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Select Board amends equity statement to mirror state protected-class categories
Summary
The Bedford Select Board reviewed a 1993 policy found on the town website and voted to amend the Select Board equity statement to update board references and incorporate protected classes aligned with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.
On July 8 the Bedford Select Board reviewed an existing 1993 policy posted on the town website and voted to amend language in the board’s draft equity statement to align protected-class references with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD).
Town staff noted they discovered a similar 1993 statement on the town site and circulated it to the board. One member said the older text already covered the legally protected categories the board had been discussing. Several members suggested minor wording changes—correcting references from "selectmen" to "Select Board" and adding Oxford commas—plus explicitly mirroring MCAD’s protected classes to avoid omissions. “I would literally, I can’t keep cut and paste and verbatim from the Mass Commission against Discrimination,” one board member said, supporting adoption of those categories.
Others cautioned that a statement is only the first step and that follow-up actions and fact-finding are required to make a meaningful difference. Paul urged the board to pair the statement with efforts to identify where the town’s processes might disadvantage historically marginalized groups, and several members noted staff training and programmatic work already underway.
The board voted in favor of the amendment and directed staff to finalize the policy language consistent with the MCAD categories and to keep implementing DEI-related training and targeted actions.
