House passes historic education funding bill

Representatives took a historic vote to pass the Student Opportunity on Oct. 23, 2019. One that will impact future generations by providing countless children the education they deserve.

Tens of thousands of students, parents, union educators, and community advocates across the state have taken action to demand full and equitable funding for public schools over the past year, and the idea that we would win $1.5 billion for public school students was thought to be impossible by many when we started this fight. After this vote, that funding has been secured in both the House and the Senate.

While the final House bill does not achieve the proper balance between local control and state oversight, Massachusetts residents know we can improve our local schools if we empower students, parents, and educators. More work will be needed to ensure that parents and educators have meaningful input into how dollars are spent.

The differences between the House and Senate are clearly bridgeable. We look forward to a quick resolution of those differences in the conference committee so students and communities have certainty that they will begin to benefit from this law as soon as possible.