Testimony

Students Are More Than Just a Test Score

Testimony from Solidarity Lowell member Dee Halzack

Chair Lewis, Chair Garlick, and Members of the Joint Committee on Education:

I am writing today to urge you to give a favorable report to H.495 and S.246: An act empowering students and schools to thrive (“the Thrive Act”).

Local students, parents, educators, and communities are the ones best able to determine what our local schools need, and how to measure student success.

State takeover of public schools and the graduation requirement based on the MCAS standardized test are both failing students and disrupting their education. These top-down, harmful educational policies are increasing racial inequities in our schools, rather than fixing them. We have seen, both through data and through student experiences, that state takeovers and high-stakes testing do not produce the long-term gains in student performance promised, and instead, they limit voice and narrow curricula. In many cases poor performance had more to do with lack of resources than with poor administration or teaching. Educators complain about being forced to teach to the tests without regard for individual student needs or the characteristics of the community. Standardized testing does a disservice to students with special needs, including both the disabled and English language learners.

While I myself am a native speaker of English, with decent writing skills, I have seen the damage done in testing situations to English language learners. The stress of taking a test that determines whether or not you graduate, regardless of what your grades have been and how well you know what you studied, can make even a fluent English language learner freeze up or go so slow that they can’t finish the test in time. It happened to a friend of mine in COLLEGE. How much worse for younger students with less years of experience with the testing AND the language.

I used to work for an educational publisher. I am familiar with the writings on inequity in educational testing and how hard it is to completely avoid. Some students can be smart and yet so test-phobic that it affects their performance on a test negatively. While tests are a tool for assessing students, they are not the only tool and should not be used to make or break a student’s graduation.

The Thrive Act creates a better system that focuses on supporting the whole child by focusing on the tools and resources schools need to thrive and by re-examining our approach to student assessment so that it can be more equitable, more accurate, and more holistic.

Thank you for all your work on the hearing. Again, I urge you to swiftly advance H.495 and S.246: An act empowering students and schools to thrive.

public education

“Getting access to different languages should not be one of the problems to face.”

Testimony in support of the Mass Speaks Bill from Solidarity Lowell member Tara Hong

Dear Chairman Collins, Chairman Cabral, and Members of the Committee,

My name is Tara Hong and I respectfully submits the following letter in support of S.1990/H.3084, An Act Relative to Language Access and Inclusion, and strongly urges the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight to report the bill favorably.  

Nearly one in ten Massachusetts residents is limited English proficient. But as the COVID-19 pandemic made especially clear, many of our state agencies provide essential services and information only in English – effectively denying hundreds of thousands of families access to urgently-needed resources that can help them weather economic emergencies, care for their children, address health problems, stay housed, and much more. The Language Access and Inclusion Act would standardize and enforce language access protocols and practices at public-facing state agencies, ensuring non-English speaking residents can meet their basic needs and fully participate in their communities.

As an immigrant from Cambodia 10 years ago, English is my second language. It was tough for me personally for almost six years of my life learning English just to want to communicate in the community, pass tests, and or ask for support in the community. However, one good thing about my city is its diversity. I was surrounded by many people who spoke my language and were able to help me around. That is why I am writing to you today to ask for your support for this bill. I believe that everyone, no matter where they come from or what they speak, everyone should not be unable to ask for help and support because they don’t speak English. As an immigrant country and an immigrant state with many backgrounds all around, getting access to different languages should not be one of the problems to face.

Everyone must have equal access to our government, no matter what language they speak. As Massachusetts is one of the most linguistically diverse states in the nation, we strongly urge you to issue a favorable report for An Act Relative to Language Access and Inclusion. 

Respectfully Submitted,

Tara Hong

Testimony in Support of the Language Access & Inclusion Act and Indigenous Peoples Day

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Dear Chairman Collins, Chairman Cabral, and Members of the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight:

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the policy director at Progressive Massachusetts. We are a statewide, multi-issue, grassroots membership organization focused on fighting for policy that would make our Commonwealth more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic.

We urge you to give a favorable report to S.1990/H.3084 (An Act Relative to Language Access and Inclusion) and S.1976/H.2989 (An Act establishing an Indigenous Peoples Day).

S.1990/H.3084: Language Access and Inclusion Act

Massachusetts is home to a vibrant immigrant community. One in six Massachusetts residents is an immigrant, while one in seven residents is a native-born US citizen with at least one immigrant parent.

Massachusetts, correspondingly, is home to great linguistic diversity: more than 1 out of 4 residents report speaking a language other than English at home, with the most common languages being Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese (including Mandarin and Cantonese), Vietnamese, and Russian. However, as the pandemic demonstrated, our state agencies and departments have a patchwork of different policies around language accessibility, and there is no current statute to ensure that non-English speaking residents have a fair and equitable opportunity to obtain an education, apply for benefits, receive housing assistance, or represent themselves in court.

The Language Access and Inclusion Act would help our Commonwealth better meet the needs of all residents by standardizing and enforcing language access protocols and practices at public-facing state agencies. Everyone should be able to interact with and seek help from their own government, no matter what language they speak.

S.1976/H.2989: Indigenous Peoples Day

For decades, Christopher Columbus has been celebrated as a “hero” who “discovered America.” Indigenous people have made it clear that, to the contrary, these lands were invaded, not “discovered,” and that Columbus and his men were responsible for the enslavement, rape, and murder of countless Indigenous peoples in the Caribbean. Since the 1970s, Indigenous people have asked that Indigenous Peoples Day should instead be celebrated on the second Monday in October as a positive day to learn about and honor Indigenous history and peoples.

Our neighbors in Maine and Vermont already celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day, as do an increasing number of cities and towns in Massachusetts. The Commonwealth should join them, and S.1976/H.2989: An Act establishing an Indigenous Peoples Day will make that happen.

Thank you again for all your work on today’s hearing, and again, please give a favorable report to S.1990/H.3084 (An Act Relative to Language Access and Inclusion) and S.1976/H.2989 (An Act establishing an Indigenous Peoples Day).

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

Massachusetts Needs a Right to Counsel

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Chair Edwards, Chair Arciero, and Members of the Joint Committee on Housing:

We see it all the time in polls, we hear it on the doors, and we see it in the data: Massachusetts has a housing crisis. More and more residents are unable to afford to live in our commonwealth anymore, priced out from one community to another and then out entirely, or face severe housing instability.

We need a comprehensive approach to the housing crisis, and strong protections for tenants must be a part of it. We urge you to give a favorable report to S.864/H.1731: An Act promoting access to counsel and housing stability in Massachusetts.

These bills would provide legal representation for low-income tenants and low-income owner-occupants in eviction proceedings. The eviction moratorium that the Legislature passed earlier in the pandemic was a vital lifeline for so many, but eviction filings have now been climbing past what they were in 2019, pre-pandemic. Tenants enter such eviction proceedings at a major disadvantage: according to FY2022 Trial Court data, while 86% of landlords are represented, only 11.5% of tenants are represented. Tenants facing eviction are disproportionately poor, female, and BIPOC, and evictions can have lasting negative impacts on physical and mental health.

Connecticut, Maryland, and Washington have already passed Right to Counsel policies, and Massachusetts should join them.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

housing

Testimony to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary in support of “An Act supporting consenting young adults” (H.1617/S.1110)

Progressive Mass recently signed on to testimony from the Massachusetts Coalition for Juvenile Justice Reform in support of H.1617/S.1110: An Act supporting consenting young adults.

Read an excerpt below and read the full coalition testimony here.

This legislation is an effort to come into line with a majority of states, to recognize that young people have consensual sexual contact with one another and criminalizing that contact is not the best way to respond to it. It is an issue for families, faith communities, and public health officials, rather than law enforcement….

If the goal is to delay teen sexual activity and ensure young people are in healthy relationships – both physically and emotionally – the law actually has built a barrier between teens and trusted adults who can talk to them and advise them on making healthy decisions and identifying and staying away from unhealthy relationships.

Making Our Criminal Justice System More Just

Figure of Justice holding the scales of justice

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Chairman Eldridge, Chair Day, and Members of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary:

Five years ago, the Legislature took significant strides toward curbing mass incarceration by passing a comprehensive criminal legal reform package. But there is more work to be done to make our criminal justice system more deserving of the word “justice.”

We urge you to give a favorable report to the following bills:

H.1710/S.942: An Act to Promote Public Safety and Better Outcomes for Young Adults.
H.1495/S.940: An Act promoting diversion of juveniles to community supervision and services
H.1802/S.931: An Act Improving Juvenile Justice Data Collection
H.1650: An Act Protecting Youth During Custodial Interrogations
H.1756/S.954: An Act Ensuring Integrity in Juvenile Interrogations
H.1494/S.993: An Act Updating Bail Procedures for Justice-Involved Youth
S.1049: An Act relative to diversion for primary caretakers

Our testimony will focus on the first and the last.

Raise the Age (H.1710/S.942)

These bills would gradually raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction to include 18, then 19, and then 20-year-olds over a five-year period. The recidivism rate of teens in the juvenile system is less than half of that of young people automatically prosecuted as adults. In the juvenile system, such emerging adults have access to the educational and counseling services that are so vital when they are still developing.

Young adults, especially young adults of color, are overrepresented in our criminal justice system. Reducing the number of young people who experience a system that is not designed for their developmental needs will have a positive impact on such young people, helping them to better be productive, engaged citizens and whole people upon release. And that means stronger, more resilient communities.

Primary Caretakers Diversion (S.1049)

We are grateful for the work the Legislature did to advance racial and gender justice by including Primary Caretakers alternative community-based sentencing as part of the Criminal Justice Reform Act in 2018.

Whenever a parent or other primary caregiver is incarcerated, the children suffer. A criminal record puts up barriers between caretakers and housing, employment, education, and other resources that are essential to allow them to take care of their families.

Passing the Primary Caretakers Diversion bill would build on recent progress and provide more opportunities for healing, recovery, treatment, and resources, rather than punishment.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

criminal legal reform

Every Worker Deserves a Living Wage.

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Chair Jehlen, Chair Cusack, and Members of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development:

We urge you to give a favorable report to H.1925: An Act relative to the minimum wage, S.1200: An Act relative to raising the minimum wage closer to a living wage in the Commonwealth, and S.1188 / H.1872: An Act requiring one fair wage.

Raising the Minimum Wage (S.1200/H.1925)

In 2018, Massachusetts set an example for other states and the country by passing a $15 minimum wage. As of January 2023, the full increase has now taken effect, but $15 has lost significant purchasing power due to the rising cost of food, utilities, rent, and other basic necessities. Indeed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, today’s minimum wage would need to be more than $18 to have the same purchasing power as $15 in July 2018.

The $15 minimum wage, while an improvement, is also not a living wage. According to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, a living wage for a single adult with no children would be $21.35 per hour. When children enter the picture, that threshold for meeting basic needs gets higher and higher. Moreover, if the minimum wage did rise in step with productivity growth since 1968, it would have met this standard for a living wage.

It’s time to raise the minimum wage again. These bills would raise the minimum wage to $20 per hour and index it to inflation, so that the value does not erode over time. Moreover, these bills correct a glaring omission from the last minimum wage increase: the exclusion of municipal workers. Paraprofessionals and cafeteria workers in some municipalities are still not receiving a minimum wage (let alone a living wage), and we should not be allowing such carveouts. All workers deserve a living wage, and this increase would move us in the right direction.

One Fair Wage (S.1188/H.1872)

The existence of subminimum wages for certain industries, particularly ones where workers are disproportionately women and people of color, is a part of a longstanding history of discrimination and economic exploitation.

Although employers are supposed to guarantee that workers get the full minimum wage with tips, this has never been common practice, and wage theft is rampant in the food service industry. The tiered wage system allows this to happen. We need greater enforcement of wage theft laws, but we need to change the systems that make such wage theft more prevalent.

Moreover, it is well-documented that sexual harassment remains widespread in the restaurant industry. As our country is continuing to grapple with the problem of sexual harassment and sexual assault across industries, we must face up to the fact that unequal wage systems create the breeding ground for such inappropriate and predatory behaviors.

Workers across Massachusetts deserve better and are demanding better, and we urge you to listen and to swiftly report out these bills favorably.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

inequality

Legislators Should Support Labor at the State House Too.

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Chair Collins, Chair Cabral, and Members of the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight:

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the Policy Director of Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide grassroots advocacy group with chapters across the state committed to fighting for an equitable, just, democratic, and sustainable Commonwealth.

We urge you to give H.3069/S.2014: An Act relative to collective bargaining rights for legislative employees.

This bill would give State House employees the right to organize a union for the purpose of negotiating their wages, benefits, and working conditions—a right held by almost all other workers in the commonwealth.

State House staffers do so much work to keep the Legislature running. They are the reason that today’s hearing will go smoothly. They will be the ones collating submitted testimony for you to read later and taking notes for your colleagues who could not attend. They are case workers, responding to countless constituent services requests and directing people to the right agencies to address their problems. They are schedulers, policy analysts, strategy partners, networkers, meeting-attenders, and so much more.

Despite all these things that they are, one thing that they are not is adequately compensated.

When State House staff are not provided fair wages, safe and healthy work conditions, or a seat at the table, we lose talent and limit who can even consider entering public service in the first place. When we don’t have all of the diverse voices of the Commonwealth at the table, we miss vital perspectives in crafting policy.

We are very appreciative of all the recent pro-labor reforms that this Legislature has passed over the past few years and your commitment in your own districts to show solidarity with workers fighting for better pay, better benefits, and a better voice at the workplace. We ask you to show that same solidarity here and support the rights of your staff.

Thank you again for your time and for holding this hearing, and we again ask for a swift favorable report for H.3069 and S.2014.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

beacon hill workers rights

Let’s Show that We Cherish Public Higher Ed

Monday, September 18, 2023

Chair Comerford, Chair Rogers, and Members of the Joint Committee on Higher Education:

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the Policy Director at Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide grassroots advocacy group fighting for a more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic commonwealth.

We urge you to give a favorable report to H.1260/S.816: An Act committing to higher education the resources to insure a strong and healthy public higher education system (the “Cherish Act”) and H.1265 / S.823: An Act relative to debt-free public higher education (“Debt-Free Future”).

Our public colleges and universities are essential vehicles for economic mobility of our commonwealth’s residents and economic vitality of the commonwealth itself. Studies have shown that college graduates are more likely to be healthier, earn significantly more on average, and are less likely to face job loss during an economic recession, and graduates of our public colleges and universities are more likely to stay in Massachusetts to live and work, contributing to our commonwealth and common wealth.

However, our state has been disinvesting from public higher education for the last two decades, with funding for public higher education still below its (inflation-adjusted) value in 2001. [1] When the state reduces funding to public colleges and universities, the result is higher tuition and fees, and a growing debt burden faced by students and families.

When the state reduces funding to public colleges and universities, the result is higher tuition and fees, and a growing debt burden faced by students and families. The published in-state tuition and fees increase at public 4-year institutions in MA increased 135 percent from 2001 to 2021 after adjusting for inflation, and for two-year institutions, 81 percent, but real Median Household Income in Massachusetts only increased by 8 percent. [2] Just between 2009 and 2021, the average student debt rose 52% for four-year graduates and 62% for community college graduates. [3] When we close off opportunities for our students, we are all worse off.

No student should be saddled with years of debt because of attending one of our state’s public colleges and universities. As our state has so often been a leader in higher education, we should take this opportunity and be a leader in debt-free public higher education with both the Debt-Free Future bill and the Cherish Act.

The Cherish Act takes a comprehensive approach to strengthening our public higher education system. In addition to addressing the barrier that high tuition and fees—as well as living costs—can pose for students, the bill would increase investments in student support services to ensure positive learning environment and improve student retention, and it would institute fair and adequate minimum funding levels for public higher education.

The burden of disinvestment in public higher education has not just been borne by students; it has also been borne by faculty and staff, who have seen weakened job security and workplace benefits as institutions embrace strategies of privatization and “adjunctification.” The Cherish Act would ensure that ensure that adjunct faculty and part-time staff are eligible for state health care and retirement benefits, and it would establish a Commission on Wage Equity and Working Conditions to recommend changes aimed at eliminating pay inequities based on gender, race, and job category.

Finally, the COVID crisis and the climate crisis both show clearly how much the built environment matters to human and environmental health. That’s why the bill creates a commission to evaluate the health, safety, and energy efficiency of public college and university buildings, develop a set of standards, and recommend a plan to bring all buildings into compliance with this standard by 2035. Our colleges and universities have such a key role to play in addressing climate change, and this bill shows how.

Last year, voters showed that they believed it was time for the rich to pay their fair share so that we can invest in our public education systems and public infrastructure. The support is there among the public to recommitting to the ideal of higher education for all. Let’s make it happen.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

[1] https://massbudget.org/2020/08/10/bruised-budgets-a-higher-education-funding-history-lesson-for-an-antiracist-future-2/

[2] https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/

[3] https://www.hildrethinstitute.org/rising-barriers-shrinking-aid

higher ed

Let’s Continue Expanding Voting Access

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Chair Keenan, Chair Ryan, and Members of the Joint Committee on Election Laws:

We urge you to give a favorable report to the following bills:

H.724/S.428: An Act relative to voting rights restoration
S.410: An Act making voting administrative changes to create equitable systemic solutions (Voting ACCESS bill)
H.688: An Act establishing same day registration of voters
H.707: An Act decoupling the municipal census from voter registration

H.724/S.428: Voting Rights Restoration

Felony disenfranchisement in Massachusetts is a recent phenomenon. Indeed, although we often think of the history of voting rights in the US as one of ever-forward motion, Massachusetts stands as an outlier. In the late 1990s, after incarcerated individuals in MCI-Norfolk started organizing for better conditions, Republican Governor Bill Cellucci and the MA Legislature responded with retaliation: a multi-step process of disenfranchisement. In 2000, Massachusetts voters approved a constitutional amendment to prohibit people incarcerated for felonies in state prison from voting in state elections; the subsequent year, Cellucci signed a law to extend this prohibition to federal and municipal elections. Our commonwealth did something rare in recent history: it took away the right to vote from a category of people who were formerly enfranchised.

In 2022, the Massachusetts Legislature took an important step forward when passing the VOTES Act by including language creating protections for jail-based voting for those who still maintain the right to vote, but we must build on that momentum by ending remaining disenfranchisement, as these bills would.

Felony disenfranchisement compounds the systemic racism of the criminal legal system. Approximately 8,000 residents of the Commonwealth are disenfranchised due to a felony conviction, more than 50% of them are Black or Latinx.

Felony disenfranchisement laws disenfranchise more voters than those directly affected. Whenever someone loses the right to vote even temporarily, they are likely to mistakenly think that they have lost it permanently. We must eliminate archaic laws that create voter suppression and voter confusion.

Felony disenfranchisement exacerbates the humanitarian crisis in our prisons and jails. Even Trump’s DOJ pointed out that Massachusetts correctional facilities are engaging in torture, and a lack of political voice puts individuals at risk for abuse.

Moreover, studies have often shown that fostering ties to the outside world is central to reducing recidivism. Civic engagement provides just that, and we should welcome it.

S.410, H.688, and H.707: Strengthening Voting Access

With regard to the comprehensive Voting ACCESS bill (S.410), we would like to underscore the importance of Election Day Registration. In Massachusetts elections, an unnecessary and arbitrary 20-day registration cutoff disenfranchises more than 100,000 voters from participating in our elections. Given that the average American moves more than 11 times over the course of their lives, moving near Election Day could lead to disenfranchisement under the current system. Likewise, given the stress of work, family, and myriad other commitments, many voters may first start to learn about an election after the registration window has already passed. Indeed, this is the period when media coverage of elections—and thus voter information—is the strongest. But when voters seek to update their registration or register anew, they are shut out of the process.

When there are errors in voters’ registration, they are typically asked to fill out a provisional ballot. Provisional ballots are cumbersome for election workers and leave voters feeling as though their votes didn’t count. And our first experiences at the polls–indeed, all of our experiences at the polls–have an impact on our voting habits throughout our lives.

Our neighboring states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Connecticut have already realized the problems with such a cutoff and adopted Election Day Registration (EDR). Maine has had EDR since the 1970s, and New Hampshire since the 1990s. EDR creates more positive experiences at the polls and, indeed, higher turnout, with studies showing an increase in turnout of approximately 5 percent.

Moreover, if we want to create positive experiences at the polls, we should also delink the municipal census from the inactive voter list. Removing voters from the active voter list for failing to fill out a form is unnecessarily punitive, and it creates unnecessary work for both voters and poll workers.

We have appreciated the recent steps forward in democracy passed in recent sessions, such as automatic voter registration, vote-by-mail, and expanded early voting, and we hope that you will continue this forward motion.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

voting rights