Education in Massachusetts

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Education in Massachusetts consists of public and private schools in the U.S. state of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Education pursuits in Massachusetts have existed from the colonial era of Massachusetts Bay Colony to the present. Outside of the current public University of Massachusetts system, and Massachusetts Community Colleges systems, are numerous public or private colleges and universities; and elementary, middle, and high schools.

Contents

History

Historically education has been a long established aspiration and principle of New World settlers to Massachusetts since inception, and shares much of its common initiative and foundation with the wider New England region. [1]

Timeline

Governance

The Commonwealth maintains its own Executive Office of Education (EOE). [7] Presided over by the state's Massachusetts Secretary of Education, Patrick Tutwiler [8] who is appointed by Governor of the Commonwealth. [9]

The EOE comprises three main department agencies under its oversight: [3] [10]

In addition to the educational oversight under the Executive Governor, the General Court (legislature) maintains a bipartisan Joint Committee on Education. [19]

Funding

Many of the state's school districts receive educational funding from any number of sources including the state lottery, property taxes, as well as federal, state, and local funding sources. [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] In past years, many school districts of within municipalities across the Commonwealth additionally sought electronic communications franchise regulatory fees from wireline providers operating in the state as a means of additional revenue or for sponsorship of broadband connectivity. [25] [26] [27]

Primary and secondary education

Public primary and secondary education (Pre-K–12) in Massachusetts is under the overview of the Massachusetts state Board of education known as the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Charter schools

Vocational schools

There are provisions under Chapter 74 of the General Laws of Massachusetts [28] for the establishment or provisioning of recognized vocational school or "Career Technical Education" [29] programs at the secondary or higher eduction levels. [30] [31]

Federal involvement

Massachusetts schools had prior sought to adhere to federal guidelines like those outlined in the No Child Left Behind Act, 2002 (NCLB). [32] [33] In 2012 President Barack Obama signed a waiver to the state of Massachusetts and several other states regarding NCLB. [34] The state has since sought to formulate a plan for the transition to the Every Student Succeeds Act, 2015 (ESSA) statute. [35]

Higher education - colleges and universities

Faculties of study

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Hunter, Esq., Molly A. "State Constitution Education Clause Language" (PDF). www.edlawcenter.org. Education Law Center, Inc. Retrieved March 30, 2025. "Wisdom, and knowledge, as well as virtue, diffused generally among the body of the people, being necessary for the preservation of their rights and liberties; and as these depend on spreading the opportunities and advantages of education in the various parts of the country, and among the different orders of the people, it shall be the duty of legislatures and magistrates, in all future periods of this commonwealth, to cherish the interests of literature and the sciences, and all seminaries of them; especially the university at Cambridge, public schools and grammar schools in the towns..."
  2. ↑ Doc., Doc. "An Act Establishin A Department of Early Education and Care". www.malegislature.gov. Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L.). Massachusetts General Court (MGC). Retrieved March 16, 2025. SECTION 1. The General Laws are hereby amended by inserting after chapter 15C the following chapter:- CHAPTER 15D DEPARTMENT OF EARLY EDUCATION AND CARE
  3. 1 2 Doc., Doc. "An Act Reorganizing Certain Education Agencies". www.malegislature.gov. Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L.). Massachusetts General Court (MGC). Retrieved March 16, 2025. § 14A. Executive office of education Section 14A. (a) There shall be an executive office of education, which shall include the departments of early education and care, elementary and secondary education, and higher education. (b) The executive office of education shall be under the supervision and control of a secretary of education, in this section called the secretary. The secretary shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the governor, shall receive such salary as the governor determines, and shall devote full time to the duties of her office.
  4. ↑ Chieppo, Charles; Gass, Jamie (January 14, 2020). "How Mass. abandoned its recipe for educational success". Education. Commonwealth Beacon. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
  5. ↑ Kelly, John P. (June 26, 2008). "Patrick unveils vision for education reform in Massachusetts". Patriot Ledger Newspaper. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
  6. ↑ Gilbert, Stella A. (November 6, 2024). Lin, Darcy G.; Schwartz, Emily T. (eds.). "Massachusetts Voters Approve Proposition to Eliminate MCAS Graduation Requirement". The Harvard Crimson . The Harvard Crimson, Inc. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
  7. ↑ Doc., Doc. "General Laws, Part I, Title II, Chapter 6A, Section 14A: Executive office of education". www.malegislature.gov. Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L.). Massachusetts General Court (MGC). Retrieved March 16, 2025. (a) There shall be an executive office of education, which shall include the departments of early education and care, elementary and secondary education, and higher education. (b) The executive office of education shall be under the supervision and control of a secretary of education, in this section called the secretary. The secretary shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the governor, shall receive such salary as the governor determines, and shall devote full time to the duties of her office.
  8. ↑ writer, Staff (2025). "Secretary of Education of Massachusetts bio". Executive Office of Education (EOE). Government of Massachusetts . Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  9. ↑ writer, Staff (2024). "Massachusetts Secretary of Education". BallotPedia. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
  10. ↑ writer, Staff (2025). "Overview - The EOE". Executive Office of Education (EOE). Government of Massachusetts . Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  11. ↑ Doc., Doc. "General Laws, Part I, Title II, Chapter 15D: Department of Early Education and Care". www.malegislature.gov. Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L.). Massachusetts General Court (MGC). Retrieved March 16, 2025. Subsections 1, 1a, 2, 3, 3a
  12. ↑ writer, Staff (2025). "Overview - The DEEC". Dept. of Early Education and Care. Government of Massachusetts . Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  13. ↑ Doc., Doc. "General Laws, Part I, Title XII, Chapter 69: Powers and duties of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education". www.malegislature.gov. Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L.). Massachusetts General Court (MGC). Retrieved March 16, 2025. Subsections 1, 1a, 1b,
  14. ↑ writer, Staff (2025). "Overview - The DESE". Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education. Government of Massachusetts . Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  15. ↑ Doc., Doc. "General Laws, Part I, Title II, Chapter 15A, Subsection 4, : Department of Higher Education". www.malegislature.gov. Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L.). Massachusetts General Court (MGC). Retrieved March 16, 2025. Subsections 4, 6, 7, 7a
  16. ↑ writer, Staff (2025). "Overview - The DHE". Dept. of Higher Education. Government of Massachusetts . Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  17. ↑ Doc., Doc. "General Laws, Part I, Title II, Chapter 15A, Subsections 5-5A: Department of Higher Education". www.malegislature.gov. Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L.). Massachusetts General Court (MGC). Retrieved March 16, 2025. ((5)Public institutions of higher education system, (5a) Governor Foster Furcolo Community Colleges
  18. ↑ writer, Staff (2025). "Overview - The Massachusetts public higher education system". Dept. of Higher Education. Government of Massachusetts . Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  19. ↑ writer, Staff. "Joint committee of Education - Members". www.malegislature.gov. Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L.). Massachusetts General Court (MGC). Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  20. ↑ Toness, Bianca V. (July 31, 2023) [March 5, 2019]. "How Massachusetts Pays For Its Schools". WGBH News. WGBH Foundation (published March 5, 2019). Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  21. ↑ writer, Staff (2024). "Administration and Finance". Mass. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. www.doe.mass.edu. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved March 18, 2025. Massachusetts invests approximately $16 billion a year in our public schools through a mixture of federal, state, and local funds. The Administration and Finance team directly oversees DESE's $6 billion annual budget, 98 percent of which goes directly to districts in the form of local aid, grants, and special education reimbursements. Funding streams include the Chapter 70 program, the main form of state education aid; the special education circuit breaker program; and food and nutrition grants and programs. We also provide school districts with school finance information.
  22. ↑ writer, Staff (2024). "Finance and Funding". Mass. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. www.doe.mass.edu. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved March 18, 2025. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's budget alone is a little more than $5 billion, and 99 percent of that goes directly to districts in the form of grants, local aid, and special education reimbursements.
  23. ↑ "What percentage of public school funding in Massachusetts comes from the federal government?". USAFacts. USAFacts. December 18, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  24. ↑ Phillips, Terry (August 3, 2016). "Fact check: Has the Massachusetts Lottery failed to expand funding for education and other public services?". www.ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia . Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  25. ↑ writer, Staff (2025). "Regulatory and Negotiated Fees and Taxes". Department of Telecommunications and Cable. www.mass.gov/orgs/department-of-telecommunications-and-cable. Gov. of Massachusetts (published 2024). Retrieved March 22, 2025.
  26. ↑ writer, Staff (August 8, 2019). "FCC order preempts terms in existing cable franchise agreements". www.mma.org. Massachusetts Municipal Association. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
  27. ↑ writer, Staff (August 27, 2019). "New FCC cable franchise rules take effect Sept. 26". www.mma.org. Massachusetts Municipal Association. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
  28. ↑ "General Law - Part I, Title XII, Chapter 74, Section 1". malegislature.gov. Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  29. ↑ writer, Staff (December 9, 2024). "State-Approved Career Technical Education". Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. www.doe.mass.edu. Government of Massachusetts . Retrieved March 22, 2025.
  30. ↑ Doc., Doc. "General Laws, Part I, Title XII, Chapter 74, Section 5B Vocational-technical education collaboratives". www.malegislature.gov. Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L.). Massachusetts General Court (MGC). Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  31. ↑ Doc., Doc. "General Laws, Part I, Title XII, Chapter 74, Section 37B: Nondegree granting post-secondary vocational education programs". www.malegislature.gov. Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L.). Massachusetts General Court (MGC). Retrieved March 16, 2025.
  32. ↑ writer, Staff (October 25, 2011). "Mass. Seeks Waiver From 'No Child Left Behind'". Associated Press. WBUR . Retrieved March 19, 2025.
  33. ↑ Jonas, Michael (July 31, 2015). "On No Child law, Warren carries Kennedy torch". CommonWealth Beacon. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
  34. ↑ writer, Staff (February 9, 2012). "Massachusetts Freed From 'No Child Left Behind' Law". CBS News Boston. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
  35. ↑ "Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)". Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. www.doe.mass.edu. Government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. July 29, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2025.

Further reading

Official website – Executive Office of Education (EOE)

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