STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE AND BOSTON officials reached agreement Monday on an improvement plan for the Boston Public Schools, foreclosing a vote planned for Tuesday that would have cleared […]
Katie Lannan
Posted inEducation
Riley recommends Boston be designated ‘underperforming’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICEil ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY Education Commissioner Jeff Riley on Tuesday will recommend that Boston Public Schools be designated an “underperforming district,” a move that stops short of […]
Posted inGambling
Questions continue on lack of sports betting roll call in Senate
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SENATE PRESIDENT Karen Spilka on Monday defended the Senate’s decision to pass legislation legalizing sports betting without making individual senators’ votes known. Spilka for weeks had […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
DOJ reaches police reform deal with Springfield
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE and city of Springfield plan to enter into a consent decree that will resolve the federal government’s claim that the Springfield […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Mass. Senate staff seek to unionize
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MASSACHUSETTS SENATE employees are hoping to become the second unionized state legislative staff in the country, announcing on Monday night their intent to unionize with Quincy-based […]
Posted inHealth Care
Mass General Brigham withdraws suburban expansion plan
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MASS GENERAL BRIGHAM officials said Friday the hospital system has withdrawn its controversial proposal to build outpatient care centers in Woburn and Westborough and to expand […]
Posted inEducation
Wu: State takeover of Boston schools would be counterproductive
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AS THE STATE’S elementary and secondary education commissioner prepares to review the Boston Public Schools, Mayor Michelle Wu on Tuesday said she “firmly” opposes the idea […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
House rejects gas tax suspension, pursuing ‘real relief’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A $1.6 BILLION spending bill passed the Massachusetts House unanimously on Wednesday after representatives shot down a Republican bid to add in language that would have […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Fall River to offer free menstrual products in schools
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AS FALL RIVER plans to use a state grant to provide free menstrual products in the city’s middle and high schools, bills that similarly look to […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
State eases indoor face-mask guidance
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT of Public Health on Tuesday relaxed its face-covering advisory, publishing an updated version that no longer recommends vaccinated individuals mask up in all […]
Posted inHealth Care
Health Policy Commission mulls ‘bad scenario’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH THE DEADLINE looming for Mass General Brigham to file a plan to rein in its costs, a member of the Health Policy Commission raised concerns […]
Posted inEducation
Baker hints school mask mandate may be nearing end
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE TWO EAST COAST states on Monday attached end dates to their school mask mandates, spelling out timelines that Gov. Charlie Baker described as “pretty consistent” with […]
Posted inHealth Care
Senate taking another shot at drug pricing legislation
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A BILL TARGETING drug costs that the Senate plans to take up next week would cap the cost of insulin at $25 a month for consumers, […]
Posted inEducation
Due to lack of interest, 2 MCAS science exams scrapped
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE STATE BOARD of Elementary and Secondary Education agreed Tuesday to phase out two of the MCAS science exams currently offered to high schoolers, even as […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
DAs Blodgett, O’Keefe won’t seek reelection
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A PAIR OF DISTRICT ATTORNEYS who have each served for two decades announced Wednesday they will not run for reelection this year, while Suffolk County DA […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
Mass. closing in on 1m total cases of COVID-19
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ANOTHER 12,983 people in Massachusetts were newly confirmed to have COVID-19 over the Christmas holiday weekend, the Department of Public Health reported Monday. With a total […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
House add $174m to ARPA bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A MAJOR SPENDING bill allocating federal COVID-19 relief funds and surplus state tax revenues cleared the House on Friday evening by a vote of 159-0 after […]
Posted inPolitics
Worcester School Committee reaches voting settlement
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WORCESTER OFFICIALS and a coalition of voters who filed a federal lawsuit alleging the city’s School Committee structure illegally dilutes the electoral power of communities of […]
Posted inEducation
MCAS results drop across the board
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE FIRST MCAS tests administered in the COVID-19 era featured drops in scores “across the board,” the state’s education commissioner said Tuesday, saying the results show […]
Posted inPolitics
New poll: Wu and then everybody else
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A NEW POLL in the Boston mayoral race gives City Councilor Michelle Wu a strong lead and suggests the number of undecided voters and a tight […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Spilka lays out vaccine mandate
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE SENATORS and Senate employees will need to show proof they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 15, a new requirement Senate President Karen Spilka […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
In another shift, Baker favors mask mandate in schools
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE STATE’S education commissioner is seeking authority to mandate that students ages 5 and up and staff and educators in public K-12 schools wear masks indoors […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
The ‘other crisis’ keeps on chugging along
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE PRELIMINARY DEPARTMENT of Public Health data show 1,038 people died of opioid overdoses in the first six months of this year, an estimated 5 percent decrease […]
Posted inHealth Care
Health care costs keep rising
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE AVERAGE TOTAL costs for Massachusetts family health insurance premiums roughly tripled from 2000 to 2019, hitting $21,424 and surpassing the national cost for a new compact […]