Here is the CPS testimony delivered at the March 31, 2026 Ways & Means Committee hearing:

Good afternoon. I am Lisa Guisbond, Executive Director of Citizens for Public Schools, a statewide public education advocacy organization.

I applaud state leaders for their commitment to maintaining high-quality public schools in Massachusetts. Gov. Healey, for example, has done so in the context of proposed new graduation requirements, after voters eliminated the MCAS grad requirement in 2024.  Referencing Massachusetts students’ number one rank on NAEP tests, Healey said, “We’re not going to give that ranking up. I’m a little competitive.”

While we have serious concerns about aspects of Governor Healey’s graduation proposals (see our response here), CPS shares a commitment to maintaining high quality schools for all. However, if state leaders are serious about that commitment, they must address the severe fiscal crisis facing our schools and the impact of that crisis on students and teachers.   → Read More

Thanks to everyone who participated in our People’s Forums on Graduation Readiness. Whether or not you were able to join us for one of the nine forums we held around the state from March to December of last year, you are invited to an important followup meeting, by Zoom.

It is critical that we continue raising our collective voices to push state policy in a positive direction and ensure that the will of the voters, as expressed in the overwhelming vote to end the MCAS graduation requirement, is upheld.

Click here for a downloadable flyer.

On March 16 at 7pm by Zoom, let’s take the next steps. We will:

• Review what we learned from the hundreds of public education stakeholders who participated in our forums.
• Share the recommendations we proposed based on what was shared at the forums.
• Provide updates on Governor Healey’s proposals for new graduation requirements.
• Discuss with you what we can all do to influence the process going forward.

Join us Thursday, February 26 at 6:30pm for Citizens for Public Schools’ ICE and Schools webinar. Empower yourself by learning from front-line educators about the impact of ICE on our schools and communities. Learn what is being done to protect immigrant students and how individuals and communities can help.

The objective of this webinar is to explore with our panelists and participants the following questions:

• What impact has ICE’s presence had on your school/district?
• How has your school/district community protected or insulated your immigrant student population in response to ICE’s presence or possible future presence?
• What are ways in which individuals in your community can support your immigrant student population against ICE intervention in these times? What have been the barriers to protecting students?
• Are there ways in which communities can coordinate and work together to prepare for possible ICE intervention?

Click here for more information and to register.    → Read More

[Haga clic aquí para ver la versión en español.]

If Governor Healey’s Statewide High School Graduation Framework, released on December 1, is a first draft, it needs serious revisions for the final version to meet the needs of our students and schools. The framework includes state-created and scored end-of-course tests, or standardized tests in new clothing. This recommendation ignores the will of the voters who in November 2024 decided overwhelmingly to eliminate MCAS and any other standardized test as graduation requirements. Changes must be made for the state to do more than pay lip service to demands for a whole child, 21st century education, as well as flexibility, educator autonomy and student agency. 

Citizens for Public Schools, in cooperation with other education organizations, organized a series of public forums across the state to find out what parents, teachers, students, and other people concerned with our public schools really want for graduation readiness requirements.   → Read More

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If the State Graduation Council’s Interim Report is a first draft, it needs serious revisions for the final version to meet the needs of our students and schools. The report comes after voters resoundingly rejected a state-imposed standardized exam and after extensive input about what stakeholders want students to know and be able to do. Changes must be made for the state to do more than pay lip service to demands for a whole child, 21st century education, as well as flexibility, educator autonomy and student agency.

Despite many calls for multiple pathways to graduation, the interim report lays out a multilayered set of graduation requirements, with the emphasis on standardized end-of-course assessments to be designed, administered and scored by the state. On top of these will be a state-defined capstone or portfolio requirement and requirements for students to complete a rigorous course of study that aligns with higher education admissions requirements.   → Read More