Economic Development Bill Makes Great Strides on Educator Diversity

BOSTON – The economic development bill passed by the Massachusetts Legislature last week and signed into law today (editors note: 11/20/2024) by Governor Maura Healey includes important steps to promote educator diversity throughout the Commonwealth, something the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts has been working on for years. 

Many of these proposals stem from the Educator Diversity Act, important legislation championed by the AFT Massachusetts and other education and community advocates since it was first introduced in 2021. 

“Research has shown time and time again that all students benefit from a diverse educator workforce – one that accurately reflects the wonderful diversity of our communities. We’ve spent years advocating for ways to increase diversity among our educators and we look forward to seeing our students benefit from the provisions included in this bill,” said AFT Massachusetts President Jessica Tang. “The state made an important commitment to increasing the number of diverse teachers in every district of the Commonwealth while also providing the workplace conditions to ensure their success, job satisfaction, and retention.”

The bill requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to establish guidelines to increase racial and ethnic diversity among teaching, administration, and staff positions in public schools and districts. These policies must help school districts: (1) identify and eliminate discriminatory barriers to employment and education within the district; (2) recruit and hire members of under-represented groups; (3) develop, promote, and retain underrepresented members of the educator workforce; and (4) ensure equal opportunity in employment for educators.

Additional components included in the economic development bill include:

  • Requiring all districts to create plans to recruit and retain diverse educators, consistent with state-established guidelines;
  • Increasing transparency around the diversity of the education workforce by requiring the collection of educator diversity data at both the state and local levels, which will be made publicly available;
  • Requiring each school district to appoint a diversity, equity and inclusion officer or team charged with overseeing the district’s efforts around diversity, equity, and inclusion along with ensuring the district is acting in compliance with all state and federal laws;
  • Calling for diversity and anti-bias training for all educators, school district employees, superintendents, school committee members, district leaders, and principals on a regular basis;
  • Requiring educator preparation programs to implement plans to increase the diversity of program completers;
  • Establishing a pilot program for a teacher apprenticeships; and
  • Creating a pilot program for alternative pathways to teacher certification beyond the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) exams. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the state provided alternatives for potential educators to use previous experiences and qualifications to help establish a pathway to licensures in place of some of the required MTEL exams. Under this legislation, DESE would be required to evaluate the role that alternative licensure processes play in increasing diversity rates and educators of color as the MTELs have been shown to create barriers to entry for educators of color and educators whose first language is not English.

DESE would also be required to undertake an education and awareness campaign to promote to the public the available state scholarships and loan forgiveness programs for prospective educators – an important proposal considering student loan debt and the ability to pay for higher education continue to be a significant barrier in the efforts to attract diversity educators. 

“All of our students deserve to have educators that they can relate to and that understand their histories and culture,” continued Tang, who is the first person of color to lead the AFT Massachusetts and Boston Teachers Union. “We look forward to continuing to partner with the Legislature, DESE,  and other advocates to identify other ways to support the recruitment, success, and retention of diverse educators in every school across the state.” 

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