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Committee hears bill to create Massachusetts designation for Hispanic-serving institutions
Summary
Lawmakers and Fitchburg State University leaders urged the Joint Committee on Higher Education to create a state-level Hispanic-serving institution designation after the federal reference and funding were removed.
Representative Kuzmarek testified before the Joint Committee on Higher Education on a bill (H 45‑44) to create a Massachusetts designation for Hispanic‑serving institutions, citing Fitchburg State University’s growing Latino student population and the community the campus serves.
The bill, as described by Representative Kuzmarek, would create a state designation and an accompanying state‑sponsored logo but does not request funding. “There is no ask for funding,” Kuzmarek said, adding that the state’s role would be minimal: “Simply creating a designation, maintain a list, and creating a logo.”
Dr. Donna Hodge, president of Fitchburg State University, told the committee that Fitchburg’s enrollment reflects rapid demographic change in North Central Massachusetts and argued the designation would be “essential.” She said the university launched the Fitchburg Promise guaranteeing tuition‑and‑fee‑free admission for resident graduates of local high schools and joined Excellencia in Education’s Presidents for Latino Student Success Network as part of broader efforts to serve Latino students. “When their opportunities expand, the Commonwealth’s potential expands with them,” Hodge said.
Kuzmarek and Hodge both framed the measure as a recognition and a potential pathway for targeted funding in the future; the bill’s text, as summarized in testimony, includes a mechanism in section 2 that would allow the Commonwealth to appropriate funds if lawmakers choose to do so. At the hearing Kuzmarek emphasized that the bill seeks to fill a gap left after the federal reference to the HSI designation and associated federal funding was removed.
Committee members asked clarifying questions; no committee action or vote occurred during the hearing. The bill will be considered further by the committee and subject to the normal committee process.
Ending: The committee accepted written testimony and will continue to review H 45‑44 alongside other pending higher education proposals.
