Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H669 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3834 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 669
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Alice Hanlon Peisch
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act relative to teacher preparation and student literacy.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Alice Hanlon Peisch14th Norfolk1/17/2025 1 of 6
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3834 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 669
18	18	By Representative Peisch of Wellesley, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 669) of
19	19	Alice Hanlon Peisch relative to teacher preparation and student literacy. Education.
20	20	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
21	21	_______________
22	22	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
23	23	(2025-2026)
24	24	_______________
25	25	An Act relative to teacher preparation and student literacy.
26	26	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
27	27	of the same, as follows:
28	28	1 SECTION 1. Section 38G of chapter 71 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022
29	29	2Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 283, the word “student” and replacing
30	30	3it with the following word: candidate.
31	31	4 SECTION 2. Section 38G of said chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby further
32	32	5amended by striking out, in lines 286-288, the words, “The college or university or school
33	33	6district or other institution shall also provide the commissioner with a transcript of the student’s
34	34	7record,” and replacing it with the following:-
35	35	8 The approved program shall be evaluated by the commissioner on a regular basis to
36	36	9ensure that candidates are well prepared to meet the needs of all students in the commonwealth.
37	37	10Through this review, the commissioner of education shall meaningfully differentiate the
38	38	11performance of individual program providers based in part on program quality and outcomes of
39	39	12candidates once they are employed. The review shall include, but not be limited to, program 2 of 6
40	40	13implementation of evidence-based preparation in the five research-based areas in reading
41	41	14instruction, i.e., phonemic awareness, phonics, fluence, vocabulary, and comprehension, and the
42	42	15extent to which new teachers’ effectiveness addresses persistent disparities in achievement. The
43	43	16commissioner shall annually publish data on these programs, including the current approval
44	44	17status, enrollment, demographics of candidates, areas of licensure being pursued and
45	45	18employment rate of graduates.
46	46	19 SECTION 3. Section 38G of said chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby further
47	47	20amended by inserting after the word “record” in line 288, the following paragraph:-
48	48	21 All applications for reviewing and approving preparation programs under this section
49	49	22shall be accompanied by a fee to be determined annually by the secretary of administration and
50	50	23finance under the provisions of section 3B of chapter 7. These fees shall be sufficient to allow
51	51	24the department to carry out the responsibilities outlined in this section.
52	52	25 SECTION 4. Section 57A of chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended by
53	53	26adding at the end thereof the following sentence:-
54	54	27 The commissioner shall annually publish data on which screening instruments are
55	55	28employed by each school district in the Commonwealth, including but not limited to grades Pre-
56	56	29K-3 literacy screening assessments and whether the screening instruments are approved by the
57	57	30department of elementary and secondary education.
58	58	31 SECTION 5. Said chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
59	59	32section 57A the following section:- 3 of 6
60	60	33 Section 57B. The department of elementary and secondary education, in consultation
61	61	34with the department of early education and care, shall issue guidelines to districts requiring
62	62	35screening protocols for reading for all students in grades K-3 using evidence-based screeners.
63	63	36“Evidence-based screeners” as used herein, shall be defined as: tools and assessments that can be
64	64	37used to identify students at risk for poor academic outcomes as determined by the department of
65	65	38elementary education and secondary education. The commissioner shall annually publish data on
66	66	39which screening instruments are employed by each school district in the Commonwealth to
67	67	40conduct reading screening.
68	68	41 Each district shall, not less than twice per year, assess each student’s reading ability and
69	69	42progress in literacy skills from kindergarten through at least third grade, using a valid,
70	70	43developmentally appropriate screening instrument approved by the department of elementary and
71	71	44secondary education. Consistent with section 2 of chapter 71B of the general laws and the
72	72	45Department's dyslexia and literacy guidelines, if such screenings determine that a student is
73	73	46significantly below relevant benchmarks for age-typical development in specific literacy skills,
74	74	47the school shall determine which actions within the general education program will meet the
75	75	48student's needs, including differentiated or supplementary evidence-based reading instruction
76	76	49and ongoing monitoring of progress. Within 30 school days of a screening result that is
77	77	50significantly below the relevant benchmarks, the school shall inform the student's parent or
78	78	51guardian of the screening results and the school's response and shall offer them the opportunity
79	79	52for a follow-up discussion.
80	80	53 SECTON 6. Section 1E of chapter 69 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding
81	81	54at the end of the first paragraph the following sentence:- 4 of 6
82	82	55 Curricula selected to meet the curriculum frameworks for elementary literacy must be
83	83	56evidence-based and include instruction in the five research-based areas in reading instruction,
84	84	57i.e., phonemic awareness, phonics, fluencey, vocabulary, and comprehension.
85	85	58 SECTON 7. Notwithstanding any general law or special law to the contrary, the
86	86	59department of elementary and secondary education shall, subject to appropriation, develop and
87	87	60administer a 2-year pilot program, in partnership with a college or university or school or district
88	88	61or other institution offering an approved preparation program pursuant to Section 38G of Chapter
89	89	6271 of the General Laws, for teacher apprenticeship during which participants shall complete a
90	90	63paid teaching apprenticeship for two full school years in a high-needs district in the classroom
91	91	64with a highly proficient mentor teacher, as determined by the department of elementary and
92	92	65secondary education using factors including but not limited to recent evaluation ratings, student
93	93	66growth data and demonstrated evidence-based practices. As used herein, “high needs districts”
94	94	67shall be defined as: schools or districts with a high percentage of low-income students and
95	95	68English learners, which may include schools or districts implementing turnaround plans. The
96	96	69program shall provide sufficient funds to candidates to support earning a competitive wage,
97	97	70including but not limited to support for childcare, transportation, textbooks and other core
98	98	71expenses, to ensure a diverse cohort are able to fully participate. In administering the pilot
99	99	72program, the department of elementary and secondary education shall promulgate regulations
100	100	73defining the apprenticeship and the target candidates to be admitted to the program.
101	101	74 The department of elementary and secondary education shall file a report with the clerks
102	102	75of the house of representatives and the senate and the joint committee on education no later than
103	103	76one year after the completion of the pilot on the outcome of the pilot program. The report shall
104	104	77include data on the demographics of participants, licensure pass rates on the MTEL and hiring 5 of 6
105	105	78rates and an assessment of the feasibility of applying for status as a United States Registered
106	106	79Apprenticeship. The department of elementary and secondary education shall file a report with
107	107	80the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate and joint committee on education no
108	108	81later than three years after the completion of the pilot that includes, at a minimum, an evaluation
109	109	82of the impact of apprentices on student outcomes as compared to teachers not participating in the
110	110	83pilot using student growth measures and an assessment of the feasibility of expanding to a two-
111	111	84year teacher apprenticeship for all teacher candidates or all candidates in high-needs districts.
112	112	85 SECTION 8. (a) The department of elementary and secondary education shall conduct a
113	113	86study and report on potential initiatives to incentivize diverse and highly effective educators to
114	114	87work in high-needs districts, including incentives to recruit new and diverse teachers to high-
115	115	88needs districts and policies or practices to retain diverse and highly effective teachers currently
116	116	89teaching in high-needs districts. “High-needs districts,” as used herein, shall be defined as:
117	117	90schools or districts with a high percentage of low-income students and English learners, which
118	118	91may include schools or districts implementing turnaround plans.
119	119	92 (b) Not later than January 1, 2027, the department of elementary and secondary education
120	120	93shall file a report, including any analysis, recommendations or proposed legislation, with the
121	121	94clerks of the senate and house of representatives and the chairs of the joint committee on
122	122	95education. The report shall include, but not be limited to: (i) a survey of educator salaries and
123	123	96benefits across school districts; (ii) an assessment of potential incentives to attract highly
124	124	97effective educators to high-needs districts; (iii) the feasibility of financial incentives for
125	125	98achieving National Board certification; (iv) the feasibility of establishing a master educator corps
126	126	99program, to be administered by the department, to incentivize educators that have achieved a
127	127	100certain level of mastery to transfer to high-needs districts; (v) an assessment of a salary parity 6 of 6
128	128	101scale for any educators that have switched to high-needs districts; (vi) the feasibility of a
129	129	102statewide salary parity scale that takes into consideration the relative needs of the district and
130	130	103state and municipal contribution and ability to fund and incentivizes master professional
131	131	104educators to relocate to high-needs districts; (vii) any other program, as determined by the
132	132	105department, to help meet the educator requirements of high-needs districts; and (viii) an
133	133	106assessment of legislation necessary to achieve these objectives.