Bill > S249

This bill aims to ensure equitable access to education, including special education services, for all students in Massachusetts. The key provisions are: 1. The Massachusetts Department of Education will be required to annually analyze and publish, in an easily accessible and user-friendly manner, student-specific data from various sources, such as student assessments and special education services, disaggregated by demographic factors like race, ethnicity, sex, economic status, English learner status, and disability category. 2. School committees will be required to annually report to the Department of Education on the delivery of specific special education services, such as related services, assistive technology, and transition services, disaggregated by the same demographic factors. 3. The bill also introduces additional reporting requirements and safeguards to address potential disproportionalities in the assignment of students with disabilities to substantially separate classrooms, particularly in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of these provisions is to enhance data transparency and analysis to identify and address educational inequities, particularly for students with disabilities and other marginalized groups, during the COVID-19 recovery and beyond.

Education

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/S249