Public Policy Updates

MASC reports on Massachusetts public schools, education news, school committee issues and updates from the Department of Education.

This information has been compiled by MASC Field Director Tracy Novick.

Public Policy Updates: March 2018 Board of Education

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Published on Wednesday, 28 March 2018 22:18

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education had a two part March meeting, for which the agenda can be found here. 

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Public Policy Updates: Joint Committee on Ways and Means Hearing for FY19

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Published on Wednesday, 21 March 2018 14:59

The Joint Committee on Ways and Means held their hearing on local aid and education at Peabody City Hall on Monday, March 19, 2018. The Peabody High School Chorale opened the hearing with the National Anthem and two other pieces. 

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Public Policy Updates: February Board of Education

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Published on Tuesday, 27 February 2018 21:31

The February meeting of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education took place on Tuesday, February 27, 2018. In his opening remarks, Acting Commissioner Wulfson acknowledged the hard work of districts on two recent releases of good news for the Commonwealth. First, Massachusetts led the nation in the percent of the graduating class to score three or higher on Advanced Placement exams; Wulfson noted that this measurement not only rewarded high scores, but rewarded percentage of students participating and achieving them. Wulfson likewise noted the graduation data released earlier this week, marking the eleventh consecutive year in which Massachusetts increased the graduation rate; more was said on this topic later in the meeting. He also noted the first year of collected restraint data, cautioning that the first year of data, while important, was little to from which to draw conclusions.

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Public Policy Updates: January Meetings of the Board of Education

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Published on Saturday, 27 January 2018 20:03

January brings the annual joint meeting of the K-12 Board of Education with the Board of Higher Education, which was followed by a regular meeting of the K-12 Board. This year, the meeting was held on Tuesday, January 23 at Bridgewater State University, the largest state producer of teachers in the Commonwealth. The agenda is posted online here. 

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Public Policy Updates: December 2017 Board of Education

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Published on Tuesday, 19 December 2017 18:58

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education met for their regular meeting on December 19, 2017. You can find the agenda here. 
The meeting opened with comments from Acting Commissioner Jeff Wulfson. He reported that, pursuant to authority delegated to the Commissioner by the Board, he had renewed the charters for Four Rivers Charter, Boston Collegiate Charter, Foxborough Regional Charter, and Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers (Horace Mann) Charter. He reported that Massachusetts has now received over 2000 students from Puerto Rico from across the state. Please note that at last week's MASBO bimonthly, Associate Commissioner Jay Sullivan said that it was the intent of the administration to include funding for such students for this fiscal year in a supplemental budget filed at the same time as the FY19 budget. The Department has issued guidance on social-emotional learning. With mode choices now in for next spring's MCAS, which grades 4, 5, 7, and 8 are all required to take online, Wulfson said he was "very pleased by efforts of school committees and district staff" in making the technology available. Regarding the new early college effort, there have been 33 early college and 10 innovation pathways submitted to the Department at this time.

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More Articles...

  1. Public Policy Updates: November Board of Education
  2. Public Policy Updates: October Board of Education
  3. Public Policy Updates: September Board of Education
  4. Public Policy Updates: Joint Committee on Education Hearings
  5. Public Policy Updates: August Board of Education meeting
  6. Novick Reports: Joint Committee Hearing S.223
  7. Novick Reports: May Board of Education
  8. Novick Reports: Condition of Education in Western Massachusetts
  9. Novick Reports: April Board of Education
  10. Novick Reports: Joint Ways and Means Committee Hearing on Education
  11. Novick Reports: March Board of Education Meeting
  12. Novick Reports: February Board of Education
  13. Novick Reports: Implementation of the Foundation Budget Review
  14. Novick Reports: January Board of Ed Meeting
  15. Novick Reports: Massachusetts plans for ESSA
  16. Novick Reports: Conditions of Education in the Commonwealth 2017
  17. Novick Reports: December Board of Education
  18. Novick Reports: Consensus Revenue Hearing
  19. Novick Reports: Together Is Our Only Chance
  20. Novick Reports: November Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting