Facilitates appellate review of rulings that implicate issues of public concern

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Jamaal Bailey and 7 co-sponsors

Funds build 3,000–5,000 sq ft CTE annexes on Gateway City high schools to expand hands-on building trades with curriculum tied to local labor demand.

RETURNED TO SENATE

Purpose

S.329 creates a state grant program to fund the construction of small (3,000–5,000 sq. ft.) career and vocational-technical education (CTE) annex buildings on comprehensive high school campuses in Massachusetts Gateway Cities. The annexes are intended to expand access to hands‑on, building‑trades-oriented CTE for students who are not enrolled in dedicated vocational/trade schools and to align training with regional labor‑market needs.

Key provisions

Directs the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to administer a grant program for comprehensive high schools located in Gateway Cities.

Grants fund construction of light-construction CTE annex buildings of approximately 3,000–5,000 square feet on high school campuses.

Annex programs must align curriculum with regional labor market demand and emphasize the building trades.

Target student population for the annexes:

High school juniors or seniors;
Students who have not been accepted into a dedicated vocational/trade school or program;
Students who reside in the public school’s district;
Students who will participate in the CTE programs during regular school hours.

Annex construction funded outside the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) process.

Appropriation: $100,000,000 is allocated from the Education and Transportation Fund for this program.

Who is affected

Primary beneficiaries: juniors and seniors in comprehensive public high schools in designated Gateway Cities who lack access to dedicated vocational schools.

Secondary beneficiaries: local employers and construction trades seeking entry‑level workers; local school districts (facility planning and program delivery); construction firms and workforce training providers.

State agencies: DESE (program administration and oversight).

MSBA: projects deliberately positioned outside the MSBA funding/process.

Implementation and administrative notes

DESE will design and run the grant application and award process (details such as grant criteria, matching funds, or capital vs. operational cost coverage are not specified in the bill text).

Annexes are small-scale facilities intended to be located on existing comprehensive high school campuses.

The bill includes a one-time appropriation; ongoing operating, staffing, equipment, and maintenance costs are not explicitly funded.

Legislative status & history (selected)

Filed: 1/17/2025; introduced in Senate: 1/30/2025.

Referred to Committee on the Judiciary (1/30/2025) and to the Committee on Education (2/27/2025).

Passed Senate (5/28/2025); delivered to House and referred to Codes Committee (5/28/2025).

Amended (5/21/2025); substituted for A673A and ordered to third reading, Rules Calendar No. 598 (6/11/2025).

Hearing(s) scheduled/updated for 09/30/2025; a new draft noted as accompanying S.2690 (11/17/2025).

Current procedural status (per provided record): ORDERED TO THIRD READING — RULES CAL.598.

Observations / implementation considerations

The bill expands capital investment in CTE outside MSBA timelines, which could speed local project starts but raises questions about long‑term operating funding and program staffing.

Effectiveness depends on DESE implementation details (award criteria, accountability, equipment/instructor support, employer partnerships).

Metadata supplied lists federal legislators as sponsors, which appears inconsistent with the bill text indicating State Senator John J. Cronin as the bill proponent; the bill itself is a Massachusetts state measure.

Bill