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News Release
105 Legislators Pushing Bill to Address Court Report on Struggling Schools Commission Will Tackle Priorities, Next Phase of Education Reform (BOSTON) —With a Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) decision expected in a matter of weeks in the Hancock vs. Driscoll education case, 105 legislators today unveiled the details of a bill they’ve filed to guide the next phase of education reform in Massachusetts. A majority of legislators in both the House and Senate signed on to the bill, signaling that education will remain a top priority for legislators when they reconvene in January. The bill, sponsored by Senator Jarrett T. Barrios (D-Cambridge) along with Sen. Karen Spilka (D- Framingham), Senator Ed Augustus (D-Worchester), Rep. Stephen Kulik (D-Worthington), Rep. David Linsky (D-Natick) and Rep. Steve Walsh (D-Lynn), will establish a commission to examine the programs needed to help struggling schools and school systems and analyze the costs associated with providing the constitutionally mandated education. At a Wednesday press conference the legislators -- representing rural, urban and suburban communities of wide-ranging demographics and income-level -- addressed the challenges facing students, parents, teachers and administrators across the Commonwealth. Many remarked that they had been closely following the proceedings in the Hancock vs. Driscoll education trial and thought many of the issues raised in the case, including large class sizes, recent cuts in tutorial and MCAS remediation programs, out-dated and ill-suited facilities, the benefits of early childhood education and the need for mentoring and leadership training for teachers and administrators, would most likely be addressed by the commission created in the bill. “It‘s time to start the next phase of education reform—both to prepare for the impeding SJC decision in the Hancock case and because it is clear that we haven’t done enough to close the gap for all students in all subject areas,” said Senator Jarrett T. Barrios (D-Cambridge), a lead legislative sponsor from the Senate. “The commission we’re proposing will evaluate what is happening in our schools, determine what programs work and what resources are needed to achieve true educational opportunity for all students in Massachusetts” Given the large number of urban and poor communities in the Commonwealth and the widespread effect of cuts in K-12 education programs, the bill also calls for holding no fewer than fifteen public hearings in locations across the Commonwealth to “obtain the views of school committees, teachers, superintendents and other education administrators, parents, employers, education policy experts, and other interested parties concerning the adequacy of resources currently available to school districts.” “The large number of legislators from across the Commonwealth sponsoring and cosponsoring this bill shows that many of us are anxious to get to work to ensure that all students graduate with and an education that meets the state standards set in the McDuffy case of 11 years ago,” said Representative Stephen Kulik (D-Worthington), a lead legislative sponsor from the House. “If we hold children to high standards, we need to give local school districts and the Department of Education the resources they need to implement programs to achieve proficiency in those standards across the Commonwealth.” ### Co-Sponsors of the Education Commission Bill SENATE Jarrett Barrios - Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex HOUSE Stephen Kulik - 1st Franklin # # #
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