interim alternative educational setting in accordance with part 4, the student returns to the original placement unless the parents and district agree otherwise. 
6. Not later than the date of the decision to take disciplinary action, the school district notifies the parents of that decision and provides them with the written notice of procedural safeguards. If the parent chooses to appeal or the school district requests a hearing because it believes that maintaining the student’s current placement is substantially likely to result in injury to the student or others, the student remains in the 75

disciplinary placement, if any, until the decision of the hearing officer or the end of the time period for the disciplinary action, whichever comes first, unless the parent and the school district agree otherwise. Federal Requirements 34 CFR 300.530-537 

Procedural requirements applied to students not yet determined to be eligible for special education 1. If, prior to the disciplinary action, a district had knowledge that the student may be a student with a disability, then the district makes all protections available to the student until and unless the student is subsequently determined not to be eligible. The district may be considered to have prior knowledge if: a. The parent had expressed concern in writing; or 

1. The parent had requested an evaluation, or 
2. District staff had expressed directly to the Director of Pupil Services or other supervisory personnel specific concerns about a pattern of behavior demonstrated by the student. 

The district may not be considered to have had prior knowledge if the parent has not consented to the evaluation of the student or has refused special education services, or if an evaluation of the student has resulted in a determination of ineligibility. 

2. If the district had no reason to consider the student disabled, and the parent requests an evaluation subsequent to the disciplinary action, the district must have procedures consistent with federal requirements to conduct an expedited evaluation to determine eligibility. 
3. If the student is found eligible, then the student receives all procedural protections subsequent to the finding of eligibility. State Requirements Federal Requirements 34 CFR 300.534 

State Oversight and Responsibility for School Exclusion

Instructional costs of alternative educational services may be eligible for state reimbursement. DESE shall submit an annual report to the Legislature on the alternative education instructional costs. School districts shall report to DESE the specific reasons for all exclusions, regardless of duration or type. On an annual basis, DESE shall make district-level de‐identified data and analysis, including the total number of days each student is excluded during the school year, available to the public. This report shall include district-level data disaggregated by student status and categories established by the commissioner. ∙ Under regulations promulgated by the commissioner, for each school that excludes a significant number of students for more than 10 cumulative days in a school year, the commissioner shall:

• investigate and, 
• as appropriate, shall recommend models that incorporate intermediary steps prior to 
• the use of the exclusion. 
• The results of the analysis shall be publicly reported. 

DESE shall issue a report to the Legislature on the costs of implementation of Chapter 222 (including the school dropout prevention provisions summarized below in Section IV) not later than November 30, 2017. 

III. Due Process Rights and Protections: Exclusions for Non‐serious Offenses 

Non‐serious offenses are those that do not involve drugs, weapons, and assaults on school staff, and those that do not involve felony charges filed in court. 

School officials, when deciding the disciplinary consequences for a student, shall: 

• exercise discretion,
• consider ways to re‐engage the student in the learning process, and
• avoid using expulsion as a consequence until other remedies and consequences have been employed. ∙ No student shall be excluded for a time period that exceeds 90 school days.

Principals shall provide to the student and parent or guardian notice of the charges and the reason for exclusion in English and in the primary language spoken in the home. 

Students shall receive the written notification and have the opportunity to meet with the principal or designee to discuss the charges and reasons prior to the exclusion taking effect. 

The principal or designee shall ensure that the parent or guardian is included in the meeting, unless the principal or designee can document reasonable efforts to include the parent or guardian. ∙ DESE shall promulgate regulations regarding the principal’s duties and the procedures for including parents. ∙ The principal or designee shall update the notification for an exclusion. If the student is excluded for more than 10 school days for a single infraction or for more than 10 school days cumulatively for multiple infractions in any school year, the student and parent or guardian shall also receive written notification of a right to appeal and the process for appealing in English and the primary language spoken in the home. ∙ The principal or designee shall notify the superintendent of an exclusion imposed on a student enrolled in kindergarten through grade 3 prior to such exclusion taking effect, describing the alleged misconduct and reason for exclusion. 

A student who has been excluded for more than 10 school days for a single infraction or for more than 10 school days cumulatively for multiple infractions in any school year shall have the right to appeal to the superintendent. 

The student or parent or guardian shall request the appeal within 5 calendar days of the effective date of the exclusion, but can request and shall be granted an extension of up to 7 calendar days. ∙ The superintendent or designee shall hold a hearing with the student or parent or guardian within 3 school days of the request, but the student or parent or guardian can request and shall be granted an extension of up to 7 calendar days. 

At the hearing, the student shall have the right to present oral and written testimony and cross‐examine witnesses, and the right to counsel. 

The superintendent shall render a decision in writing within 5 calendar days of the hearing. 

1. School Dropouts

Students between the ages of 14 and 16 who hold a permit for employment are no longer exempt from the requirement to attend school. 

Schools shall have a pupil absence notification program, designed to notify a parent or guardian if the school has not received notification of an absence from the parent or guardian within 3 days of the absence. Schools shall have a policy of notifying the parent or guardian if the student has at least 5 days in which the student has missed 2 or more periods unexcused in a school year or has missed 5 or more school days unexcused in a school year. The principal or designee shall make a reasonable effort to meet with the parent or guardian of a student who has 5 or more unexcused absences to develop action steps for student attendance. ∙ No student who has not graduated from high school shall be considered to have permanently left public school unless the school administrator has sent notice within a period of 5 days from the student’s 10th consecutive absence to the student and parent or guardian in the primary language of the parent or guardian and English, initially offering at least 2 dates and times for an exit interview between the superintendent or designee and the student and parent or guardian. 

The exit interview shall be for the purpose of discussing the reasons for the student permanently leaving school and to consider alternative education or other placements. During the exit interview, the student shall be given information about: 

• the detrimental effects of early withdrawal from school; the benefits of earning a high school diploma; and 
• the alternative education programs and services available to the student. 

DESE shall publish a model protocol for conducting exit interviews, and compile and maintain a list of alternative education resources and programs available to the student in addition to those the district may provide. 

MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL LAW- CHAPTER 269, SECTION 17 HAZING REGULATIONS 

Hazing as described by Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 269, Section 17 is prohibited. Participants will be suspended from school for 5 school days. Organizers of the incident will be suspended for 10 school days. All such incidents will be reported to law enforcement authorities for further action. 

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

Chapter 269 of the General Laws is hereby adding the following three sections: 

Section 17: Whoever is a principal organizer or participant in the crime of hazing as defined herein shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than one hundred days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. 

The term “hazing” as used in this section and in sections eighteen and nineteen, shall mean any conduct or method of initiation into any student organization, whether on public or private property, which willfully or recklessly endangers the physical or mental health of any student or other person. Such conduct shall include whipping, beating, branding, forced calisthenics, exposure to the weather, forced consumption of any food, liquor, beverage, drug or other substance, or any other brutal treatment or forced physical activity which is likely to adversely affect the physical health or safety of any such student or another person, or which subjects such student or another person to extreme mental stress, including extended deprivation of sleep or rest or extended isolation. 

Section 18: Whoever knows that another person is the victim of hazing as defined in section seventeen and is at the scene of such crime shall, to the extent that such person can do so without danger or peril to himself or others, report such crime to an appropriate law enforcement official as soon as reasonably practicable. Whoever fails to report such crime shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars. Section 19: Each secondary school and each public and private school or college shall issue to every group or organization under its authority or operating on or in conjunction with its campus or school, and to every member, plebe, pledge or applicant for membership in such group or organization, a copy of said sections seventeen and eighteen. An officer of each such group or organization, and each individual receiving a copy of said sections seventeen and eighteen shall sign an acknowledgment stating that such group, organization, or individual has received a copy of said sections seventeen and eighteen. 

Each secondary school and each public or private school or college shall file, at least annually, a report with the regents of higher education and in the case of secondary schools, the board of education, certifying that such institution has complied with the provisions of this section and also certifying that said school has adopted a disciplinary policy with regards to the organizers and participants of hazing. The board of regents and in the case of secondary schools, the board of education shall promulgate regulations governing the content and frequency of such reports, and shall forthwith report to the attorney general any such institution, which fails to make such report. 

Effective July 1, 1989, anyone convicted of dealing drugs within 1000 feet of an elementary, vocational or secondary school will face a two-year mandatory prison sentence. It will not matter whether the dealer knew student was near a school, whether it is a public or private school or in session at the time of the offense. The law will pertain to drug distributors, manufacturers, or persons possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute it. A fine of up to $10,000.00 may also be imposed but not in lieu of the two-year term of imprisonment.

A license to drive is one privilege drug offenders will now lose for certain. This new law provides that a conviction of any drug offense shall result in the loss of the right to drive for a period of up to five years. In the case of minors who may not have a driver’s license at the time of their conviction, they may lose the right to obtain a license until reaching age 21. 

Teenagers and people under 21 years of age, in particular, should be aware that the mere possession of false identification or license is an offense that can cause them to lose their driver’s license. A new law came into effect on August 4, 1989, that makes a broad spectrum of activities related to false IDs or licenses punishable by loss of license for 6 months to one year, fines, and possible imprisonment. These activities include, but are not limited to: making, using, or carrying false I.D. or license; using the cards or license of another person, and furnishing false information in obtaining an I.D. or license. The registrar of motor vehicles may suspend a driver’s license for up to 6 months or upon conviction revoke a license for up to one year for violating any of these provisions. 

Eligible parties may peruse any records kept on students at Oakmont at any time. There is nothing in the permanent or temporary record, which would not or could not have already been seen by a parent/guardian or student. These records include report cards, midterm reports, letters of commendation, attendance, health records, etc. Upon graduation or leaving Oakmont, students may obtain a copy of any record pertaining to said student. Students are requested to sign a statement, which allows Oakmont to maintain information in their folders, which could be of value to the student in the future, beyond the five-year limit of this act. Without this permission, school activities, health records, SAT scores, etc. could not be kept. Whenever a party feels the records are inaccurate that party may, in writing, add their version of the inaccuracy to the record. Additional information regarding these state regulations may be obtained from the school counseling office. 

Recent landmark pieces of legislation, Chapter 622 of the 1972 Education Amendment, are laws prohibiting discrimination. These are based on the sound premise that in a knowledge-based society, equal opportunities in education are fundamental to equality in all other forms of human endeavor. It is the policy of Oakmont Regional High School not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, homelessness, age, disability, military/veteran status, and any other class or characteristic protected by law. as in accordance with Chapter 622 of the Massachusetts General Laws, Title IX, of the 1972 Education Amendment and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Acts of 1973. 39. 

No person shall be excluded from or discriminated against in admission to a public school of any town, or in obtaining the advantages, privileges, and courses of study of such public school on account of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, homelessness, age, disability, military/veteran status, and any other class or characteristic protected by law. 

Taunting includes any actions or comments by coaches, players, or spectators which are intended to bait, anger, embarrass, ridicule, or demean others, whether or not the deeds or words are vulgar or racist. Included is conduct that berates, needles, intimidates, or threatens based on race, gender, ethnic origin, or background, and conduct that attacks religious beliefs, size, economic status, speech, family, disability, or personal matters. Examples of taunting include but are not limited to: “trash talk “, defined as a verbal communication of a personal nature directed by a competitor to an opponent by ridiculing their skills, efforts, sexual orientation, or l lack of success, which is likely to provoke an altercation or physical response; and physical intimidation outside the spirit of the game, including “in the face “confrontation by one player to another and standing over/straddling a tackled or fallen player. 

In all sports, officials are to consider taunting a flagrant unsportsmanlike foul that disqualifies the offending bench personnel or contestant from that contest/day of competition. In addition, the offender shall be subject to existing MIAA Expulsion Rules. A warning shall be given to both teams by the game official prior to the contest. At all MIAA contest sites and tournament venues, appropriate management may give spectators one warning for taunting. Thereafter, spectators who taunt players, coaches, game officials, or other spectators are subject to ejection. 

(Management plan notification in accordance with AHERA regulations 40 CFR 463) The Ashburnham-Westminster Regional School District must notify building users, in writing, that the AHERA Management Plans of each school will be available for review in the office of the Head Custodian between the hours of 8:00 A.M. and 2:00 P.M. Monday through Friday by appointment. 

The Ashburnham Westminster Regional School District and Oakmont Regional High School comply with the following state and federal laws 

• Title I: Title I of the American Disabilities Act: Prohibits discrimination, exclusion from participation, and denial of benefits on the basis of disability in the areas of employment 
•  Title II: Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990: Prohibits discrimination, exclusion from participation, and denial of benefits on the basis of disability in the areas of educational programming and activities 
•  Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Prohibits discrimination, exclusion from participation, and denial of benefits based on race, color, and national origin 
•  Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972: Prohibits discrimination, exclusion from participation, and denial of benefits in educational programs based on sex 
•  Section 504: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973: Prohibits discrimination, exclusion from participation, and denial of benefits based on disability 
•  MGL, Ch. 76, S. 5: Mass. General Laws, Chapter 76, Section 5: Prohibits discrimination in all public schools on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, homelessness, age, disability, military/veteran status, and any other class or characteristic protected by law. 
•  MGL, Chapter 265, Section 37: No person whether or not acting under the color of the law, shall by force or threat of force, willfully injure, intimidate, or interfere with, or oppress or threaten any other person in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the constitution or laws of the Commonwealth or by the constitution or laws of the United States.