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Mass. lawmakers hear bill to create state Hispanic‑serving institution designation; Fitchburg State urges action
Summary
Representatives and Fitchburg State University leaders told the Joint Committee on Higher Education a state-level designation is needed after federal funding related to Hispanic‑serving institution status was removed; bill would create a state designation without immediate funding requests.
Representatives and university leaders told the Joint Committee on Higher Education on Oct. 26, 2025, that the commonwealth should create a state designation recognizing Hispanic‑serving institutions to fill a gap left after federal restrictions were removed.
Representative Patrick Kuzmarek introduced the measure and said Fitchburg State University sought the designation to align the campus with local demographics and to signal institutional commitment to Latino students. “Fitchburg State would become the state's newest, Hispanic serving institution,” Kuzmarek said, noting the federal definition typically requires about 25% Hispanic enrollment.
The bill, Kuzmarek said, would create a state designation and a logo public and private colleges could display; it does not request state funding now. “There is no ask for funding. There is no—there's a mechanism should the committee and should the legislature see fit to appropriate funding,” Kuzmarek said.
Donna Hodge, president of Fitchburg State University, told the committee the city’s school system is majority Latino and that the university has growing Hispanic undergraduate enrollment. “At our university, the promise of higher education becomes real for thousands of students, first generation, immigrant, working class students,” Hodge said. She described the proposal as both strategic and moral and said the bill’s Section 2 outlines potential targeted funding to expand student supports, classrooms and teacher education if the legislature appropriates funds.
Committee members asked clarifying questions but took no formal action at the hearing. Supporters emphasized the bill's immediate purpose is recognition and alignment with demographic changes, while noting the designation could help prioritize institutions for future targeted support if funding were made available.
The committee accepted written testimony and heard from several members who expressed interest in reviewing the bill further.
For now, the bill is before the Joint Committee on Higher Education for consideration; no committee vote or formal disposition was recorded at this hearing.
