Alison Kuznitz, “Student hails new free community college program as ‘life-changing,'” State House News Service, August 24, 2023.
“I got called and was told that I was eligible for this program, which is going to be life-changing for me,” said Mends, who attended Needham Public Schools, at a press conference in Wellesley. “It’s been a long road and to have this financial burden lifted is amazing. And I’m excited for the opportunities that are going to open up and the things that are going to change my family.”
“New program will allow undocumented students in Massachusetts to get in-state tuition rates,” CBS News, August 22, 2023.
“This is a big step forward for students who have been growing up here, learning here, living here, working hard here, following their dreams right here in Massachusetts,” Healey said a press conference Tuesday. “It’s nothing more than what is fair and what is right. They’re going to be able to continue their journey on the same terms as their peers in a place that is their home.”
Matt Stout, “Massachusetts to change how Asian, Black, and other populations are counted in ‘most expansive’ effort in country,” Boston Globe, August 21, 2023.
“If we’re able to break down that data, we can target messages better, we can understand where there are disparities in health, disparities in education,” said Gary Chu, chairperson of the state’s Asian American & Pacific Islanders Commission. “No group is a monolith.”
Ayana Archie, “A 4% income tax on millionaires will make lunch free for Massachusetts K-12 students,” NPR, August 18, 2023.
“Massachusetts’ new budget will provide free school lunches for K-12 students, thanks to an additional 4% income tax on state residents’ incomes above $1 million….The extra tax, known as the Fair Share Amendment, was approved by voters in November 2022. It is generating an extra $1 billion for the state. Of that, $224 million will go to K-12 programs, including free lunch and implementing “clean energy” in schools, the governor’s office said.”
Andrew Brinker, “State may deny grants to communities that don’t comply with new MBTA housing law,” Boston Globe, August 17, 2023.
“The new rules threaten towns that avoid rezoning under the new law with losing out on more than a dozen state grant programs, which combined provide tens of millions of dollars to communities for an array of local planning and development programs. That’s on top of two major programs — MassWorks and Housing Choice — from which state officials could already withhold money, as well as the threat of legal action from community groups and the attorney general.”
Christian MilNeil, “A More Generous State Budget Means Better Service Is Coming to Regional Transit Authorities,” StreetsBlog Mass, August 16, 2023.
“But in the meantime, the RTA administrators we spoke with say they’ll likely use the funding to expand their service hours into evenings and weekends, and to expand fare-free programs, which heretofore have relied on dwindling federal pandemic relief funds.“
Emily Piper-Vallillo, “‘Food is the biggest expense’: Mass. families welcome permanent free school meals for students,” WBUR, August 15, 2023.
Right now 26% of families with children in Massachusetts are food insecure. And when you take a look across those families, one in four of them don’t qualify for free or reduced pricing meals,” she said. “They make too much, but they’re still struggling to put food on the table.”
Taylor Dolven, “Massachusetts’ goal to reduce driving lags behind other states,” Boston Globe, August 13, 2023.
“Massachusetts is aiming to reduce the number of miles driven per household by just 3 percent from 2015 to 2030 as part of its climate plan, according to figures provided by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Minnesota, by contrast, is aiming to reduce vehicle miles traveled per person by 7 percent in that time frame. In Colorado, the goal is 8 percent. In Washington, the goal is around 16 percent. And in California, the goal is 20 percent.”
Margaret Monsell, “Maybe the Globe should take a look at itself,” CommonWealth, August 5, 2023.
“But this recent Globe trip on the Wayback Machine suggests a possibility that its editorial melancholy about our degraded legislative democracy hasn’t yet considered: Has the downsized State House coverage by the Globe itself helped to bring about this lamentable state of affairs?”
Marcela García, “The simple card that’s changing undocumented immigrants’ lives,” Boston Globe, July 31, 2023.
“People like Mayra and her cousin know very well that a driver’s license is issued for public safety purposes only. But the card exemplifies other intangibles for them: relief, gratitude, hope, a sense of belonging — and the feeling ofbeing a little less invisible to the rest of Massachusetts.”
Nik DeCosta-Klipa, “What is — and isn’t — in the (again-late) Mass. budget deal,” WBUR, July 31, 2023.
What’s in it: The massive spending bill includes some big policy changes. Here are the ones that made the final cut.
- Free community college: The budget includes $38 million to offer free community college for students 25 or over, plus another $12 million to cover all costs for those in community college nursing programs, beginning this fall.
- In-state tuition for undocumented immigrants: The deal also covers the Senate’s proposal to make students without legal immigration status eligible for in-state tuition and state financial aid at Massachusetts’ public colleges. The condition is that they attended an in-state high school for at least three years or got their GED here.
- Free school lunch: Meanwhile, the House got its way on extending the state’s pandemic-era universal free school meal program for another academic year.
- Prison phone calls: The budget deals would also eliminate the costs of making phone calls for inmates in state and county prisons. (Former Gov. Charlie Baker vetoed a similar proposal last year, but Healey has been supportive.)
Ashley Nellis, “It’s time to end eternal punishment for young adults,” CommonWealth, July 27, 2023.
“The racial dynamics at play in extreme sentences cannot be overlooked. The Sentencing Project’s study finds that a shocking two thirds of young people sentenced to LWOP are Black (including Semedo). At the time of his crime, the media was blatantly contributing to racist portrayals of Black people through racially charged descriptors like savage, animalistic, and superpredator. These misrepresentations of Black people have surely contributed to the high representation of them in our prisons, especially when we look at those with the harshest penalties.”
Sen. Pat Jehlen, “Some thoughts on where we need to be competitive,” CommonWealth, July 26, 2023.
“Some urge us to reduce the tax on short term capital gain, but 80 percent of the benefits would go to the top 1 percent, widening the income gap. It would contribute nothing to economic growth. It would cost $130 million a year that can’t be spent on housing, childcare, transit, childcare, and other things that would help businesses, families, and competitiveness.”
Editorial Board, “Free prison calls provide a lifeline for inmates, families,” Boston Globe, July 25, 2023.
“Keeping those who are incarcerated connected to their families is one of the simplest ways to encourage rehabilitation and, therefore, enhance public safety. This tiny bit of progress is already a year overdue. It shouldn’t have to wait any longer.”
Margaret McKenna, “Our state hasn’t achieved anything resembling educational equity,” Boston Globe, July 17, 2023.
“The basic principle in the 1993 Education Reform was that all students should be educated to meet high standards and that progress should be measured. In order to achieve that, we need to recognize that students come from different environments, have different learning styles and needs. Treating all students equally does not produce equity. Students are much more than what is measured with a group of narrow subject matter tests.”
