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| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1698 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 386 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Robyn K. Kennedy |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act addressing racial and cultural bias training in educator professional development. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Robyn K. KennedyFirst Worcester 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1698 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 386 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Ms. Kennedy, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 386) of Robyn K. Kennedy for |
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| 19 | 19 | | legislation to address racial and cultural bias training in educator professional development. |
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| 20 | 20 | | Education. |
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| 21 | 21 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 22 | 22 | | SEE SENATE, NO. 299 OF 2023-2024.] |
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| 23 | 23 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 27 | 27 | | _______________ |
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| 28 | 28 | | An Act addressing racial and cultural bias training in educator professional development. |
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| 29 | 29 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 30 | 30 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 31 | 31 | | 1 Chapter 71 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby |
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| 32 | 32 | | 2amended by striking out section 38Q and inserting in place thereof the following section:- |
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| 33 | 33 | | 3 Section 38Q. Every school district in the commonwealth shall adopt and implement a |
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| 34 | 34 | | 4professional development plan for all principals, teachers, other professional staff, |
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| 35 | 35 | | 5paraprofessionals and teacher assistants employed by the district, to include the professional |
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| 36 | 36 | | 6support teams established pursuant to section thirty-eight G, and annually shall update such plans |
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| 37 | 37 | | 7and set forth a budget for professional development within the confines of the foundation budget. |
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| 38 | 38 | | 8Said plan shall include training in the teaching of new curriculum frameworks and other related |
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| 39 | 39 | | 9pedagogical skills required for the effective implementation of this act, including creating |
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| 40 | 40 | | 10equitable, inclusive school and classroom climates, using participatory decision making, 2 of 2 |
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| 41 | 41 | | 11delivering framework content to students in racially, linguistically, and culturally responsive |
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| 42 | 42 | | 12ways, and seeking parent and community involvement. The plan shall also include training in: |
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| 43 | 43 | | 13(1) analyzing and integrating diverse learning styles of all students in order to achieve an |
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| 44 | 44 | | 14objective of inclusion in the regular classroom of students with diverse individual and cultural |
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| 45 | 45 | | 15learning styles; and (2) methods of collaboration among teachers, paraprofessionals and teacher |
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| 46 | 46 | | 16assistants to integrate such styles. The plan may also include training in the provision of pre- |
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| 47 | 47 | | 17referral services within regular education. Said plan shall also include training for members of |
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| 48 | 48 | | 18school councils, pursuant to section fifty-nine C. Said plan shall include teacher training which |
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| 49 | 49 | | 19addresses the effects of gender and racial and cultural bias toward Black, Indigenous, and People |
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| 50 | 50 | | 20of Color in the classroom, as well as training on implicit bias. In any school district with English |
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| 51 | 51 | | 21learners as defined in chapter 71A, the plan shall provide training for teachers in second |
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| 52 | 52 | | 22language acquisition techniques for the re-certification of teachers and administrators. All |
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| 53 | 53 | | 23professional development plans required by this section shall be filed annually with the |
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| 54 | 54 | | 24commissioner of education. |
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| 55 | 55 | | 25 The commissioner of education for the commonwealth shall prepare each year a plan for |
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| 56 | 56 | | 26providing statewide assistance in the preparation and implementation of professional |
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| 57 | 57 | | 27development plans. The plan shall include data that demonstrates, statewide and by school |
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| 58 | 58 | | 28district, the types of professional development provided for educators who work with English |
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| 59 | 59 | | 29learners as defined in chapter 71A. The commissioner shall consult with the board of higher |
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| 60 | 60 | | 30education in developing said plan. This plan shall evaluate the feasibility of obtaining assistance |
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| 61 | 61 | | 31from institutions of higher education and private service providers. The plan shall be submitted |
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| 62 | 62 | | 32to the board of education for approval. A copy of said plan shall be submitted to the joint |
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| 63 | 63 | | 33committee on education, arts, and humanities of the general court. |
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