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Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Amid federal changes, Mass. law safeguards rights of immigrant and disabled students
As part of a supplemental budget, Governor Maura Healey signed a bill last week that adds 'immigration or citizenship status' and 'disability' to a state law that prevents discrimination or exclusion of children from public schools. Advertisement In a statement to the Globe, Healey said Massachusetts is committed to ensuring all students have the support they need to succeed in school. 'I was proud to sign this legislation that protects the rights of students with disabilities and immigrant students, and improves access to high-quality interpreters for parents and students who are learning English,' she said. The update comes at a time when the federal government is increasing immigration enforcement and taking steps to dismantle the Department of Education, including significantly reducing the workforce in the department's Filed as companion bills at the beginning of the legislative session by state Senators Pavel Payano and Sal DiDomenico and state Representatives Alice Peisch and Frank Moran, the language was ultimately folded into the governor's supplemental budget. Advertisement 'This law ends up safeguarding Massachusetts students from political shifts that we've seen at the federal level, and it affirms our Commonwealth's commitment to equity, to inclusion, and making sure that everyone has access to a good education,' Payano said. As a former Lawrence School Committee member, Payano said he has seen firsthand the importance of proper translation when working with parents who don't speak English and said when no one is able to communicate with parents in their language, children are left behind. Even as a fluent Spanish speaker, he worried he wouldn't know proper terminology used in schools and in special education. Related : Payano and his office worked closely with Massachusetts Advocates for Children, a nonprofit organization that provided policy recommendations and advocated for the bill. One of the organization's education advocates, Emily Romero Gonzalez, pushed for the bill to ensure future generations of immigrant children have the same opportunities she did. Romero Gonzalez, who moved to the US from Peru at age 3, said having access to a public education was 'instrumental' in the upward trajectory of her life and that of her family's. 'My entire family story would be so different if that right didn't exist,' said Romero Gonzalez, who attended Harvard University following high school. 'The impetus behind the bill was really the election of Donald Trump,' said Diana Santiago, legal director at Massachusetts Advocates for Children. 'It became increasingly evident that he planned to make drastic changes at the federal level in the area of education.' Advertisement Santiago also was concerned about potential challenges to the Supreme Court 1982 decision, 'The protections under Plyler are not codified in federal statute,' Santiago said. 'If that decision is overturned, or, as we became increasingly concerned over the past few months, the President were to issue an executive order essentially overturning Plyler, we were concerned about the impact in Massachusetts.' Santiago's organization operates a helpline meant to support families who need guidance in navigating the public school system, particularly in getting access to resources and services. She said callers are often parents of children who are learning English and also have a disability. She said she has observed families having to choose between English language education services or special education services, because districts have told them they can't offer both due to scheduling conflicts. This led Santiago to advocate for a provision stating districts should not encourage parents to decline English language services. 'There are logistical constraints or scheduling constraints in meeting the needs of students,' Santiago said. 'It's really a matter of convenience for schools, but it can result in students not receiving their English language education services, which they're legally entitled to.' Related : The bill also establishes standards for interpreters and translators working with parents or legal guardians who have limited English proficiency. Such standards include bilingualism, knowledge of specialized terms in both languages, ethics of interpreting and translating, and confidentiality. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will draft regulations regarding the new standards for translation, Payano said. 'It's a big relief, especially during these really dark times in our country, to have some kind of hope,' Santiago said. 'And there's still a lot more work to do, implementing the bill and just overall to create a state where all families feel welcome and students have equal opportunity to access an education.' Advertisement Marcela Rodrigues can be reached at
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State House spat: W.Mass lawmaker blocked from testifying on his own bills
So here's your daily reminder that, just because Democrats control everything on Beacon Hill, it doesn't mean that they're always going to get along. State Sen. Jacob Oliveira, D-Hampden/Hampshire/Worcester, was reminded of that first-hand on Monday when he attempted to testify remotely before the Legislature's Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure. The Ludlow lawmaker has several bills before the committee. And on Monday, he was back in his district meeting with childcare providers, according to Senate President Karen Spilka's office. When it was his turn to speak, the panel's House chairperson, Rep. Tacky Chan, D-2nd Norfolk, cut him off, citing House rules requiring committee members to participate in hearings in person, Politico reported Tuesday. 'Pursuant to the House rules, the chair is not recognizing committee members who are not here physically in person,' Chan, of Quincy, said, according to State House News Service. 'As a result ... the chair does not recognize Senator Oliveira.' A bit of context: The two chambers are still sparring over joint operating rules that govern the flow of legislation between both sides of the State House. While the House and Senate each have agreed to their own internal rules, they've yet to reach an accord on this key bit of interchamber wheel-greasing. Negotiators are set to meet again on Thursday, State House News Service reported. Sen. Pavel Payano, D-1st Essex, the committee's Senate chairperson, protested, accusing his House colleagues of violating the 'sacred principle that no voice in democracy could be silenced,' the wire service reported. Sidelining Oliveira was the same thing as sidelining his constituents in Belchertown, Palmer, Wilbraham, Longmeadow, South Hadley, Warren, Hampden, Springfield, Granby, East Longmeadow and Ludlow, Payano continued. 'I think that that is a travesty,' Payano said, according to State House News Service. 'You're telling the entire community your concerns are not welcome here. This is just not a matter of procedural fairness. To me, I find it discriminatory. You know, the folks out in western Mass., it's not the same as people that are closer to Boston.' Payano then read the testimony that Oliveira had prepared to deliver. Chan, who said he understood 'there are complications for some folks,' reiterated the House stance that legislators should testify in person. The committee pile-up netted a stern rebuke from Spilka, who called the House's power play 'deeply troubling.' 'The joint rules the House and Senate mutually agreed to in January do not prohibit remote participation, and the notion that one branch's rules can bind the operations of joint committees is without merit,' Spilka said. The Ashland Democrat said she could 'personally attest to [Sen.] Oliveira's hard work and dedication to his district, his constituents, and the Senate. I thank him for ably serving all three this morning.' That wasn't the end of the day's drama. On Monday, the House announced that it had reached an agreement on a short-term funding bill to keep the doors open at the agency that provides health insurance for state employees. The Senate gaveled out for the day without taking up the rather urgent legislation, saying it would do so on Thursday. Episcopalians tell Trump 'nee' to resettling white South Africans Markey, Mass. pols call on Trump to reverse course on AmeriCorps cuts An undocumented student's story: Why it's hard to be here no matter who is president Worcester City Council meeting to be held virtually 'due to public safety concerns' Harvard letter says university shares 'common ground' with Trump admin Read the original article on MassLive.
