Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts Senate Bill S321 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1253 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
3	3	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 321
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Brendan P. Crighton
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 incentivizing the awarding of industry-recognized credentials.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Brendan P. CrightonThird Essex 1 of 3
16	16	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1253 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
17	17	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 321
18	18	By Mr. Crighton, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 321) of Brendan P. Crighton
19	19	relative to industry-recognized certification awards paid by the Department of Elementary and
20	20	Secondary Education. Education.
21	21	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
22	22	SEE HOUSE, NO. 564 OF 2023-2024.]
23	23	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
24	24	_______________
25	25	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
26	26	(2025-2026)
27	27	_______________
28	28	An Act incentivizing the awarding of industry-recognized credentials.
29	29	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
30	30	of the same, as follows:
31	31	1 SECTION 1. Chapter 69 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 official edition, is
32	32	2hereby amended by adding the following new section:-
33	33	3 Section 37. (a) Subject to appropriation, the department of elementary and secondary
34	34	4education shall pay each school district a certification award calculated as follows:
35	35	5 (i) $1,000 for each student in the district who earns an industry-recognized certification
36	36	6for an occupation that has high employment value, as determined by the executive office of labor
37	37	7and workforce development through the publication of the annual list required of it pursuant to
38	38	8Chapter 23, section 26 of the General Laws as amended by Chapter 179 of the Acts of 2022, or 2 of 3
39	39	9earns an industry recognized certification that is recognized by any public institution of higher
40	40	10learning in the commonwealth as a basis for academic credit in such institution.
41	41	11 (ii) $800 for each student in the district who earns an industry-recognized certification
42	42	12that does not meet the criteria of the previous paragraph but addresses regional demands
43	43	13identified by the local MassHire Workforce Board.
44	44	14 (b) Subject to appropriation, the department may consider paying each school district a
45	45	15certification award of $1,000 for each student who completes a cooperative education program as
46	46	16defined in Chapter 74, section 1 of the General Laws or other substantial work-based learning
47	47	17experience, such as an internship or apprenticeship, that the department determines is equivalent
48	48	18to having earned an industry-recognized certification of high employment value.
49	49	19 (c) The school district receiving a certification award must allocate at least 80% of
50	50	20any certification award to the school whose students obtained the qualified certifications
51	51	21described in subsections (a) and (b). The allocation may not be used to supplant funds otherwise
52	52	22provided for the basic operation of the school. The school receiving a certification award must
53	53	23use the award to support or maintain the program, including the payment of stipends for
54	54	24instructors and the subsidization of fees for low income students to obtain the certification.
55	55	25 (d) Subject to appropriation, the department may pay a certification development award
56	56	26to a school district to support the development of programs to assist students in obtaining
57	57	27industry-recognized certifications described in subsection (a). School districts may use a
58	58	28certification development award to develop instructors able to prepare students to obtain
59	59	29certification, to obtain equipment and other instructional materials to be used for such 3 of 3
60	60	30preparation, or any other purpose directly related to developing programs to assist students in
61	61	31obtaining a qualifying certification.
62	62	32 (e) The department shall each year prepare an annual report on the progress made under
63	63	33this section including:
64	64	34 (i) The number of public school students who are seeking certifications for high demand
65	65	35occupations, identifying the number of such students who are low-income, ELL and/or SPED.
66	66	36 (ii) The certifications earned by such students, including the number of each such
67	67	37certifications earned.
68	68	38 (iii) An analysis of the extent, if any, to which the funding provided for the program
69	69	39during the year was insufficient to make the awards under this section.
70	70	40 SECTION 2. Section 1 of this act will take effect immediately upon its passage.