Mass EdForum - Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education

August 6, 2019

Biz Asks Commissioner to Ensure New Funds Follow Students

The substantial increase in school funding made in the 2020 budget, the largest increase in Chapter 70 and other state aid for education in over a decade, combined with two previous years of increases, amount to a significant “down payment” […]

July 16, 2019

Ed Lambert Talks About Why the School Funding Issue is Important to Business

Click the image below to watch this interview with MBAE Executive Director Ed Lambert, Jr. on why the hotly-debated school funding issue is important to the business community and what we’re urging lawmakers to do to better align our education […]

June 12, 2019

Business Groups Detail Elements of School Funding Reform Bill

Today, the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education delivered a letter to every legislator with a list of five elements we want to see included in the final school funding reform bill. The letter was signed by our statewide business partners […]

June 10, 2019

K-12 student enrollment trends in Massachusetts: Second in a series on school funding

In our last post, we showed that state and local spending on public K-12 education in Massachusetts is about the same as what we spend on MassHealth, the largest item in the state budget each year. According to state law, […]

May 14, 2019

Governor Urges Business and Civic Leaders to Advocate for Reforms to Accompany Increases in Education Funding

May 14, 2019 – Governor Baker attended a convening of more than 150 business and civic leaders this morning to show his support for their position that increased education funding be accompanied with additional reforms and better outcomes. In his […]

April 20, 2019

House Budget Moves Debate on School Funding Forward

The 2020 House Budget puts down another marker in the debate about school funding reform. It does not differ considerably from the Governor’s budget on the key education funding issues, but it makes an initial investment towards anticipated changes to […]

February 14, 2019

40+ Legislators Sponsor Bill that Expands Student Opportunity to Earn Industry-Recognized Credentials

More than forty legislators, led by State Representative Jeff Roy, have signed H.567 a bill that will expand opportunities for students to earn industry-recognized credentials (IRCs) in high school. IRCs are used by employers to certify that an applicant is […]

January 25, 2019

Governor’s education proposals a positive step

MBAE believes the Governor’s education budget and legislative proposal is a positive step toward achieving the goals we’ve stated of: 1) equitable funding, and 2) continued reform of our education system to close achievement and skills gaps. With respect to […]

December 19, 2018

Quincy Chamber of Commerce Joins MBAE Affiliate Network

The Quincy Chamber of Commerce became the latest business group to join MBAE’s fast-growing business affiliate network that now includes 31 chambers of commerce and industry associations across the state. MBAE works with affiliates to put forth a unified business […]

December 13, 2018

Business Groups Urge Legislators to Resist Writing a Blank Check for Education

December 13, 2018 – Responding to growing demands to increase state education funding, the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education and members of our business affiliate network are calling on state leaders to resist calls to write a blank check for […]

October 16, 2018

Growing Middle Skills Jobs

New research by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, Three Educational Pathways to Good Jobs, finds that two out of three jobs nationally demand at least some education or training beyond high school – in Massachusetts, the […]

October 5, 2018

Credentials Can Help with College Costs

A recent article highlights the growing financial burden students and families take on in order for students to earn a college degree. According to the Value of Education survey conducted by HSBC, students are working more hours and spending less […]

September 25, 2018

Changes at MBAE

Dear Friends and Colleagues, I’m often told how critical MBAE’s voice is in our state’s efforts to deliver the high quality education every child deserves. We’re known for rejecting the status quo when it is failing, challenging the system to […]

August 2, 2018

Supporting CVTE and Aligning School to Career

MBAE has long been a supporter of career and vocational technical education and the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act which was reauthorized by Congress and signed into law on July 31, 2018. MBAE was one of nearly […]

August 1, 2018

Legislature Fails to Reach Consensus on School Spending

There were high expectations that the legislature would act on findings of the 2015 Foundation Budget Review Commission (FBRC) to adjust the foundation budget for health insurance, special education, English Language Learners and low income students to increase funding by […]

July 23, 2018

MBAE Participates in Regional Effort to Identify High-Value Credentials

MBAE is pleased to participate in a recently launched initiative from the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) to identify high-value credentials in key growth industries and make this information more readily available to the public via the Credential […]

June 27, 2018

Increasing Access and Equity in Computer Science

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) has taken long overdue action to expand access to computer science with a vote at its June 26 meeting letting districts count computer science courses for graduation. The courses must include rigorous […]

June 27, 2018

Ed Secretary Meets with MBAE Affiliates

MBAE affiliates met with Secretary of Education Jim Peyser on Wednesday to discuss affiliate priorities and the Baker Administration’s agenda, in a discussion that focused on empowering educators to drive school improvement, increasing student exposure to growing industries while still […]

June 25, 2018

Creating Opportunities for Students to Earn Industry Recognized Credentials in HS

In an opening presentation at work+EDU, a June 20th conference in Boston focused on bridging the gap between education and jobs, WorkingNation president Jane Oates showed how the demands of the workforce are changing at an unprecedented pace and remarked […]

June 20, 2018

Our position on proposals to increase school funding

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled this week that the “Millionaires Tax” does NOT meet the requirements to appear on the November ballot eliminating the possibility of billions of new revenue for education and transportation. We don’t expect, however, that […]