H 440 Massachusetts House · 193rd Legislature (2023-2024)

An Act for equitable workforce development

This bill amends Massachusetts education law to ensure fair access to vocational-technical schools and programs by implementing a weighted lottery system for students who are over-enrolled. Under the new rules, if there are more qualified applicants than available spots, schools must hold a lottery that favors protected groups, including students of color, those from low-income families, students with disabilities, and English language learners. The legislation also requires schools to create waitlists for students who are not immediately admitted and mandates that the state education department collect and publish annual data on enrollment demographics to monitor progress.
Bill status passed 3 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2023
Committee Review
Feb 2023
Senate Passage
Feb 2023
Governor
Introduced Feb 16, 2023 Last action Feb 20, 2024
Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate. No roll call record of that vote is available.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
4
Key actions
1
Committee
1
Feb 16, 2023
Upper · Passed
Senate concurred
upper
Feb 16, 2023
Committee
Referred to the committee on Education
lower
1 primary · 14 co-sponsors

Sponsors