EDUCATION
CommonWealth Beacon explores the dynamics of the state’s K-12 and higher education systems, from their foundational pillars to current debates over how to ensure quality educational opportunity for all.
‘Climate of fear’: Student enrollment declining amid Trump’s immigration crackdown
Overall, public schools across Massachusetts — which has become a target of President Trump’s crackdown on immigration — lost over 15,000 students from fall 2024 to fall 2025, according to state data released in January. That brings total enrollment in the state to its lowest level in over three decades.
Charter schools are subject to public records law, SJC rules
Excluding charter schools would frustrate the “core transparency mandate” of the law, wrote Justice Serge Georges, Jr. for a unanimous court on Tuesday, given that they are “public schools funded with public money and charged with performing a quintessential public function.”
Massachusetts is poised to shake up literacy instruction — and some educators don’t like it
The Bay State is poised to enact what its supporters call some of the strongest reading legislation in the nation — and some educators worry it goes too far in imposing new standards that override teacher control of classrooms.
Healey has called for universal pre-K in every Gateway City by the year’s end. Providers say they won’t get there.
Seven of the 26 cities are not currently participating in the state’s pre-K implementation program. Child care providers in cities that are participating say that while it enforces a mixed-delivery approach highly valued by preschool advocates, universal access for every 4-year-old by the end of the year is a pipe dream.
From T support to school aid, surtax emerges as crutch for state budgeting
Gov. Maura Healey’s spending proposals has reopened debate about whether voters intended for the surtax on high earners to fund only new investments or anything related to transportation and education.
Senate and House aligning on evidence-based reading instruction
While the state continues to rank among national leaders, MCAS data show that only about 42 percent of third-graders are meeting state expectations in English language arts, with significantly lower rates among students of color, low-income students, English language learners and students with disabilities.
Bill to prioritize teacher quality over seniority faces uphill battle
The proposal aims to revise how districts decide which teachers get laid off when budgets shrink or enrollment drops.
Suit to block Education Department closure expanded amid agency transfers plans
In May, a federal judge in Massachusetts granted a preliminary injunction in the consolidated case, blocking the administration’s efforts, including a reduction in force effort at the agency.
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