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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1731 FILED ON: 1/15/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 596 |
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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 | | James K. Hawkins |
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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 ensure that all students are prepared for future success. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:James K. Hawkins2nd Bristol1/15/2025Vanna Howard17th Middlesex2/14/2025Michael D. BradySecond Plymouth and Norfolk2/14/2025Christopher Richard Flanagan1st Barnstable2/14/2025Rodney M. Elliott16th Middlesex2/14/2025Samantha Montaño15th Suffolk2/14/2025Brian W. Murray10th Worcester2/14/2025Erika Uyterhoeven27th Middlesex2/14/2025Jacob R. OliveiraHampden, Hampshire and Worcester2/14/2025Natalie M. Higgins4th Worcester2/14/2025Mike Connolly26th Middlesex2/14/2025Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire2/25/2025Tara T. Hong18th Middlesex2/25/2025 1 of 7 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1731 FILED ON: 1/15/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 596 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Hawkins of Attleboro, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 596) of |
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| 19 | 19 | | James K. Hawkins and others for legislation to align high school courses with college and |
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| 20 | 20 | | workforce expectations. Education. |
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| 21 | 21 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 22 | 22 | | _______________ |
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| 23 | 23 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 24 | 24 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
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| 26 | 26 | | An Act to ensure that all students are prepared for future success. |
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| 27 | 27 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 28 | 28 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 29 | 29 | | 1 SECTION 1. Chapter 69 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after |
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| 30 | 30 | | 2section 37 the following section:- |
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| 31 | 31 | | 3 Section 38. MassCore |
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| 32 | 32 | | 4 (a) The department shall, in collaboration with the MassCore advisory council established |
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| 33 | 33 | | 5pursuant to subsection (d) and subject to the approval of the board, develop, implement and |
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| 34 | 34 | | 6administer a statewide program of study, to be known as MassCore, to align high school courses |
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| 35 | 35 | | 7with college and workforce expectations and to ensure that all students are prepared to be |
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| 36 | 36 | | 8knowledgeable, empowered and civically engaged adults who can thrive upon high school |
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| 37 | 37 | | 9graduation and throughout their lives. MassCore shall, except as otherwise herein provided, be a |
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| 38 | 38 | | 10required program of study for all high school students in the commonwealth beginning with |
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| 39 | 39 | | 11students entering ninth grade in the 2027-2028 school year. 2 of 7 |
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| 40 | 40 | | 12 (b) MassCore shall consist of four units of English, four units of mathematics, three units |
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| 41 | 41 | | 13of a lab-based science, three units of history, two units of the same world language, one unit of |
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| 42 | 42 | | 14the arts and five additional core elective courses; provided, however, that the MassCore program |
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| 43 | 43 | | 15of study may be amended upon a joint recommendation to the board by the department and the |
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| 44 | 44 | | 16MassCore advisory council and subject to the approval of the board. |
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| 45 | 45 | | 17 All MassCore courses shall be aligned with the appropriate grade-level standards in the |
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| 46 | 46 | | 18Massachusetts curriculum frameworks. School districts and educators shall have flexibility and |
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| 47 | 47 | | 19professional autonomy in selecting curriculum and in designing and administering teaching and |
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| 48 | 48 | | 20learning in line with the appropriate grade-level standards. |
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| 49 | 49 | | 21 (c) The department shall, in collaboration with the MassCore advisory council and |
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| 50 | 50 | | 22subject to the approval of the board, develop and promulgate regulations governing the |
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| 51 | 51 | | 23implementation, administration and enforcement of this section, which shall include, but not be |
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| 52 | 52 | | 24limited to: (i) creating a waiver process by which certain student subgroups, including, but not |
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| 53 | 53 | | 25limited to, multilingual learners, students with disabilities and students who are newly enrolled in |
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| 54 | 54 | | 26a public school in the commonwealth may be exempt from some or all of the MassCore |
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| 55 | 55 | | 27requirements; (ii) creating a process by which school districts may, subject to approval by the |
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| 56 | 56 | | 28department, award high school credit in compliance with this section for MassCore-equivalent |
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| 57 | 57 | | 29courses taken in middle school; (iii) creating a process by which school districts may receive a |
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| 58 | 58 | | 30temporary waiver of the requirements of this section due to a demonstrated hardship; (iv) |
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| 59 | 59 | | 31ensuring flexibility for students in selecting courses that satisfy the MassCore requirements, |
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| 60 | 60 | | 32including within subject areas, and ensuring flexibility in meeting the MassCore requirements for |
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| 61 | 61 | | 33students enrolled in state-approved career and technical education programs; (v) establishing a |
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| 62 | 62 | | 34reporting process for school districts to demonstrate compliance with the MassCore 3 of 7 |
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| 63 | 63 | | 35requirements; and (vi) establishing a process for recommending changes or updates to MassCore |
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| 64 | 64 | | 36that shall include public input. |
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| 65 | 65 | | 37 Said regulations shall be developed using a transparent and inclusive process that |
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| 66 | 66 | | 38meaningfully engages students, educators, administrators, parents and other stakeholders, |
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| 67 | 67 | | 39particularly those from historically marginalized and underserved communities and populations. |
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| 68 | 68 | | 40In developing said regulations, the department and the MassCore advisory council shall jointly |
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| 69 | 69 | | 41convene not less |
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| 70 | 70 | | 42 than 2 public meetings across the commonwealth, shall create and administer a statewide |
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| 71 | 71 | | 43survey open to members of the public and available in multiple languages, and may hold |
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| 72 | 72 | | 44additional hearings and other forums as necessary. |
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| 73 | 73 | | 45 (d) There shall be a MassCore advisory council to collaborate with and advise the |
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| 74 | 74 | | 46department on all matters related to MassCore and the implementation of this section. The |
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| 75 | 75 | | 47advisory council shall consist of: 1 member who shall be appointed by the Massachusetts |
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| 76 | 76 | | 48Teachers Association; 1 member who shall be appointed by the American Federation of |
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| 77 | 77 | | 49Teachers, Massachusetts; 1 member who shall be appointed by the Massachusetts Association of |
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| 78 | 78 | | 50School Superintendents, Inc.; 1 member who shall be appointed by the Massachusetts |
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| 79 | 79 | | 51Association of School Committees, Inc.; 1 member who shall be appointed by the Massachusetts |
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| 80 | 80 | | 52Parent Teachers Association; 1 member who shall be appointed by the Massachusetts |
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| 81 | 81 | | 53Association of Regional Schools; 1 member who shall be appointed by the Massachusetts |
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| 82 | 82 | | 54Association of Vocational Administrators Inc.; 1 member who shall be appointed by the |
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| 83 | 83 | | 55Massachusetts School Counselors Association; 1 member who shall be a high school student |
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| 84 | 84 | | 56appointed by the Massachusetts Association of Student Representatives; 1 member who shall be 4 of 7 |
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| 85 | 85 | | 57appointed by the NAACP; 1 member who shall be appointed by the Massachusetts Immigrant |
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| 86 | 86 | | 58and Refugee Advocacy Coalition; 1 member who shall be appointed by Citizens for Public |
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| 87 | 87 | | 59Schools; 1 member who shall be appointed by the Massachusetts Advocates for Children; 1 |
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| 88 | 88 | | 60member who shall be appointed by the Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Education |
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| 89 | 89 | | 61Assessment; and 1 member who shall be a researcher from a public university in the |
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| 90 | 90 | | 62commonwealth with expertise in the area of public elementary and secondary education, selected |
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| 91 | 91 | | 63by the members of the advisory council. |
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| 92 | 92 | | 64 The advisory council shall determine the means of conducting its work and shall meet as |
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| 93 | 93 | | 65often as the members shall determine. The department and the advisory council shall meet at |
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| 94 | 94 | | 66least quarterly. |
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| 95 | 95 | | 67 (e) By December 31, 2025, school districts shall report to the department on their |
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| 96 | 96 | | 68capacity to comply with this section. The report shall be submitted in a form and manner |
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| 97 | 97 | | 69prescribed by the department and shall include, but not be limited to, whether a district is already |
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| 98 | 98 | | 70in compliance with the course requirements of this section and, for those districts not already in |
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| 99 | 99 | | 71compliance, an estimate of additional financial costs directly related to coming into compliance |
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| 100 | 100 | | 72and whether such costs will create a demonstrated financial hardship for the school district |
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| 101 | 101 | | 73including, but not limited to, by directly resulting in cuts to existing school staff, courses or |
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| 102 | 102 | | 74programs. |
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| 103 | 103 | | 75 By February 1, 2026, the department shall submit to the general court a request for an |
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| 104 | 104 | | 76appropriation to those school districts with a demonstrated financial hardship, as determined by |
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| 105 | 105 | | 77the department, for the total costs associated with coming into compliance with the requirements |
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| 106 | 106 | | 78of this section. The MassCore course and program requirements in this section shall not be in 5 of 7 |
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| 107 | 107 | | 79effect for students in said school districts until such a time that said appropriation is made to said |
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| 108 | 108 | | 80school districts. |
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| 109 | 109 | | 81 (f) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting a school district from |
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| 110 | 110 | | 82implementing MassCore prior to the 2027-2028 school year or from implementing course or unit |
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| 111 | 111 | | 83requirements for students that exceed the requirements of MassCore. |
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| 112 | 112 | | 84 SECTION 2. (a) There shall be a special commission to study and make |
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| 113 | 113 | | 85recommendations for more authentic and accurate methods of assessing students in the |
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| 114 | 114 | | 86commonwealth. The |
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| 115 | 115 | | 87 commission shall examine: (i) the requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act of |
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| 116 | 116 | | 882015, codified at 20 U.S.C. § 6301 et. seq., and potential waivers; (ii) alternative assessment |
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| 117 | 117 | | 89measures in place or being considered nationwide; and (iii) research data on the knowledge and |
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| 118 | 118 | | 90skills that parents, elementary and secondary educators, higher education educators, and business |
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| 119 | 119 | | 91leaders want students to have upon high school graduation. |
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| 120 | 120 | | 92 Regarding the assessment of students, the special commission shall consider assessments |
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| 121 | 121 | | 93other than conventional methods, including, but not limited to: work samples, capstone, service |
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| 122 | 122 | | 94learning or other projects, portfolios, performance assessments and other authentic and direct |
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| 123 | 123 | | 95gauges of student performance that encourage effective instruction, use strategies for avoiding |
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| 124 | 124 | | 96racial and ethnic biases, and recognize the strengths of all students. |
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| 125 | 125 | | 97 The commission shall recommend strategies for assessing students that comply with |
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| 126 | 126 | | 98current federal law. The commission may also make recommendations for changes in or waivers |
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| 127 | 127 | | 99from federal law that would facilitate the implementation of effective assessment strategies. 6 of 7 |
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| 128 | 128 | | 100 (b) The commission shall consist of: 1 member who shall be appointed by the president |
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| 129 | 129 | | 101of the senate, who shall serve as co-chair; 1 member who shall be appointed by the speaker of |
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| 130 | 130 | | 102the house of representatives, who shall serve as co-chair; 1 member who shall be appointed by |
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| 131 | 131 | | 103the minority leader of the senate; 1 member who shall be appointed by the minority leader of the |
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| 132 | 132 | | 104house of representatives; the secretary of education, or a designee; the commissioner of |
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| 133 | 133 | | 105elementary and secondary education, or a designee; 1 member who shall be appointed by the |
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| 134 | 134 | | 106Massachusetts Association of School Committees, Inc.; 1 member who shall be appointed by the |
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| 135 | 135 | | 107Massachusetts Teachers Association; 1 member who shall be appointed by the American |
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| 136 | 136 | | 108Federation of Teachers, Massachusetts; 1 member who shall be appointed by the Massachusetts |
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| 137 | 137 | | 109Association of School Superintendents, Inc.; 1 member who shall be appointed by the |
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| 138 | 138 | | 110Massachusetts Association of Regional Schools; 1 member who shall be appointed by the |
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| 139 | 139 | | 111Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators Inc.; 1 member who shall be appointed |
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| 140 | 140 | | 112by the Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance; 1 member who shall be appointed by Citizens |
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| 141 | 141 | | 113for Public Schools; 1 member who shall be appointed by the NAACP; 1 member who shall be |
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| 142 | 142 | | 114appointed by the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition; 1 member who |
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| 143 | 143 | | 115shall be appointed by Multicultural Education, Training, and Advocacy, Inc; 2 members who |
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| 144 | 144 | | 116shall be appointed by the Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Education Assessment, 1 of |
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| 145 | 145 | | 117whom shall be a high school student attending a public high school in the consortium; 1 member |
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| 146 | 146 | | 118who shall be a high school student appointed by Youth SOL; 1 member who shall be a high |
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| 147 | 147 | | 119school student appointed by the Massachusetts Association of Student Representatives; 1 |
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| 148 | 148 | | 120member who shall be appointed by the Massachusetts School Counselors Association; 1 member |
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| 149 | 149 | | 121who shall be appointed by the Black Educators Alliance of Massachusetts; 1 member who shall |
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| 150 | 150 | | 122be appointed by the Massachusetts Asian American Educators Association; 1 member who shall 7 of 7 |
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| 151 | 151 | | 123be appointed by the Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy of |
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| 152 | 152 | | 124the University of Massachusetts Boston; 1 member who shall be appointed by the Massachusetts |
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| 153 | 153 | | 125Advocates for Children; 1 member who shall be appointed by the Massachusetts Organization of |
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| 154 | 154 | | 126Educational Collaboratives; 1 member who shall be appointed by the Massachusetts Parent |
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| 155 | 155 | | 127Teachers Association; 1 member who shall be appointed by the Center for Law and Education; 1 |
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| 156 | 156 | | 128member who shall be appointed by the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University; 1 |
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| 157 | 157 | | 129member who shall be appointed by the Rural Policy Advisory Commission; 1 member who shall |
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| 158 | 158 | | 130 be appointed by GLSEN Massachusetts; and 1 member who shall be a researcher from a |
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| 159 | 159 | | 131public university in the commonwealth with expertise in the area of assessment, selected jointly |
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| 160 | 160 | | 132by the members of the commission. Members shall not receive compensation for their services |
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| 161 | 161 | | 133but may receive reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred in carrying out their |
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| 162 | 162 | | 134responsibilities as members of the commission. The commissioner of elementary and secondary |
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| 163 | 163 | | 135education shall furnish reasonable staff and other support for the work of the commission. |
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| 164 | 164 | | 136 (c) When conducting its work and issuing its recommendations, the commission shall use |
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| 165 | 165 | | 137a transparent and inclusive process that meaningfully engages students, educators, |
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| 166 | 166 | | 138administrators, parents and other stakeholders, particularly those from historically marginalized |
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| 167 | 167 | | 139and underserved communities and populations. The commission shall hold not less than 5 public |
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| 168 | 168 | | 140meetings across the regions of the commonwealth, shall create and administer a statewide survey |
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| 169 | 169 | | 141open to members of the public and available in multiple languages, and may hold additional |
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| 170 | 170 | | 142hearings and other forums as necessary. The commission shall file its report and |
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| 171 | 171 | | 143recommendations with the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives and the chairs of |
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| 172 | 172 | | 144the joint committee on education not later than August 31, 2026. |
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