A state legislative committee recommended lawmakers take a pass on enacting a ballot question that would get rid of the MCAS graduation requirement for students on Wednesday, sending the question another step towards landing before voters in November.
The MCAS ballot question, backed by the Massachusetts Teachers Association and other education advocates, would get rid of the requirement for students to pass the MCAS standardized test in order to graduate. The ballot question, along with nine others, met the initial 74,574 signature threshold and was certified by the Secretary of State in January.
The joint committee tasked with reviewing the ballot initiatives submitted this election cycle recommended all ten drafted questions skip legislative approval and instead take the next steps to go to voters this November.
The committee’s pass on the question means advocates must now collect another 12,429 signatures from registered voters, submit them to local election officials by June 18, and submit them again to the Secretary of State by July 3. If the signatures are collected and authorized the ballot questions will appear on the Nov. 5 general election ballot.
In their recommendation — posted publicly Wednesday — the Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petition cited concerns about the lack of a “uniform alternative” to the graduation requirement proposed in the ballot initiative. They argued eliminating the requirement without one “will not improve student outcomes and runs the risk of exacerbating inconsistencies and inequities in instruction and learning across districts.”
Opponents applauded the lawmakers decision to pass on the question, while advocates looked to the future of the campaign.
In a statement, the MTA said they launched their second signature gather campaign right away on Wednesday and cited their over 135,000 signatures collected in the fall — the most of any ballot initiative this cycle.
“Educators expect similar robust support this spring as they explain directly to the public why they support ending this practice that harms students,” MTA President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy wrote.
Advocates have long argued the graduation requirement disproportionately harms marginalized students and robs school communities of “authentic learning opportunities” while they teach to the “high-stakes exercise.” The MTA has also emphasized the ballot question removes the graduation requirement but keeps the exam as a “diagnostic tool.”
The test is “important to ensure equity and high expectations for all of our students,” wrote Mary Tamer, director of Democrats for Education Reform, in a statement on Wednesday. Removing it would leave an “uneven patchwork of standards,” she added.
The Committee to Preserve Educational Standards for K-12 Students, an organization of education, business and other groups, said the Legislature made the “right decision” Wednesday.
“We will wage a vigorous campaign to ensure the voters have all the information they need to reject this misguided attempt to weaken our state’s educational standards,” the committee wrote.
In addition to the MCAS question, voters may be faced with the decision to raise the minimum wage for tipped workers, allow the state auditor to audit the Legislature, decriminalize some psychedelic substances, allow Lyft and Uber drivers to unionize, and define delivery and app drivers as independent contractors.
