Business groups press the Senate to amend the school funding bill

School Funding Bill Includes Accountability, Misses Opportunity to Expand Career-Connected Learning

September 20, 2019

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October 10, 2019

October 2, 2019

On Thursday, the Massachusetts Senate will debate the most important legislation dealing with our state’s education system in more than twenty-five years. An Act Relative to Educational Opportunity provides a rare chance to take aggressive action to close persistent gaps that deprive students of the skills, experience and knowledge they need to change the trajectory of their lives.

Given the generational nature of this bill and the substantial investment of taxpayer dollars, business groups from across the state (listed below) are urging the Senate to adopt several amendments that will help ensure the bill achieves its ultimate and essential purpose of closing achievement and opportunity gaps. We support the following amendments.

Amendments 46 and 47 ensure sustainable funding to enable expansion of early college and career pathways programs that provide students with coursework, work-based learning opportunities and counseling they need to better connect their learning to the jobs Massachusetts companies create.
Recognizing a high school diploma alone no longer guarantees a good job and middle-class income, Amendment 31 would require districts to include some focus on how to better prepare students for college and the workforce in the plans they are required to create about how they will use new money.
Seventy-two percent of jobs in MA will soon require a career certificate or college degree. That is why we support Amendment 58 that would expand student opportunities to earn industry-recognized credentials tied to labor market demand by providing a financial award to schools for every high-value, high-demand credential a student earns.
Although we are very pleased that the bill includes some accountability measures the business community has called for, it can and should be strengthened by the adoption of Amendment 34 that would provide the Commissioner additional oversight of the plans created by low-performing school districts.

We also oppose amendments that would remove important accountability measures that ensure funding makes its way directly to the students it is intended to support, and is spent transparently on proven, evidence-based programs and practices that close persistent achievement gaps. Removing these provisions would be tantamount to the Commonwealth writing a $1.5 billion blank check. We oppose the following amendments.

Amendment 17 removes key accountability provisions that help ensure that the new spending enabled by the bill is directed to closing opportunity gaps and is used on proven programs and practices.
Amendments that increase any non-needs based aid including minimum aid, which disproportionately benefits wealthy communities, should be defeated.
Amendments related to charter schools, a topic whose complexity merits careful consideration, should be dealt with separately from this bill.

The following business groups signed a letter to Senators supporting the positions detailed above.

Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education

Associated Industries of Massachusetts

Massachusetts Business Roundtable

1Berkshire

Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce

Bristol County Chamber of Commerce

Cape Cod Canal Region Chamber of Commerce

Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce

Concord Chamber of Commerce

Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce

Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce

Massachusetts Competitive Partnership

Massachusetts High Technology Council

Mass. Technology Leadership Council

Massachusetts Society of CPAs

Metro South Chamber of Commerce

MetroWest Chamber of Commerce

NAIOP Massachusetts

Nashoba Valley Chamber of Commerce

Neponset River Regional Chamber of Commerce

North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce

Orleans Chamber of Commerce

Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce

Retailers Association of Massachusetts

SouthCoast Chamber of Commerce

Springfield Business Leaders for Education

Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce

United Regional Chamber of Commerce

Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce