Mass. legislators urge state education leaders not to raise MCAS graduation requirements
"Nearly 100 Massachusetts lawmakers sent a letter to state education leaders on Tuesday opposing raising state standardized test scores needed for students to graduate high school.The letter highlights concerns from legislators about consequences they believe a state proposal made in April to raise the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, or MCAS, graduation requirements could have, particularly among students who have been “disproportionately harmed by the COVID-19 pandemic.”State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education members said in April they want to ensure students who receive a diploma meet the state’s expectations on a new version of the MCAS test. They also want to push schools to better support those students who struggle to pass the MCAS who disproportionately are from low-income households, students of color, students with disabilities, and English language learners."
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A PDF copy of the letter can be found -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sBjNscREZjSGAoFo2Io3a3WC34YTLoCR/view?usp=sharing
Mass. high court rules ‘millionaires tax’ question was written ‘fairly.’ It goes before voters in November.
"The state’s highest court on Wednesday rejected a challenge from business leaders to rewrite the summary of a ballot measure that would raise taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents, handing a victory to labor unions, Democratic lawmakers, and others who’ve spent years pushing the measure to a November vote.In an unanimous decision, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that Attorney General Maura Healey’s office “fairly” described the thrust of the so-called millionaires tax proposal in both a summary it’s required to prepare for voters and one-sentence statements outlining what a “yes” or “no” vote would do.The proposal, dubbed the Fair Share Amendment by its proponents, would amend the state Constitution to create a 9 percent income tax rate on annual earnings above $1 million, while retaining the broad 5 percent rate for earnings below that amount."
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Bucking party, Baker makes vote-by-mail permanent
"DESPITE CONCERNS by members of his own party, Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, signed a law Wednesday making voting by mail permanent.Massachusetts allowed early voting by mail for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Democrats and voting rights activists have been pushing to make the reforms permanent in order to increase voter turnout.The new law will permanently allow voting by mail for any state or presidential primary or general election. It shortens the voter registration window to 10 days, although it does not allow for same-day voter registration, as some advocates had hoped. "
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I am happy to see that the VOTES ACT signed by Charlie Baker is finally our new voting law. Now, I hope that the Secretary of State will quickly get the word out to our Massachusetts Town Clerks so we can have a very smooth voting process here in this state!
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