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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2140 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 324
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Brendan P. Crighton
_________________
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 promoting racially integrated schools.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Brendan P. CrightonThird Essex 1 of 9
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2140 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 324
By Mr. Crighton, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 324) of Brendan P. Crighton for
legislation to promote racially integrated schools. Education.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 252 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
_______________
An Act promoting racially integrated schools.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 Chapter 69 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 36 the
2following sections:-
3 SECTION 37.
4 SCHOOL SEGREGATION DATA COLLECTION
5 (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:-
6 “Diverse school”, a school in which no single racial subgroup of students accounts for
7more than 70 per cent of the total student population and at least 25 per cent of the student
8population is White. 2 of 9
9 “Diverse district”, a school district in which no single racial subgroup of students
10accounts for more than 70 per cent of the total student population and at least 25 per cent of the
11student population is White.
12 “Intensely segregated district”, a school district in which (i) a single racial subgroup
13accounts for 90 per cent or more of the student population; or (ii) 10 per cent or less of the
14student population is White.
15 “Intensely segregated school”, a school in which (i) a single racial subgroup accounts for
1690 per cent or more of the student population; or (ii) 10 per cent or less of the student population
17is White.
18 “Racially disproportionate school”, a school in which (i) the White student population
19differs by at least 15 percentage points as compared to the percentage of White students in the
20district which the school is a part of; or (ii) a school in which less than 25 per cent of the school
21population is White and the student population of a racial subgroup differs by at least 15
22percentage points as compared to the percentage of said racial subgroup in the district of which
23the school is a part.
24 “Segregated district”, a school district that does not meet the criteria of either a diverse
25district or an intensely segregated district.
26 “Segregated school”, a school that does not meet the criteria of either a diverse school or
27intensely segregated school. 3 of 9
28 (b) Annually, the department of elementary and secondary education shall publicly report
29and place on its website the following information for all public schools and districts within the
30commonwealth:
31 (1) An identification of a public school as a: (i) diverse school; (ii) segregated school; or
32(iii) intensely segregated school.
33 (2) A quantifiable, comparable measure of school-level segregation used to determine the
34category of each school as specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection.
35 (3) An identification of a public school districts as a: (i) diverse district; (ii) segregated
36district; or (iii) intensely segregated district.
37 (4) A quantifiable, comparable measure of district-level segregation used to determine the
38category of each school as specified in paragraph (3) of this subsection.
39 (5) An identification of whether a school is a racially disproportionate school.
40 (6) A quantifiable, comparable measure of intradistrict segregation used to determine
41whether a school is a racially disproportionate school as specified in paragraph (5) of this
42subsection.
43 (7) A quantifiable, comparable measure to compare the proportionality of the racial
44composition of the total student population of a school or district as compared to the racial
45composition of students in said school or district that completed the SAT or ACT.
46 (8) A quantifiable, comparable measure to compare the proportionality of the racial
47composition of the total population of a school or district as compared to the racial composition
48of students enrolled in: (i) not less than 1 advanced placement course; (ii) a chemistry course; 4 of 9
49(iii) a biology course; (iv) a geometry course; (v) a calculus course; (vi) an eighth grade algebra
50course; (vii) an advanced math course; (viii) a gifted and talented program; and (ix) if applicable,
51a designated early college pathway.
52 (c) The department of elementary and secondary education may establish reasonable
53limits on public reporting of data for the sole purposes of (i) protecting the identities of
54individual students or (ii) to maintain the statistical integrity of data, provided that such limits are
55consistent with the existing policies and procedures of the department.
56 SECTION 38.
57 SCHOOL INTEGRATION GRANT PROGRAM
58 The department of elementary and secondary education shall establish a grant program,
59subject to appropriation, to be known as the school diversity and integration grant program for
60the development, implementation, and evaluation of comprehensive strategies in school districts
61to combat the effects of racial segregation by increasing racial diversity of the student
62population.
63 (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:-
64 “Eligible entity”, a public school district or consortium of public school districts in a
65region that at the time of the application has significant achievement gaps or racial segregation
66within or between the school districts served by such entity.
67 (b) The department of elementary and secondary education may reserve up to 10 per cent
68of appropriated funds for (i) research, development, data collection, monitoring, technical
69assistance, evaluation, or dissemination activities; (ii) the development and dissemination of best 5 of 9
70practices to increase racial diversity in schools; and (iii) in the case in which a grantee uses race
71as a factor in developing a process for achieving racially integrated schools, technical assistance
72to grantees to develop narrowly tailored plans to achieve the benefits of racial diversity.
73 (c) The department shall award grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities to
74develop or implement plans to improve student diversity and reduce or eliminate racial
75segregation. The department may, in any fiscal year, award: (i) planning grants; (ii)
76implementation grants; or (iii) both planning and implementation grants.
77 (1) A planning grant awarded under this section shall be for a period of not more than 1
78year.
79 (2) Each eligible entity that receives a planning grant shall use the grant to support
80students in schools through the following activities: (i) completing a comprehensive assessment
81of, with respect to the geographic area served, (A) the educational outcomes and racial
82segregation of children attending schools; (B) an analysis of the location and capacity of program
83and school facilities and the adequacy of local or regional transportation infrastructure; and (C)
84an analysis of whether the local housing stock is adequately diverse and whether local land-use
85and zoning practices allow for racial diversity; (ii) developing and implementing a robust family,
86student, and community engagement plan, including public hearings or other open forums that
87would precede and inform the development of a formal strategy to improve diversity in schools;
88provided, however, that such engagement shall include meaningful engagement of students and
89families of color; (iii) developing options, including timelines and cost estimates, for improving
90diversity in schools, such as weighted lotteries, revised feeder patterns, school boundary
91redesign, or regional coordination; (iv) developing an implementation plan based on community 6 of 9
92preferences among the options developed; (v) building the capacity to collect and analyze data
93that provide information for transparency, continuous improvement, and evaluation; (vi)
94developing plans for creating a racially inclusive school climate with respect to racially and
95culturally curriculum, school discipline policies and practices, and teacher and school leader
96diversity; (vii) if applicable, developing an implementation plan to comply with a court-ordered
97school desegregation plan; and (viii) if applicable, developing an implementation plan to replace
98entrance exams or other competitive application procedures with alternate methods of student
99assignment to promote racial diversity.
100 (3) An implementation grant awarded under this section shall be for a period of not more
101than 3 years, except that the department may extend an implementation grant for an additional 2-
102year period if the eligible entity receiving the grant demonstrates to the department that the
103eligible entity is making significant progress, as determined by the department, on the program
104performance measures described in subsection (g).
105 (4) Each eligible entity that receives an implementation grant shall implement a high-
106quality plan to support students in schools that includes: (i) a comprehensive set of strategies
107designed to improve academic outcomes for all students, particularly students of color, by
108increasing student diversity; (ii) evidence of strong family and community support for such
109strategies, including evidence that the eligible entity has engaged in meaningful family and
110community outreach activities with students and families of color; (iii) goals to increase student
111diversity; (iv) collection and analysis of data to provide transparency and support continuous
112improvement; and (v) a rigorous method of evaluation of the effectiveness of the program. 7 of 9
113 (5) Each eligible entity that receives an implementation grant may use the grant to carry
114out one or more of the following activities: (i) recruiting, hiring, or training additional teachers,
115administrators, school counselors, and other instructional and support staff in new, expanded, or
116restructured schools, or other professional development activities for staff and administrators;
117provided, however, that the hiring of such individuals directly relate to the implementation of a
118school integration program under this section; (ii) investing in specialized academic programs or
119facilities designed to encourage inter-district school attendance patterns; (iii) developing or
120initiating a transportation plan for bringing students to and from schools; (iv) developing
121innovative and equitable school assignment plans; (v) carrying out innovative activities designed
122to increase racial diversity and engagement between children from different racial backgrounds;
123(vi) creating or improving systems and partnerships to create an enrollment process for students
124with multiple public school options, including making school information and data more
125accessible and easy to understand, in order to ensure access to high-quality schools for students
126of color and to promote racial diversity; or (vii) carrying out plans to improve access to a
127rigorous curriculum for all students through the elimination of tracking or ability grouping
128students in class assignment.
129 (d) The department shall award grants based on: (i) the quality of the application
130submitted by an eligible entity; (ii) the likelihood, as determined by the department, that the
131eligible entity will use the grant to improving academic and other developmental or noncognitive
132outcomes for students; and (iii) the likelihood that the grant will lead to a meaningful reduction
133in racial segregation for students.
134 (e) In awarding grants under this section, the department shall give priority to the
135following eligible entities: (i) first, to an eligible entity that proposes to use the grant to support a 8 of 9
136program that extends beyond one school district, such as an inter-district or regional program;
137and (ii) second, to an eligible entity that demonstrates meaningful coordination with local or
138regional housing or transportation agencies.
139 (f) In order to receive a grant, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the
140department at such time and in such manner as the department may require. Such application
141shall include: (i) a description of the program for which the eligible entity is seeking a grant,
142including: (A) how the eligible entity proposes to use the grant to improve the academic and life
143outcomes of students in racially segregated schools by supporting interventions that increase
144diversity for students in such schools; (B) in the case of an implementation grant, the
145implementation grant plan described in paragraph (4) of subsection (c); and (C) evidence, or if
146such evidence is not available, a rationale based on current research, regarding how the program
147will increase diversity; (ii) how the eligible entity will identify and define racial segregation and
148racial diversity; (iii) a description of the plan of the eligible entity for continuing the program
149after the grant period ends; (iv) a description of how the eligible entity will assess, monitor, and
150evaluate the impact of the activities funded under the grant on student achievement and student
151enrollment diversity; (v) an assurance that the eligible entity has conducted, or will conduct,
152robust family and community engagement, provided that engagement: (A) shall be in a language
153that families and students can understand; (B) shall include engagement with students and
154families of color in the targeted district or region; and (C); shall be designed to remove barriers
155to ensure participation of students and families in the planning and development of any formal
156strategy to increase diversity; (vi) an estimate of the number of students that the eligible entity
157plans to serve under the program and the number of students to be served through additional
158expansion of the program after the grant period ends; (vii) an assurance that the eligible entity 9 of 9
159will: (A) cooperate with the department in evaluating the program; and (B) engage in a
160community of practice as described in subsection (i); (ix) in the case of an eligible entity
161applying for an implementation grant, a description of how the eligible entity will implement,
162replicate, or expand a strategy based on an appropriate level of evidence, as determined by the
163department, or test a promising strategy to increase diversity in schools; (x) in the case of an
164application by a consortium of local educational agencies, how the grant funds will be divided
165among the school districts served by such consortium.
166 (g) The department shall establish performance measures for the programs and activities
167carried out through grants. These measures shall track the progress of each eligible entity in (i)
168increasing diversity and decreasing racial segregation in schools; and (ii) improving academic
169and other developmental or noncognitive outcomes for each racial subgroup of students that the
170department or eligible entity may identify.
171 (h) The department may establish annual reporting requirements of grantees as it deems
172appropriate for the implementation of this section.
173 (i) The department shall establish a professional learning community, which shall consist
174of grantees and staff that the department may reasonably furnish for technical assistance in
175developing strategies related to the purposes of this grant program.
176 (1) The professional learning community shall meet regularly to promote the
177development of shared best practices for the planning and implementation of grants under this
178section.