Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts Senate Bill S396 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. 1282 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
3	3	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 396
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Jason M. Lewis, (BY REQUEST)
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 for the end of Common Core, and establishing certain other curriculum standards.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Vincent Dixon60 Lake St Apt N Winchester MA 01890 1 of 3
16	16	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1282 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
17	17	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 396
18	18	By Mr. Lewis (by request), a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 396) of Vincent Dixon,
19	19	for legislation for the end of Common Core, and establishing certain other curriculum standards.
20	20	Education.
21	21	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
22	22	SEE SENATE, NO. 312 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 for the end of Common Core, and establishing certain other curriculum standards.
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. The Massachusetts General Laws are hereby amended by inserting the
32	32	2following new chapter:
33	33	3 An Act for: Ending Common Core Curriculum, and establishing certain other curriculum
34	34	4standards.
35	35	5 1.) The interest of parents, students, families, teachers, and many others, in achieving the
36	36	6best of educational standards has, in many ways, been influenced by serious concerns about the
37	37	7“Common Core” Curriculum. – A recent Ballot Question, eliminated the MCAS Test, as a
38	38	8Graduation Requirement; but left in place, the Common Core Curriculum. – This statute, is
39	39	9focused on the need for basic, and improved curriculum standards. 2 of 3
40	40	10 2.) This legislation, seeks to spare the negative effects of the Common Core Curriculum,
41	41	11and establish certain new standards for curriculum in schools.
42	42	12 Therefore, the language below is proposed, and upon passage, is adopted:
43	43	13 SECTION 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the
44	44	14contrary, the vote taken by the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on
45	45	15July 21, 2010, to adopt the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and English
46	46	16Language Arts is hereby rescinded. The curriculum frameworks in Mathematics and English
47	47	17Language Arts that were in effect prior to that date are hereby restored.
48	48	18 SECTION 3. Section 1D of Chapter 69 is hereby amended in the second paragraph by
49	49	19inserting after the first sentence, the following new sentences:
50	50	20 The process shall include committees made up exclusively of public school teachers and
51	51	21academics from private and public colleges and universities established and operated in
52	52	22Massachusetts. The Commissioner shall copyright the frameworks, which shall be wholly owned
53	53	23by the Department; permission shall be granted to copy any or all parts of these frameworks for
54	54	24non-commercial educational purposes.
55	55	25 SECTION 4. Said section 1D of chapter 69 is hereby further amended in the second
56	56	26paragraph by inserting after the third sentence the following new sentences:
57	57	27 There shall be three review committees, one for each discipline of math, science and
58	58	28technology and English. Each review committee shall have three members appointed by the
59	59	29governor who shall choose said members from private or public research universities established
60	60	30and operated in Massachusetts for each of the disciplines. 3 of 3
61	61	31 For the purposes of this section, a “research university” is any university that awards
62	62	32doctoral degrees in the arts and sciences. Each review committee shall warrant by a two-thirds
63	63	33vote that the frameworks are equivalent to the standards of the most educationally advanced
64	64	34nations as determined by the Trends in Mathematics and Sciences Study. No framework shall be
65	65	35approved by the board without such a warrant. – This means that standards should be at the
66	66	36highest International Standards.
67	67	37 SECTION 5. Section 1I of Chapter 69 is hereby amended in the third paragraph by
68	68	38inserting after the second sentence, the following new sentence:
69	69	39 In order to better inform the teachers and administrators about the diagnostic
70	70	40assessments, after the administration of the assessments but before the start of the new school
71	71	41year, the Commissioner shall release all of the test items, including questions, constructed
72	72	42responses and essays, for each grade and every subject.
73	73	43 SECTION 6. The several provisions of this Act are independent and severable and the
74	74	44invalidity, if any, of any part or feature thereof shall not affect or render the remainder of the Act
75	75	45invalid or inoperative.
76	76	46 SECTION 7. This act shall take effect immediately upon becoming law.