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| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 990 FILED ON: 1/18/2023 |
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| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 834 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Jason M. Lewis |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act to increase access to higher education for disadvantaged students. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Jason M. LewisFifth Middlesex 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 990 FILED ON: 1/18/2023 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 834 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Mr. Lewis, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 834) of Jason M. Lewis for |
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| 19 | 19 | | legislation to increase access to higher education for disadvantaged students. Higher Education. |
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| 20 | 20 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 21 | 21 | | SEE SENATE, NO. 845 OF 2021-2022.] |
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| 22 | 22 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 23 | 23 | | _______________ |
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| 24 | 24 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 25 | 25 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 26 | 26 | | _______________ |
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| 27 | 27 | | An Act to increase access to higher education for disadvantaged students. |
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| 28 | 28 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 29 | 29 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 30 | 30 | | 1 SECTION 1. (a) As of October 1, 2026, institutions of higher education in the |
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| 31 | 31 | | 2Commonwealth shall not use standardized test scores for purposes of determining student |
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| 32 | 32 | | 3admission to undergraduate or graduate degree programs. |
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| 33 | 33 | | 4 (b) Subsection (a) shall not apply to examinations required for determining licensure, |
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| 34 | 34 | | 5certification or any profession where an examination is required by a national accreditation |
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| 35 | 35 | | 6organization. |
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| 36 | 36 | | 7 SECTION 2. (a) The commissioner of the department of higher education shall convene a |
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| 37 | 37 | | 8working group with representatives from both public and private institutions of higher education |
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| 38 | 38 | | 9in the Commonwealth to develop, support and promote alternative methods for determining |
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| 39 | 39 | | 10student admission to undergraduate and graduate degree programs that better promote equity and 2 of 2 |
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| 40 | 40 | | 11opportunity for students from all backgrounds, especially students of color and those from other |
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| 41 | 41 | | 12disadvantaged backgrounds. |
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| 42 | 42 | | 13 (b) Annually, not later than December 31, the commissioner shall submit a report |
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| 43 | 43 | | 14detailing their progress and indicating any barriers to the clerks of the house of representatives |
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| 44 | 44 | | 15and the senate and the chairs of the joint committee on higher education. |
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| 45 | 45 | | 16 SECTION 3. section 2 of this act is hereby amended by striking subsection (b) |
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| 46 | 46 | | 17 SECTION 4. Section 3 of this act shall take effect on January 1, 2027. |
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