Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H711 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1661 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 711
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Priscila S. Sousa
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 enabling all students to thrive: protecting a high quality, diverse educator workforce.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Priscila S. Sousa6th Middlesex1/15/2025 1 of 4
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1661 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 711
18	18	By Representative Sousa of Framingham, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 711) of
19	19	Priscila S. Sousa relative to public school teachers. 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 enabling all students to thrive: protecting a high quality, diverse educator workforce.
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 42 of chapter 71 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
29	29	2Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking the seventh paragraph, and inserting in the place
30	30	3thereof the following:
31	31	4 Nothing in this section or section 41 shall affect the right of a superintendent to lay off
32	32	5teachers pursuant to reductions in force or reorganization resulting from declining enrollment or
33	33	6other budgetary reasons.
34	34	7 Except as herein provided, no teacher with professional teacher status shall be laid off
35	35	8pursuant to a reduction in force or reorganization if there is a teacher without professional
36	36	9teacher status for whose position the covered employee is currently certified or if there is a less
37	37	10qualified teacher with professional teacher status holding the same or similar position for which
38	38	11the covered employee is currently certified. No teacher with professional teacher status shall be
39	39	12displaced in accordance with the terms of a collective bargaining agreement or otherwise by a 2 of 4
40	40	13more senior teacher with such status unless the more senior teacher is currently certified pursuant
41	41	14to section 38G and is at least as qualified for the position as the junior teacher holding the
42	42	15position. The criteria for determining a qualified teacher under this paragraph shall be subject to
43	43	16the collective bargaining provisions of chapter 150E; provided, however, that any such
44	44	17collectively bargained for qualifications shall include, as the primary factors, indicators of job
45	45	18performance, including overall ratings resulting from comprehensive evaluations conducted
46	46	19consistent with section 38 and the best interests of the students in the school or district; and
47	47	20provided further, that for the purposes of this paragraph, no distinction shall be made between
48	48	21the overall performance ratings established by the board of elementary and secondary education
49	49	22finding that the teacher has met or exceeded acceptable performance standards developed under
50	50	23said section 38 and that are defined by the board as proficient and exemplary.
51	51	24 A teacher meeting one of the following criteria and who has not received an
52	52	25unsatisfactory performance evaluation in the school year immediately prior to the school year in
53	53	26which a layoff is announced shall be exempted without regard to professional teacher status:
54	54	27 a. a teacher who graduated from an in-district secondary school or a so-called grow
55	55	28your own teacher preparation program of the district if the district has higher than the state
56	56	29percentage of high-needs students, as defined by the department,
57	57	30 b. a teacher who works in a school that is among the top 20 percent of schools with
58	58	31the highest percentage of high-needs students in the district, as defined by the department,
59	59	32 c. a teacher who works in a school that is among the top 20 percent of schools with
60	60	33the lowest staff retention in the district,
61	61	34 d. a teacher deemed by the department as a Teacher of the Year, 3 of 4
62	62	35 e. a teacher who received the highest rating on a performance evaluation delivered
63	63	36in either or both of the school years immediately prior to the school year in which a layoff is
64	64	37announced, or
65	65	38 f. a teacher with linguistic proficiency in relation to an in-district language or
66	66	39dialect. For purposes of this paragraph, linguistic proficiency shall mean: (a) holding the state’s
67	67	40Bilingual Education Endorsement, (b) achieving a passing score on the Massachusetts Tests for
68	68	41Educator Licensure foreign language subject matter test, (c) achieving at least an Advanced Low
69	69	42score on the Oral Proficiency Interview or Writing Proficiency Test proficiency tests offered
70	70	43through the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages, or (d) another method of
71	71	44verification or attestation of proficiency as determined by the district superintendent. In relation
72	72	45to an in-district language or dialect shall mean proficiency specifically in a language or dialect
73	73	46other than English that is spoken by the greater of (a) five percent or more of the students
74	74	47enrolled at the school where a teacher is assigned or, if the teacher is not assigned to a school, of
75	75	48the students enrolled in the district or (b) at five percent or more of the homes of the students
76	76	49enrolled at the school where a teacher is assigned or, if the teacher is not assigned to a school, of
77	77	50the homes of the students enrolled in the district.
78	78	51 Among the remaining teachers without professional teacher status, no teacher shall be
79	79	52laid off pursuant to a reduction in force or reorganization if there is a less qualified teacher
80	80	53without such status holding the same or similar position for which the covered employee is
81	81	54currently certified.
82	82	55 The school committee and the collective bargaining representative may negotiate for
83	83	56seniority or length of service only as a tie-breaker in personnel actions under this paragraph 4 of 4
84	84	57among teachers whose qualifications are no different using the qualifications collectively
85	85	58bargained for in accordance with this paragraph.
86	86	59 SECTION 2. The department of elementary and secondary education shall evaluate the
87	87	60extent to which this act contributed to its goal of increasing the percentage of Massachusetts
88	88	61public school teachers of color and shall report its findings along with any recommendations not
89	89	62later than June 30, 2031. The department shall submit such report to the clerks of the senate and
90	90	63the house of representatives, who shall forward the same to the chairs of the joint committee on
91	91	64education.
92	92	65 SECTION 3. Section 1 shall take effect on April 30, 2026.
93	93	66 SECTION 4. Section 1 is hereby repealed.
94	94	67 SECTION 5. Section 4 shall take effect on December 31, 2032.