Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts Senate Bill S312 Latest Draft

Bill / Introduced Version Filed 02/16/2023

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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1852       FILED ON: 1/20/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 312
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Jason M. Lewis, (BY REQUEST)
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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 adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act for the end of Common Core, and establishing certain other curriculum standards.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Vincent Lawrence Dixon60 Lake Street Unit N, Winchester MA 
01890 1 of 3
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1852       FILED ON: 1/20/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 312
By Mr. Lewis (by request), a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 312) of Vincent 
Lawrence Dixon for legislation for the end of Common Core, and establishing certain other 
curriculum standards. Education.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 360 OF 2021-2022.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act for the end of Common Core, and establishing certain other curriculum standards.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority 
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. The Massachusetts General Laws are hereby amended by inserting the 
2following new chapter:
3 An Act for: Ending Common Core, and establishing certain other curriculum standards.
4 1.) The interest of parents, students, families, teachers, and many others, in achieving the 
5best of educational standards has, in many ways, been influenced by serious concerns about the 
6“Common Core” curriculum. 
7 2.) This legislation, seeks to spare the negative effects of the Common Core curriculum, 
8and establish certain new standards for curriculum in schools. 
9 Therefore, the language below is proposed, and upon passage, is adopted:  2 of 3
10 SECTION 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the 
11contrary, the vote taken by the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on 
12July 21, 2010, to adopt the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and English 
13Language Arts is hereby rescinded. The curriculum frameworks in Mathematics and English 
14Language Arts that were in effect prior to that date are hereby restored. 
15 SECTION 3. Section 1D of Chapter 69 is hereby amended in the second paragraph by 
16inserting after the first sentence, the following new sentences: 
17 The process shall include committees made up exclusively of public school teachers and 
18academics from private and public colleges and universities established and operated in 
19Massachusetts. The commissioner shall copyright the frameworks, which shall be wholly owned 
20by the department; permission shall be granted to copy any or all parts of these frameworks for 
21non-commercial educational purposes. 
22 SECTION 4. Said section 1D of chapter 69 is hereby further amended in the second 
23paragraph by inserting after the third sentence the following new sentences: 
24 There shall be three review committees, one for each discipline of math, science and 
25technology and English. Each review committee shall have three members appointed by the 
26governor who shall choose said members from private or public research universities established 
27and operated in Massachusetts for each of the disciplines. For the purposes of this section, a 
28“research university” is any university that awards doctoral degrees in the arts and sciences. Each 
29review committee shall warrant by a two-thirds vote that the frameworks are equivalent to the 
30standards of the most educationally advanced nations as determined by the Trends in  3 of 3
31Mathematics and Sciences Study. No framework shall be approved by the board without such a 
32warrant. 
33 SECTION 5. Section 1I of Chapter 69 is hereby amended in the third paragraph by 
34inserting after the second sentence, the following new sentence: 
35 In order to better inform the teachers and administrators about the diagnostic 
36assessments, after the administration of the assessments but before the start of the new school 
37year, the commissioner shall release all of the test items, including questions, constructed 
38responses and essays, for each grade and every subject. 
39 SECTION 6. The several provisions of this Act are independent and severable and the 
40invalidity, if any, of any part or feature thereof shall not affect or render the remainder of the Act 
41invalid or inoperative.
42 SECTION 7. This act shall take effect immediately upon becoming law.