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