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.
State board eyes early 2026 vote on three-year bachelor’s degree
The regulations — should the board vote to approve them — would not automatically allow the programs, just enable colleges and universities to submit proposals for potential approval to the board, board chair Chris Gabrieli has previously said.
Mass. faces grim reality of fewer international students
Massachusetts’s schools have recruited higher proportions of international students than colleges and universities almost anywhere else because of a demographic decline and the comparatively high cost of higher education here. But even before the second Trump administration, there were signs the bottom was falling out.
State school building program favors wealthier districts, leaving lower-income urban students in aging, dilapidated buildings, according to new study
Despite efforts by the Legislature aimed at adequately funding school building projects, “students in Boston and the Gateway Cities continue to learn in buildings that are deteriorating, lacking in basic features, and often cramped and overcrowded,” according to a new report by the MassINC Policy Center.
Report highlights persistent challenges in early child care workforce
Despite “fragile progress,” the Commonwealth’s early child care system continues to suffer from a workforce problem, according to a new analysis published by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. The report makes several policy recommendations and highlights that the state is losing out on billions in tax revenue.
Ali Noorani tapped as new Barr Foundation president
Noorani will succeed Jim Canales, the foundation’s longtime president who announced in January that he planned to step down after 11 years in the role.
70 percent of Mass. infants live in child care deserts, according to state data
Enrollment differences between regions, student age groups, and income levels paint a picture of a system struggling to meet potential demand and that is most available to those at the highest income brackets.
Harvard, MIT face steep endowment tax under Trump bill
“We’re witnessing a political broadside, not sensible policymaking,” Wellesley College economics professor Peter Levine wrote of the huge hike in the endowment tax.
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