EDUCATION
CommonWealth Beacon explores the dynamics of the state’s early childhood, K-12, and higher education systems, from their foundational pillars to current debates over how to ensure quality educational opportunity for all.
Massachusetts emerges as a national leader in child care access, but accessibility issues remain
Funding for the Mass. Department of Early Education and Care increased by 125 percent between 2020 and 2025, helping support providers and expand capacity.
Trump DOJ sues Mass. over immigrant tuition law
The Trump administration opened up another front in its campaign to crack down on immigrant communities by asking a federal judge to scrap a Massachusetts law that lets high school graduates without legal status attend public colleges and universities without paying higher, out-of-state tuition.
State gives clearance for three-year degree programs at two colleges
The Board of Higher Education approved Merrimack’s plan to offer 96-credit bachelor’s degrees in business administration, communications, criminal justice and psychology, the Department of Higher Education announced. Suffolk was approved for a 94-credit bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration and innovation.
Pilot opens expansion opportunity for some family child care providers
The pilot will include about 25 to 30 programs, as EEC collects data and feedback from educators and families. EEC will use those findings to help guide future decisions about family child care capacity, staffing ratios and licensing structures.
Compromise would reshape how Massachusetts teaches reading
The compromise resolves two of the most closely watched disputes between the House and Senate versions of the legislation: whether to explicitly restrict the controversial “three-cueing” reading approach and whether to provide immediate state funding to help districts transition to new curricula.
Raj Chetty’s prescription for reviving the American dream
As the American dream has slipped out of reach for many, few have done more than Chetty to try to understand the fading of the American dream and what could be done to change that dispiriting trendline.
Surtax fueling early ed expansion, but will it last?
The money expanding child care access this year comes from one-time surplus funds. Maintaining long-term funding will mean finding a permanent home for it in next year’s state budget.
Senate ready to give teachers second shot at retirement program
The Senate plans to take up a bill to enhance retirement benefit programs for teachers after resisting for years, following the House’s approval of a similar policy through a state budget amendment.
As school districts cut budgets, DEI work may be first to go
Brookline’s school district is one of at least four in Massachusetts that have cut DEI initiatives or positions despite community support, citing shrinking student enrollments and rollbacks in federal funding that threaten school budgets.
Political Notebook: Data centers get their tax breaks, taxpayer group side-eyes ballot measures
State officials had been working on crafting the tax exemption since the Legislature required it in the 2024 economic development measure that Gov. Maura Healey signed. But 18 months after that law was signed, the tax break comes at a fraught time for the artificial intelligence industry.
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