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Lawmakers Hear Hours of Testimony on ‘Thrive Act,’ Split Over Charter Cap and Receivership
Summary
The Joint Committee on Education heard hours of testimony on S.374, the Thrive Act, with educators and unions urging an end to state receivership and supporters calling for community‑led turnaround plans while charter leaders and parents warned that Section 4 would shrink charter seats and force school closures.
BOSTON — Hundreds of witnesses told the Joint Committee on Education on Tuesday that Massachusetts’ system for identifying and fixing struggling schools needs major change — but they sharply disagreed about how to do it.
Senate Bill 374, called the Thrive Act, would replace the state receivership model with locally driven turnaround plans and new supports such as community school strategies, backers said. ‘‘State takeovers have not improved outcomes for students,’’ said Deb McCarthy, vice president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association (SEG 1347‑1354). The bill’s proponents also urged removal of punitive practices they say have displaced educators, stripped democratic oversight and failed to boost MCAS results in districts such as Lawrence, Holyoke and Southbridge.
‘‘We need to center the…
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