| | | | |  | | By Lisa Kashinsky | With help from Kelly Garrity TEST RESULTS — Three years after Covid-19 temporarily shuttered schools, the pandemic’s disruptive effects on education continue to play out in classrooms and in policy debates on Beacon Hill. And two surveys from the same pollster are fueling disparate views of how to proceed. Let’s start with the newest one first: Parents remain particularly worried about their kids’ mental health, a MassINC Polling Group survey of 1,539 parents of K-12 students in the state, for The Education Trust and sponsored by the Barr Foundation, shows. Those concerns have ebbed since the height of the pandemic — 60 percent of parents were “very” or “somewhat” concerned about their children’s mental and emotional health in February 2021 versus about 46 percent who expressed those fears in April 2023. But fewer than half of those worried parents say their schools have enough resources to help their kids. The poll also shows continuing racial disparities in academic progress. Nearly half of Black and Latino parents and 60 percent of parents of English learners are “very” or “somewhat” concerned about their child’s academic progress this school year, compared to just 35 percent of white parents. The survey reflects the broader struggles that districts with high Black, brown and immigrant populations are facing coming out of the pandemic, Vatsady Sivongxay, executive director of the Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance, told Playbook. It’s against that backdrop that MEJA members and the state’s teachers’ unions are knocking on lawmakers’ doors today to lobby for the “Thrive Act” that would end the use of MCAS as a high school graduation requirement and create a commission to study an alternative assessment system. It would also prevent the state from placing low-performing districts into receivership and give community members more say in getting districts like Lawrence or Holyoke out from under state control. “Black and brown and immigrant students have had the most challenges in passing that high school requirement. But we all know that there are external challenges that can be preventing them from fully sharing their abilities on the test,” Sivongxay said. By continuing MCAS but removing it as a graduation requirement, “we [would] know how we can better support students without hurting their future.” Yet Democrats for Education Reform Massachusetts, a more moderate education advocacy group, is leaning on a different MassINC survey to help make their case for keeping the receivership system in place. A poll they commissioned in March showed 66 percent of the 600 registered voters surveyed believe the state should continue to have the power to take over chronically underperforming districts. That number rises to 70 percent when isolated to the 122 polltakers from Boston, which entered into a performance-improvement agreement with the state last year to avoid receivership. Opponents of receivership argue that state takeovers increase educator turnover, decrease district morale and undermine local authority over public schools. But proponents claim increases in graduation rates and hiring teachers of color as signs of success. Without the ability to place schools under state control, “a prevalent culture of low expectations will continue in chronically underperforming districts which serve tens of thousands of children,” Mary Tamer, executive director for DFER Massachusetts, said in a statement. While the two sides lobby lawmakers, Gov. Maura Healey’s team is reviewing MCAS and talking to stakeholders about “potential reforms or alternatives” to the system “that would best support our academic and equity goals,” according to Healey spokesperson Karissa Hand. The administration is also working to “review the districts currently under receivership and evaluate the best path forward,” she said. GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. The Celtics are still in it! TODAY — Healey attends the LEGO Discovery Center ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. in Somerville. Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll speak at a National Military Appreciation Month reception at 11:30 a.m. at the State House. Driscoll speaks at MassINC Polling’s “State of Education” event at 9 a.m. at Suffolk University and at Small Business Day at 10:30 a.m. at the UMass Club. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu attends an event renaming a Boston Arts Academy building at 11:45 a.m. and a Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund's flag planting ceremony on the Boston Common at 1 p.m. Sen. Ed Markey celebrates the introduction of the Green New Deal for Health at 1 p.m. in Lawrence. Tips? Scoops? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com.
| | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S HEALTH CARE SUMMIT: The Covid-19 pandemic helped spur innovation in health care, from the wide adoption of telemedicine, health apps and online pharmacies to mRNA vaccines. But what will the next health care innovations look like? Join POLITICO on Wednesday June 7 for our Health Care Summit to explore how tech and innovation are transforming care and the challenges ahead for access and delivery in the United States. REGISTER NOW. | | | | | |  | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | — SENATE BUDGET LATEST: Senators nixed online lottery sales — and teed up a clash with House lawmakers who passed the measure in doing so. The Democratic-controlled chamber rejected a proposal from Republican leader Bruce Tarr that would have required quasi-public agencies to post their payroll data on the state comptroller’s website. Deliberations continue at 10 a.m. — “Education officials weigh cell phone restrictions,” by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: “Education Commissioner Jeff Riley, who convened the panel, said there are currently no proposals to set any statewide mandates on cellphone use, but he believes it’s a pressing issue that needs to be dealt with by schools. … Some schools have banned cell phones, requiring students to put the devices in locked ‘Yondr cases’ during the school day, Riley noted, while other schools allow electronic devices in lunchrooms and hallways, but not in the classroom.” — “Immigration advocates ‘hopeful’ new Healey hires will bring better coordination to migrant response,” by Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe: “The new appointees — Cristina Aguilera Sandoval, Ronnie Millar, and Susan Church — bring on-the-ground expertise and potential to improve the state’s coordination of nonprofits and resettlement agencies that serve immigrants in Massachusetts, which advocates say has hampered their efforts. Aguilera Sandoval will take the lead of the state’s Office for Refugees and Immigrants, or ORI, while Millar and Church serve in brand-new titles created to help tackle the challenging puzzle of securing resources and shelter for immigrants during the state’s housing crisis."
| | FROM THE HUB | | — ON THE AIRWAVES: Former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is weighing in on the alleged ethics violations that led to U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Rachael Rollins’ resignation, Kelly Garrity writes in. “When you’re in these positions, you're held to a higher standard,” Walsh, a fellow presidential appointee, said on last night’s WBZ “NightSide with Dan Rea.” The former Labor secretary went on to detail the ethics guidance he received so as not to violate the Hatch Act that restricts federal officials’ political activities, as federal reports say Rollins did. Walsh called Rollins’ actions and interference in last year’s Suffolk district attorney race “disturbing” and “unfortunate.” And he said that while he’s not up on all the details, her relationship with and efforts to aid her preferred candidate, Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo, “went way over the line.”
| | DAY IN COURT | | — “Mass. sober home operator indicted in sprawling fraud scheme,” by Evan Allen, Boston Globe: “Prosecutors allege [Daniel Cleggett Jr.] and his deputy, Nicholas Espinosa, used the sober homes and a second, separate business installing home insulation to run an elaborate series of scams on the state, their mortgage lenders, and the family of one of their own sober home clients. In addition, Cleggett, of Kingston, is accused of fraudulently collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars of COVID disaster relief loans from the federal government.” — “MassDOT must pay up for little-used Southie rail line, SJC rules,” by Jon Chesto, Boston Globe.
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | — “'Safety-net' hospitals face cuts in funding,” by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: “Members of the state’s congressional delegation are among a bipartisan group of lawmakers calling on Capitol Hill leaders to prevent $8 billion in proposed cuts to safety-net hospitals.” — "Keating: Default on debt will bring financial loss to thousands of Cape, Island residents," by Zane Razzaq, Cape Cod Times. — "Auchincloss says attitude to housing in Massachusetts is changing," by Adam Bass, North Star Reporter.
| | FROM THE 413 | | — “Ex-Chicopee school head, accused of lying to FBI, seeks to suppress phone evidence,” by Stephanie Barry, Springfield Republican: “A federal judge will decide whether to squash cellphone evidence from the daybreak arrest of former Chicopee schools Superintendent Lynn Clark, herded by FBI agents onto her driveway while wearing only a nightgown and one sock. … Clark was indicted on two charges of lying to federal agents amid an investigation in late 2021 into allegations that an anonymous person was threatening a candidate in the race to be the next chief of the Chicopee Police Department. The candidate was Clark’s former lover, police Capt. Richard Henry, who pulled out of the running.” — “While noting growth, state education officials mum on ending Holyoke receivership,” by Dennis Hohenberger, Springfield Republican: “State Education Commissioner Jeffrey C. Reilly stressed proceeding carefully to avoid severe financial implications or unintended consequences, all without offering a path out of receivership." — “National default would be 'catastrophic' to low income, unhoused and senior citizens — the most vulnerable in the Berkshires,” by Scott Stafford, Berkshire Eagle: “In the midst of high-level negotiations over the national debt limit and looming default, local nonprofits are bracing for a possible loss of revenue and, at the same time, an influx of new clients.”
| | | | GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | — “Which New Englanders are on latest list of people banned by Russia?” by Steven Porter and Lylah Alphonse, Boston Globe: “Russia on Friday released a list of 500 Americans who are no longer welcome to enter that country — and a few New Englanders made the cut, including Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, Democratic US Representative Becca Balint of Vermont, former Vermont attorney general Thomas J. Donovan, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, and New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella.” — “'We don't want to poison anyone.' Military defends machine gun range in Bourne,” by Heather McCarron, Cape Cod Times: “The 1,000-meter KD range, deactivated since 1997, is the proposed location for the machine gun range — a project that's raising concerns about its potential impact on the environment, in particular the Cape's sole source aquifer. After a comprehensive evaluation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently issued a draft determination that the range has the potential to contaminate the aquifer and create a significant public health hazard.” — “After ransomware attack, state’s second-largest health insurer says patient data were stolen,” by Jessica Bartlett, Boston Globe.
| | MEANWHILE IN RHODE ISLAND | | — “Representative Cicilline delivers final speech from House floor,” by Edward Fitzpatrick, Boston Globe: “The Rhode Island Democrat is stepping down on June 1 to become president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation, and 15 Democrats have already lined up to run for the First Congressional District seat.”
| | | HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH | | TRANSITIONS — John Petrozzelli is the new director of MassTech’s MassCyberCenter division. — Former district attorney hopeful and ACLU of Massachusetts alum Rahsaan D. Hall is the next president and CEO of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Kate Donaghey and the Boston Globe's Evan Allen. Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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