Wachusett committee adopts competency-based graduation policy for Class of 2025 after public comment on special-education protections

The Wachusett Regional School Committee approved a competency-based graduation policy for the Class of 2025 to replace the state's MCAS requirement, after public comment urging stronger safeguards for students with disabilities.

Lindsay Lukasen, vice chair of the Wachusett Citizens'PAC for special education, told the committee that the draft policy as written could "prematurely push [students with disabilities] out of the system, stripping them of the very supports that they need to succeed." She urged the committee to add explicit language so families could choose a certificate-of-completion track and to require an appeals process. "CPAC should have been engaged in this process before the policy was even proposed," Lukasen said during public comment.

Committee members discussed the urgency of adopting a local…