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Racial Equity and Policing Legislation

Action Alert

For years Massachusetts Appleseed has been working to bring an end to zero-tolerance school discipline policies, school arrests, and the school-to-prison pipeline. Amidst the wave of protests against police brutality, now is the time to demand more. Over-policing in Massachusetts schools disproportionally impacts Black and Latinx students, who are significantly more likely to be arrested at school than their white counterparts. School Resource Officers (SROs) are meant to protect our students, but instead many SROs actively place our students in danger. On December 3, 2018, a Springfield Massachusetts school resource officer assaulted a 14-year-old high school boy, grabbing him by the back of his neck and pushing him against the side of a school hallway. Subsequently, the officer filed a false incident report. We cannot allow this to go on any longer. We need change now.
 
Tomorrow the Massachusetts Senate will be voting on S.2800 An Act to Reform Police Standards and Shift Resources to Build a More Equitable, Fair and Just Commonwealth that Values Black Lives and Communities of Color, known as the Reform, Shift + Build Act.
 
This legislation:
  • Requires the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to report out the number of mental health counselors and school resources officers
  • Limits school personnel from disclosing student information to law enforcement, and subsequent entry of that information into shared law enforcement databases
By providing us data on the current number of counselors compared with school resource officers in Massachusetts public schools, this legislation will allow us to more deeply understand the practical solution of replacing SROs with mental health counselors. In addition, this legislation takes important initial steps to limit the ability of school administrations and SROs to share incident reports with local law enforcement.
 
This legislation is a solid foundation for dismantling the over-policing in Massachusetts schools. However, amendments are necessary to truly achieve our goal.
 
Amendments we support:
  • Senator Boncore’s Amendment 25 “Training and Certification for School Resource Officers” requires specific training for SROs on a host of important topics, to be developed in consultation with experts, and to be required before an officer can be assigned as an SRO.
  • Senator Jehlen’s Amendment 80 “School Committee Approval of SROs and Data Reporting” puts school committees – not superintendents and police chiefs – in charge of annually approving school policing by vote, and requires that the district and police department comply with the reporting requirements of school-based arrests to qualify to have an SRO.
  • Senator Jehlen’s Amendment 93 “Disrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline” prevents students who have been merely accused of a crime from being excluded from school without any real due process, and clarifies the type of student behavior that would rise to the level of being a danger in the school to justify expulsion and suspension.
  • Senator Jehlen’s Amendment 108 “Protecting Students from Profiling” strengthens existing provisions of S.2800 on information sharing by prohibiting Massachusetts school staff and school police from sharing student information to the Boston Regional Intelligence Center and other gang databases.
These amendments require increased training for SROs, place the power to approve SROs within the community, provide students due with process in future disciplinary action, and keep school administrators from sharing disciplinary information with state and federal law enforcement such as the Boston Police Department, ICE, and the FBI. 
 
These measures represent an essential step in supporting the grassroots movements led by young people in Boston, Springfield, Worcester, Framingham and across the Commonwealth advocating for the removal of SROs entirely.

Click Here to Read S.2800

Click Here for Amendments

What You Can Do

Time is of the essence! The Senate will be voting Tomorrow!

  1. Contact your Senator TODAY and ask them to support Amendments 25, 80, 93, and 108.
  2. Because elected officials get a lot of emails, follow-up with a phone call to ask whether the Senator will support these amendments.
  3. Click here to find your Senators emails and phone numbers.

Thank you for working with us to improve this important legislation and dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline!

 

Our Response to COVID-19

From advocating for increased support for youth experiencing homelessness, to sharing multilingual resources to help immigrant and Limited English Proficient families withstand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic – there’s work to be done. Learn more about steps we’re taking to aid our most vulnerable communities during the pandemic and how you can help.

Our Response to COVID-19

 

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The 2020 State Budget is on the Governor’s Desk!

Action Alert

This week, the Conference Committee released its final, reconciled 2020 budget – a consolidation of the House and Senate versions totaling $43.1 billion. This year, our budget priorities included:

  • Support for Homeless Youth (Line Item #4000-0007)
    • $5 million to fund housing and support services for youth experiencing homelessness.
  • Safe and Supportive Schools (Line Item #7061-9612)
    • $508,128 to fund the Safe and Supportive Schools program and ensure all students are empowered to succeed in school.
  • Civil Legal Aid (MLAC Line Item #0321-1600)
    • $24 million to provide civil legal aid to low-income individuals and families.

I’m happy to report that the Conference Committee has recommended full funding for all of these line items! Thank you to the House and Senate leadership, and a special thanks to you! Each time you raised your voice and called your legislators to support your most vulnerable neighbors, you have brought us one step closer to a 2020 where we are equipped to support all Massachusetts residents in shelters, in school, and in the courts.

This year’s budget battle is almost over…but not quite yet. The Legislature has voted on the budget and now it heads to Governor Baker’s desk, where he will have ten days to veto line items – potentially eliminating the vital funding for the line items listed above.

You have stood alongside us and fought hard for these line items as the budget made its way through the House, the Senate, and the Conference Committee. Don’t let Governor Baker veto them now.

Please join us in contacting Governor Baker’s office to let him know that you support the Conference Committee’s recommended funding for services for youth experiencing homelessness, safe and supportive schools, and increased access to justice through civil legal aid.

Click here to call or email the Governor’s office now!

You can read more about these important line items below:

Housing and Support Services for Youth Experiencing Homelessness

Line Item #4000-0007

The Conference Committee adopted the Senate’s funding level of $5 million for support and services for youth experiencing homelessness! This is a long-overdue increase of $1.7 million from last year. Governor Baker’s administration highlighted its plan to end youth homelessness just a few months ago. Let him know that this funding level is a critical component of any solution to homelessness for young people in Massachusetts.

This increase to $5 million will fund vital services for one of Massachusetts’ most vulnerable populations and is an important step towards Governor Baker’s stated goal to address youth homelessness.

Please ask Governor Baker to adopt the Conference Committee’s recommended funding amount of $5 million.

Safe and Supportive School Environments

Line Item #7061-9612

In more good news, the Conference Committee has recommended $508,128 in funding for this essential line item, which is slightly ABOVE last year’s funding level. Many thanks to the Legislature for this welcome increase, particularly in a year when the question of school funding, and how well we are supporting our students, has been at the forefront of conversations across the state.

This increase will help continue the Safe and Supportive Schools program, which enables the development of school-wide Action Plans, facilitates the exchange of best practices, and ultimately works to empower all students to succeed in school.

Please join us in urging Governor Baker to include this funding level in the final budget!

Civil Legal Aid

Line Item #0321-1600

The Conference Committee has recommended the Senate’s funding level of $24 million in funding for the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation line item, which funds free civil legal services that thousands of low-income residents of Massachusetts rely on each year. If Massachusetts believes in striving for 100% access to justice, this increase in funding is an absolute necessity.

The overwhelming need for increased civil legal aid continues to grow, with individuals and families in Massachusetts facing eviction, domestic violence, and other civil legal crises.

Please urge Governor Baker to adopt the Conference Committee’s recommended funding amount of $24 million in the final budget.

We’ve been fighting for these line items, which include much-needed increases in funding, since April, and you’ve been with us every step of the way. Please join us once again so that we can cross the finish line and ensure these line items make it into the final budget!

Click here to find the contact information for Governor Baker’s office. Then call or email and urge him to adopt the Conference Committee’s funding levels for support for youth experiencing homelessness, safe and supportive schools, and civil legal aid.

Thank you for your ongoing support and advocacy – we can’t do it without you!

 

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The 2020 State Budget: Results from the Senate

Action Alert

Thank you to everyone who raised their voices and called their state senators to advocate for our FY20 budget priorities! The Senate debates have ended, the conferees of the Conference Committee have been decided, and the next stage of this year’s budget battle has begun! You can view the finalized Senate budget here, and take a look below to read more about where we stand on our budget priorities:

Housing and Support Services for Youth Experiencing Homelessness

As you may remember, the Senate Committee on Ways & Means released its FY20 budget proposal and recommended $5 million for support and services for youth experiencing homelessness (line item 4000-0007). Since this was the funding amount advocates requested, no amendment needed to be filed! However, since the final House budget only provided $3.3 million in funding for this line item, the Conference Committee is now tasked with determining the final funding level.

The funding level proposed by the Senate is an important increase to fund vital services for one of Massachusetts’ most vulnerable populations.

Please ask your legislators to urge the Conference Committee to include the Senate funding level of $5 million in the final budget.

Safe and Supportive School Environments

To ensure that all students are empowered to succeed in school, the Safe and Supportive Schools program needs continued funding at an adequate level. We are pleased to report that the Senate Committee on Ways & Means recommended $508,128 in funding for this essential line item (7061-9612), which is slightly ABOVE last year’s funding level. Once again, this meant that there was no need to advocate for an amendment to this line item during the Senate budget debate! However, because the House provided only $400,000 in funding for the Safe and Supportive Schools line item, it will be up to the Conference Committee to determine the final funding amount.

This line item provides critical funding to continue the Safe and Supportive Schools Grant Program, which enables the development of school-wide Action Plans and facilitates the exchange of best practices, and more.

Please join us in advocating for the Senate funding level of $508,128 in the Conference Committee’s final budget.

Civil Legal Aid

Each year we advocate for increased funding for the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (MLAC) because of the overwhelming need for civil legal aid for low-income families and individuals, which continues to grow.

The MLAC line item (0321-1600) funds free civil legal services that many low-income residents of Massachusetts rely on when facing eviction, domestic violence, and other civil legal crises.

Thankfully, Senator Cynthia Creem’s amendment to increase civil legal aid funding to $24 million was included in the Senate’s final budget! While still less than the $26 million MLAC initially requested, this is a much-needed increase that is greater than the $23.6 million in funding that the House allocated.

Please ask your legislators to urge the Conference Committee to adopt the Senate’s funding amount of $24 million in the final budget.

State ID for Youth Experiencing Homelessness

Senators Chandler and Welch filed Amendment #464 that would work to eliminate barriers homeless youth face in obtaining IDs.

Without state ID, youth experiencing homelessness are prevented from accomplishing many critical and daily tasks, from enrolling in education programs to something as simple as getting a library card.

The amendment would have established a process to waive the prohibitive $25 state ID card fee and created an alternative application process for those who cannot meet existing criteria (such as providing proof of residency). Unfortunately, these policy provisions were not included in the final Senate budget.

While we are disappointed by this development, we will continue to advocate for legislation currently before the Joint Transportation Committee (S.2043/H.3066), which would also ease the process for youth experiencing homelessness to obtain state ID. Click here for more information, and stay tuned to see how you can help advocate to get these common-sense reforms passed this year!

On To the Conference Committee!

The Conference Committee, made up of six legislators – three representatives, three senators – will review both the House and Senate budgets and work to reconcile any differences. The Committee has until July 1st to pass a final reconciled budget and send it to Governor Baker’s desk for approval.

This is a decisive moment for our budget priorities, and we can’t do it without you. When you contact your legislators in support of these funding levels, especially at this final hurdle, you’re helping ensure some of Massachusetts’ most vulnerable communities are supported and empowered to succeed in 2020.

Click here to find your legislator’s contact information. Then call or email both your state senator and representative and ask them to urge the members of the Conference Committee (listed below) to adopt the Senate funding levels for each of these important line items described above.

Thank you for your ongoing support and advocacy. With your help, we can ensure these crucial line items receive the funding they need in the coming year.

 

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The 2020 State Budget: The House Budget Is In

Thank you to everyone who raised their voices and called their State Representatives to advocate for our FY20 budget priorities! The House budget debates have come to an end, and the results are in. And as is often the case with the state budget, the results are…mixed. To see the full, finalized House budget, click here. For a deeper dive into our budget priorities – safe and supportive school environments, civil legal aid, and youth homelessness – read more below.

Safe and Supportive School Environments

Adequate funding to continue the implementation of the Safe and Supportive Schools program is necessary to ensure that all students are empowered to succeed in school. However, last month the House rejected Rep. Ruth Balser’s Amendment #1099 to maintain funding at $500,000, instead reducing funding for this line item to $400,000.

The Safe and Supportive Schools law was passed in 2014 to support an expansive and innovative vision of safe and supportive whole-school cultures that address many barriers to learning in Massachusetts schools.

But without level funding in 2020, the Safe and Supportive Schools Grant Program, statewide conferences and leadership summits, a second independent evaluation of all activities, and more may go unfunded. We will advocate for $500,000 – the same amount as last year – for inclusion in the Senate in order to continue this vital work.

Click here for more information about this issue.

Civil Legal Aid

The Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (MLAC) line item (0321-1600) funds free legal services in civil matters for low-income residents of Massachusetts and is an enormously important component of the fight to ensure access to justice in the Commonwealth.

For low-income families facing devastating civil legal aid problems – such as eviction or domestic violence, civil legal services, funded by MLAC, are often their last hope.

The House increased civil legal funding to $23.6 million in its final budget. This is an improvement from the budget recommendations initially released by the House Committee on Ways & Means, but less than Rep. Balser requested in Amendment #1095 and much less than MLAC’s original request of $26 million. Thank you for your advocacy to bring us this far, and we look forward to fighting for the full requested increase in the Senate.

Click here for more information about this issue.

Youth Homelessness

Housing and Support Services

Despite reports of youth homelessness on the rise in Massachusetts, the House rejected Rep. James O’Day’s Amendment #883, which would have increased funding for services and support for youth experiencing homelessness to a much-needed $5 million.

Increased funding for this line item (4000-0007) is vital if we are going to build on past progress and create a sustained, systematic, and effective response to end youth homelessness in Massachusetts.

We are deeply disappointed that the House failed to increase funding for these critical programs to support youth experiencing homelessness, and will continue to push for increased funding in the Senate.

Click here for more information about this issue.

Massachusetts State ID

Government issued identification is necessary to complete many crucial and daily tasks, such as opening a bank account, enrolling in education programs, getting a library card, entering certain government buildings, and more.

But youth experiencing homelessness face several barriers that often prevent them from obtaining ID.

Rep. Kay Khan refiled a bill addressing this issue again this year (despite broad support, the bill failed to pass last session) and she also filed two amendments to the House budget that would have helped eliminate the barriers youth experiencing homelessness face now.

Unfortunately, Rep. Khan’s budget amendments were also not adopted by the House last month. While we will continue to advocate for the refiled bill seeking to solve this throughout this legislative session, we are hopeful that the Senate will include similar language in their proposed budget. Including this language in the final FY20 budget would allow youth experiencing homelessness to access IDs sooner rather than later.

These changes to ensure youth experiencing homelessness are able to obtain state ID should not be controversial. These are common-sense reforms that repair the damage insurmountable hurdles – such as a $25 application fee or requiring a permanent address – have caused for our most vulnerable youth.

Click here for more information about this issue.

So there it is…the first stage of the 2020 budget battle is over. And when it comes to our students, our low-income neighbors, our young people most in-need, we have one thing to say to the Legislature: We must do better.

Thank you for raising your voice and standing up for these key line items in the state budget. The Senate Committee on Ways & Means is scheduled to release its budget recommendations TOMORROW, with amendments due this Friday at noon, and we hope you join us again! Each and every time you reach out to your State Legislators and lend your voice to the chorus calling out on behalf of indigent communities, you are bringing us one step closer to a more equal and just Massachusetts.

 

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The 2020 State Budget: House Amendments Need Support!

Action Alert

The Massachusetts House of Representatives will debate its FY20 budget proposal this week and several key amendments have been filed that still need support! These amendments fill in funding gaps when the amount allocated in the House Committee on Ways & Means’ budget recommendations (released April 10th) fell short of supporting the clear needs of our communities.

Please take a moment and check out a few of our budget priorities below and the amendments Representatives Balser, O’Day, and Khan have filed. Loud and vocal support for these amendments and line items makes all the difference, so please join us and call your State Representative to ensure our elected officials have civil legal aid, youth homelessness, and Massachusetts schools on their list of budget priorities!

Safe and Supportive School Environments

The Safe and Supportive Schools law, passed in 2014, was enacted to make the vision of safe and supportive whole-school cultures that address many barriers to learning a reality. Level funding for the Safe and Supportive Schools Line Item (7061-9612) is critical to continue the Safe and Supportive Schools Grant Program, develop school-wide Action Plans, collect feedback from students, and more. But the House has proposed allocating only $400,000, a decrease from the $500,000 in funding it received last year.

Funding for this line item is necessary to continue expanding and improving strategies and tools so all students are empowered to succeed in school.

Representative Balser has filed Amendment #1099 to provide level funding of $500,000 to ensure adequate funding for these important programs. Please join us in supporting Rep. Balser’s amendment and standing up for students across Massachusetts!

Click here for more information about this issue.

Action You Can Take:

Click here to find your State Representative’s contact information and ask them to support Amendment #1099.

Civil Legal Aid

For low-income Massachusetts residents who are unable to afford an attorney, civil legal aid organizations are often the last place they can turn to when facing eviction, domestic violence, or other life-altering civil legal issues. But the House Committee on Ways & Means provided only $22.5 million for the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (MLAC) line item (0321-1600).

MLAC is the largest provider of civil legal aid services in the state and without increased funding, civil legal aid programs will be forced to continue to turn away thousands of Massachusetts residents in need and seeking help.

Representative Ruth Balser has filed Amendment #1095 to provide $24 million in funding for legal aid. While still less than MLAC’s request of $26 million, this increase in funding is absolutely critical to ensure access to justice for thousands of vulnerable residents in Massachusetts.

Many representatives are aware of the importance of legal aid, and may support it, but this year, they MUST make it a priority. Your call can be the difference!

Click here for more information about this issue

Action You Can Take:

Click here to find your State Representative’s contact information TODAY and ask them to support Amendment #1095.

Youth Homelessness

Housing and Support Services

Youth homelessness is on the rise in Massachusetts – but the House Committee on Ways & Means has recommended only level funding ($3.3 million) for housing and supportive services for youth experiencing homelessness (line item 4000-0007). Representative Jim O’Day has filed Amendment #883 to increasing funding for these services to $5 million.

When youth experience homelessness, they are at a greater risk of poor health outcomes, exposure to violence, susceptibility to exploitation, and dropping out of school.

This increase in funding is absolutely vital and can help create a sustained, systematic, and effective response to end youth homelessness.

Click here for more information about this issue. 

Action You Can Take:

Click here to find your State Representative’s contact information and ask them to support Amendment #883.

Massachusetts State ID

Government issued identification is necessary to complete many important and daily tasks, such as opening a bank account, enrolling in education programs, getting a library card, entering certain government buildings, and more. But youth experiencing homelessness face several barriers that often prevent them from obtaining ID.

Some service providers for people experiencing homelessness estimate that half of their clients lack identification cards.

While we will continue to advocate for that passage of a refiled bill that would eliminate the barriers that stop youth experiencing homelessness from obtaining ID throughout the year, Representative Kay Khan has filed two amendments addressing this issue now:

  1. The first is Amendment #765 to the Massachusetts Transportation Trust Fund;
  2. The second would add an Outside Section in the FY20 budget.

These amendments would establish a fee waiver process for youth experiencing homelessness, create an alternative application process to apply for state ID if they cannot meet existing criteria, expand the Registry of Motor Vehicles’ (RMV) efforts to better serve people experiencing homelessness, and add $50,000 to the Massachusetts Transportation Trust Fund (line item 1595-6368) in order to offset the RMV’s lost revenue. They are common-sense reforms that will help ensure youth experiencing homelessness are able to access the resources they need.

Click here for more information about this issue.

Action You Can Take

Click here to find your State Representative’s contact information and ask them to support Amendment #765 and Rep. Khan’s outside section.

Ensuring these amendments are included in the House proposed budget will set us up for success when it comes time for the Legislature to finalize a budget to send to Governor Baker. Please call your State Representative and urge them to include civil legal aid and support for Massachusetts students and youth experiencing homelessness in their FY20 funding priorities. Your advocacy is vital this time of year, and I want to thank you for your continued commitment to our work!

 

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The Federal Government Reverses Progress On School Discipline

By Jake Hofstetter | Research and Policy Associate

In the wake of the massacres in Parkland, Florida and Santa Fe, Texas, the Trump administration proposed several steps, such as arming teachers, to improve school safety. In addition to these proposals, the Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and her Commission on School Safety released a report that also contained an unrelated policy change — rescinding the Obama administration’s school discipline reforms. Doing away with this policy doesn’t decrease the chances of school shootings. It doesn’t make schools safer. But it does allow schools to discipline students more freely and without considering the harm and racial discrimination that occurs when kids are removed from class.

The Obama administration’s school discipline recommendations were a step in the right direction. The 2014 guidelines recommended school administrators use removals from class or school less frequently due to the harm caused to students’ academic performance. Besides the lack of evidence showing removals improved behavior, these practices were (and still are) having a disproportionate impact on minority students and those with disabilities. To take the place of removals from class, the Obama guidelines encouraged more restorative discipline practices. These policies focused on students’ social and emotional well-being in order to foster safe, nurturing schools. To enforce these guidelines, the Obama administration warned of investigations into schools with serious racial disparities in discipline. Despite the evidence against harsh school discipline practices, the Secretary DeVos’ Commission cancelled the Obama guidelines, citing concerns for school safety and local control over education. School safety matters of course, but there’s something willfully old-fashioned in the administration’s desire to allow harmful school discipline practices to continue for the sake of “maintaining order.”

Admittedly school discipline may seem straightforward and uncontroversial to a lot of Americans. A student breaks the rules, his or her name gets called over the loudspeaker to report to the principal’s office, and the student gets punished. Yet the type of punishment matters a lot. Taking students out of class through detention or suspension harms their chances at academic success. Plus, there’s evidence the practice doesn’t stop misbehavior. We also shouldn’t delude ourselves into thinking that disciplining students is neutral. Black and Latino students are disciplined at greater rates than their white peers even when controlling for poverty and discipline type. Without the threat of federal investigation, there’s no way to tell how school districts across the country will respond. The Obama guidelines may have converted some districts to more effective discipline approaches, but others may return to harmful practices that will lead to worse outcomes for minority, disabled, and LGBT students.

Even though we can’t guarantee what will happen in schools across the country, Massachusetts can continue this important work. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education deserves praise and recognition for its commitment to the principles laid out in the Obama administration’s guidelines despite the new stance of the federal government. Massachusetts Appleseed will also remain committed to our efforts to reform school discipline practices and disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline. Through our Keep Kids in Class project, Massachusetts Appleseed has provided know-your-rights guides for parents, advocated for less exclusionary discipline practices in schools, and published original research on the state of school discipline across Massachusetts. Despite changes in Washington D.C., we remain dedicated to removing barriers to access to public education and supporting at-risk youth to keep kids in class where they are safe, supported, and free to learn.

 

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The Formal Session Ends: Let’s Break It Down

It’s over! The formal session of the Legislature ended at midnight on Tuesday, which means, although the Legislature will continue to meet in informal sessions, action on the most remaining controversial legislation will be tabled until January 2019.

So what are the results? Read more below about how our priorities fared in the FY19 budget and what happened with a bill to break down barriers for homeless youth.

The FY19 State Budget

The state budget is incredibly important to the people in need we fight these legislative battles on behalf of. We’ve seen what happens when funding disappears – just last year, a Cambridge shelter serving LGBTQ youth came within inches of closing its doors for good.

Not this time.

I couldn’t be more pleased to report that all – yes, ALL – of the priorities you helped us fight for made it in!

You raised your voice in the House. You emailed your Senators. You pushed the Conference Committee. You picked up the phone and called Governor Baker. You took action, and it worked.

That means:

Civil Legal Aid: Funded at $21.04 million, a mere $2 million shy of MLAC’s initial request and a $3 million increase over last year. That’s $3 million more going to provide critical free legal services to those who cannot afford an attorney!

The Housing Court Expansion: Fully funded at $2.6 million, a huge win for expanding access to justice into areas of the state where people need it most!

Language Requiring Schools to Publish Meal Charge Policies: Included, and an important step forward in the ongoing fight to end lunch shaming and protect low-income students.

Support for Homeless Youth: Funded at 3.3 million, a huge increase from last year!

Task Force to Tackle Language Access in Schools: Language was included in the budget to establish this task force which will help to ensure schools are fulfilling their obligation to communicate effectively with limited English proficient parents about their child’s education!

For joining us in this series of budget battles and sticking by us for months, thank you.

For standing up and demanding a better, fairer Massachusetts, thank you.

For these remarkable victories, thank you.

Homeless ID Bill

Now the bad news.

Despite our best efforts, Senate Bill 2568, An Act to provide identification to homeless youth and families, did not pass before the end of the formal legislative session. This bill is a common sense reform measure that would make it easier for homeless youth to obtain state identification.

Without state ID, homeless youth cannot apply for a job, enroll in education programs, get a library card, or accomplish a number of other important, everday tasks. This bill would have eliminated the $25 fee and eased the path towards getting a state ID for homeless applicants. It could have made a big difference in the lives of homeless youth around the state.

We’re disappointed the Legislature was unable to pass Senate Bill 2568 before the formal session ended. But we aren’t giving up. This bill passed the Senate unanimously and we still have hope that, working with our community partners, we can get it passed by the House during informal sessions. Stay tuned as we work to make this happen!

 

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The Conference Committee Negotiations Begin!

Action Alert

If passing the FY’19 State Budget is a marathon, we’re in the final stretch! The Senate Debates have ended and the Conference Committee met for the first time last Thursday.

This Committee is comprised of three Senators and three Representatives with one job: to reconcile differences between the House and Senate budgets.

Now it’s our job to make sure they don’t forget about the many important items you’ve helped us fight for over the past two months that need funding. The budget is more than just a list of line items. It’s a chance for all of us to stand up and tell our legislators what we care about and why.

The following are our priorities:

  • Civil Legal Aid (Line Item #0321-1600)
    • $21 million to provide civil legal aid to low-income individuals and families.
  • Housing Court (Line Item #0336-0003)
    • $2.6 million to fully fund the Housing Court expansion, a key component of expanding access to justice in the state.
  • Lunch Shaming and Student Hunger (Line Item #7053-1909)
    • Requiring schools to publish their meal charge policies to better track and combat lunch shaming.
  • Support for Homeless Youth (Line Item #4000-0007)
    • $3.3 million to fund housing and support services for homeless youth.
  • Language Access in Schools (Outside Section 126)
    • Establish and task force regarding school interpreters to break down language barriers in education settings.

Please contact your legislators and ask them to urge the members of the Conference Committee to include the critical funding and policy language described below in the final budget they send to the Governor.

Don’t wait – contact them now!

You can read more about these important line items below. 

Civil Legal Aid

Line Item #0321-1600

The Senate has recommended a $21 million appropriation, a $3 million increase from last year and a $210,000 increase from the House appropriation, for Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (MLAC), the largest funding source for civil legal aid programs. These programs provide critical free legal services to those who cannot afford an attorney.

Due to a lack of funding, legal aid organizations are ALREADY forced to turn away 64% of people in need of help.

We need the Conference Committee to adopt the Senate’s recommendation of $21 million in funding for MLAC, so that more low-income residents of Massachusetts can gain access to legal advice and representation. Please tell your legislators to advocate for this funding level in the final Conference Committee budget!

Housing Court

Line Item #0336-0003

The Housing Court has already proven itself to be an indispensable resource for those experiencing a housing crisis – for those who have access. Now, the Senate has recommended $2.6 million, an increase of $1.6 million from last year and a $100,000 increase from the House appropriation, for the full expansion of the Housing Court needed to protect the nearly one-third of all Massachusetts residents who currently have no access.

Neighborhoods under attack from gentrification and families faced with eviction must have access to a Housing Court.

If we truly believe in access to justice, funding the necessary expansion of the Housing Court must be a priority. Please ask your state senator and representative to advocate for $2.6 million in funding for Housing Court in the Conference Committee’s final budget.

Lunch Shaming and Student Hunger

Line Item #7053-1909

Lunch shaming is the practice of humiliating and punishing children who are unable to afford lunch. In order to fight to end lunch shaming, we need the Conference Committee to adopt the language recommended by the Senate that requires school districts to publish and disseminate their meal charge policies. This would create more transparency about different schools’ meal policies for parents, and enable advocates like us to track them.

This will help us end lunch shaming in Massachusetts altogether.

If protecting low-income students from being subjected to unjust humiliation is important to you, please tell your legislators to urge the Conference Committee to include this language in line item #7053-1909 in the final budget.

Support for Homeless Youth

Line Item #4000-0007

Last year, funding for services for homeless youth was insufficient to meet the demand and almost forced a shelter critical to many youth in Cambridge to close its doors. This year, the Senate has called for $3.3 million in funding, a $2,625,000 increase from last year and a $2.3 million increase from the House appropriation!

This important increase will fund vital services that will allow homeless youth to stay safe and healthy so that they can focus on their education.

Please ask your legislators to urge the Conference Committee to adopt the Senate’s funding amount of $3.3 million in the final budget.

Language Access in Schools

Outside Section 126

Limited English proficient (LEP) parents have a right to accurately and effectively receive information about their child’s education, but without trained interpreters, they can face staggering language barriers. Outside Section 126 of the Senate budget would establish a task force to collect information and make recommendations on the training and certification of language interpreters in schools to better serve the needs of each child and family.

As many as 113 school districts are currently not meeting the needs of LEP students and families in Massachusetts.

Please ask your legislators to urge the Conference Committee to include Outside Section 126 in the final budget.

 

Click here to contact your legislators and ask them to urge the members of the Conference Committee (pictured below) to include these funding levels and policy initiatives in the final budget.

Chairwoman Karen E. Spilka

Senator Joan B. Lovely

Senator Viriato M. deMacedo

Chairman Jeffrey Sánchez

 

 

 

 

 

 

Representative Stephen Kulik

Representative Todd M. Smola

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for your ongoing support and advocacy.

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The Senate Debates Have Begun!

Action Alert

The Senate’s FY’19 budget recommendations, while including some big wins for the housing court and homeless youth, do not include funding for several critical areas.

Senators have submitted their amendments, and now the debates are on!

This is your chance to join us and stand up for civil legal aid, low-income kids in schools, and an exciting new amendment focusing on parents and students facing language barriers in the classroom! One quick call to your senator could make the difference.

Civil Legal Aid

Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporations (MLAC) has requested an additional $5 million in state support this year (for a total of $23 million).

The Senate Committee on Ways and Means’ budget includes $19 million in funding for MLAC, which is $1 million less than the House’s budget and still short of MLAC’s request of $5 million in additional funding

MLAC is the largest provider of civil legal aid services in the state and without full funding, civil legal aid programs will be forced to turn away thousands of people in need.

Senator Creem and Senator Brownsberger have filed Amendment #992 that would provide the full $23 million in funding MLAC has requested and help provide aid to those with critical unmet legal needs across the state.

Action You Can Take:

Click here to email your senator TODAY and ask them to support Amendment #992.

Lunch Shaming and Student Hunger

Lunch shaming is the practice of humiliating and punishing children who are unable to afford lunch, and is unfortunately the policy of many schools in Massachusetts. With a recent bill aiming to ban lunch shaming that we supported unlikely to pass this session, Senator Creem has filed Amendment #167.

This amendment would require cities and towns to publish their meal charge policies so that parents are fully informed about the consequences of accruing school meal debt. It would also enable advocates like us to track different schools’ meal policies to better combat lunch shaming.

This would be an important step in the fight to protect children from harmful lunch shaming policies.

The publication of meal policies will allow us, along with our community partners, to hold school districts accountable and continue this important discussion at the local and statewide levels.

Action You Can Take:

Click here to find your senator’s contact information and ask them to support Amendment #167.

Language Access in Schools

Despite federal laws and regulations outlining the responsibilities schools have in communicating with limited English proficient (LEP) parents in a language they understand, too many families continue to face staggering language access barriers, in up to as many as 113 school districts in the state.

In response to this widespread problem, Senator Welch has introduced Amendment #284. This amendment would enable the creation of a Task Force to develop recommendations regarding the training, assessment, and certification of interpreters in educational settings to improve language access for LEP parents.

Too often, bilingual school staff – including secretaries, school counselors, janitors, and cafeteria workers – are being asked to stand in and interpret, despite not being appropriately trained as an interpreter.

The establishment of this Task Force will set standards for interpreters and will allow schools to better serve the needs of each unique child and family, regardless of the language they speak.

Action You Can Take:

Click here to find your senator’s contact information and ask them to support Amendment #284.

Thank you for standing with us throughout this budget process as we fight for necessary funding and policy changes in these critical areas. Please join us again and tell the Senate why these issues are important to you. When we stand up and we speak out, we win!

 

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Victory! Governor Baker Signs Criminal Justice Reform Bill Into Law!

A Letter from the Executive Director

Dear Friends,

You did it!

After so many months of tireless advocacy, you did it. On Friday, Governor Baker signed the omnibus criminal justice reform bill into law. The bill is now Chapter 69 of the Acts of 2018. And with that, you’ve brought us one step closer to dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline.

This is huge.

Thanks to you, we can now stop kids in Massachusetts schools from being arrested for the vague crime of “disturbing school assembly.” We can keep school resource officers from involving themselves in routine disciplinary situations they are not trained for. And we can start collecting important data on school arrests in the state.

For every phone call you made to your senators and representatives, for every email you sent in support of our provisions, for your time and energy – thank you. 

This was no easy journey, and there were moments when it looked like our provisions to keep kids in class might not make it to the finish line. But you raised your voice time and time again and because you did, we won!

Find your legislators here and thank them for leading the charge to make this bill a reality.

The fight to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline is by no means over. But together, we just took a huge step forward.

Thank you for your continued involvement and support.

Warmly,

Deborah Silva
Executive Director

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