BOSTON–On Thursday, the Massachusetts Senate voted to pass Senator Sal DiDomenico’s bill, An Act relative to healthy youth, (S.2534). This bill will ensure that Massachusetts public schools electing to teach sex education curriculum use age-appropriate, medically accurate, and research-based information that covers a comprehensive range of topics. The legislation also calls for sex education to be inclusive and appropriate for students regardless of gender, race, disability status, sexual orientation, and gender identity. 

"I am very proud that the Massachusetts Senate has again reaffirmed our commitment to this commonsense health policy that will ensure your people have the tools needed to protect their health and form respectful relationships", said Assistant Majority Leader Sal DiDomenico. "This legislation makes it clear that sex education in the Commonwealth must be inclusive for all students and emphasize the importance and necessity of consent. I would like to especially thank the many advocates who have partnered with us on this legislation and worked tirelessly to ensure Massachusetts youth have the information they need to build the bright futures they deserve–– without shame or judgement.” 

Currently, public schools in the Commonwealth that choose to teach sex education are not required to use or adhere to a specific sexed curriculum. While some schools provide comprehensive and effective sex education, others teach outdated and abstinence-focused programs, including curricula that ignores LGBTQIA+ health and critical lessons on consent. This has led to a patchwork of sexual education programs across the state. The Healthy Youth Act (S.2534) aims to change this by requiring school districts that offer sec education to follow certain guidelines when selecting a curriculum. This is vital to ensuring that students throughout the state are provided with age-appropriate, medically accurate, and comprehensive information, including topics on:  

• the benefits of delaying sex; 

• human anatomy, reproduction, and sexual development; 

• effective contraceptive use; 

• prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs); 

• relationship and communication skills to form healthy relationships; 

• coverage of affirmative, conscious and voluntary consent; and 

• age-appropriate information about gender identity and sexual orientation, including resources that offer support to LGBTQ students. 

 The bill does not require public schools to teach sex education but sets curriculum guidelines for those that do. This legislation also protects and enhances parents’ right to remove their children from all or part of the sex education program if they choose to do so–– an action already protected by state law. Additionally, this bill updates parent-notification guidelines for districts that choose to teach sex education curriculum and requires schools to send notice to parents in English and in other commonly spoken languages in the district. Notice would alert parents that their child is enrolled in a sex-education course and would inform them of their right to review the curriculum or opt their child our of some or all of the lessons.  

 Now in its 10th year, the Healthy Youth Act has been passed by the Senate several times over in previous legislative sessions. The most recent iteration of the bill incorporates additional feedback from experts, educators, and advocates, and was co-sponsored by seventy representatives and twenty-four senators.  

On Thursday Senator DiDomenico spoke on the floor of the Massachusetts Senate stating, “every school year that goes by where transgender youth do not see themselves reflected in their curriculum, we are failing. Every year that any cohort of seniors goes off to college without having received vital lessons on consent, respect, and bodily autonomy, we are failing.” He went on to add, “enough is enough, it is time for us to pass this bill and sign it into law.” 

Sex education programs have repeatedly been shown to work best when they emphasize the value of delaying sex, while also teaching students about the importance of protecting themselves from unintended consequences. As demonstrated by numerous studies, comprehensive sex education programs have been proven to delay the initiation of sex, increase use of contraception, lower the rates of STIs and unintended pregnancy among teens, and reduce reported levels of bullying towards LGBTQ youth in school.  

A 2018 poll conducted by EMC Research showed overwhelming bipartisan support for sex education in Massachusetts, with 92% of likely voters agreeing that students should receive sex education in high school, and 89% of likely voters agreeing that sex education should include comprehensive information, such as how to build healthy relationships and understand consent.  

The bill now moves on to the House of Representatives for consideration.

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BOSTON- Last week, Senator DiDomenico joined the national CROWN Coalition in hosting a legislative briefing ion hair discrimination and the CROWN Act. The CROWN Coalition is an alliance of organizations dedicated to advocating for new state laws-- known as the CROWN Act-- that provide protection from race-based hair discrimination. In the Massachusetts State Senate, Senator DiDomenico is the lead sponsor of S.994, An Act prohibiting discrimination based on natural hairstyles, which would prohibit race-based hair discrimination, including the denial of employment and educational opportunities because of hair textures or protective hairstyles.

Senator DiDomenico hosted this anti-hair discrimination briefing alongside his State House partners, Senator Adam Gómez and Representatives Chynah Tyler and Steven Ultrino. Together, these legislators are sponsoring and advocating for the CROWN Act to be passed here in Massachusetts.

Currently in Massachusetts and 36 states across the country, it is legal to discriminate against a person in the workplace or schools because of natural or protective hairstyles. Hair discrimination remains a source of racial injustice with economic consequences for Black people. According to a 2019 study, Black women are 1.5 times more likely to be sent home from the workplace because of their hair. The CROWN Act corrects these racial injustices by making hair discrimination illegal.

The legislative briefing included a multitude of speakers detailing their own experiences and involvement in the fight against race-based hair discrimination. Moderated by Adjoa B. Asamoah, National Lead Strategist for the CROWN Coalition, other speakers at the event included Boston City Councilor, Lydia Edwards, Mya and Deanna Cook of Malden, who fought back against hair discrimination in their school in 2017, Janicka Ellis, Owner of Castle Hair Studio in Roxbury, and Bitiah Carter, President and CEO of New England Blacks in Philanthropy.

During the event, Senator DiDomenico emphasized that the existing anti-discrimination laws in Massachusetts fail to protect employees and students who wear their hair in natural or protective hairstyles from discrimination. For this reason, he stressed that it is crucial for the CROWN Act and any supporting bills to become law. "We need to play out part in ensuring that adults and children throughout the Commonwealth, like Mya and Deanna, are protected from hair discrimination that targets hairstyles associated with race. While this bill would finally help provide protection from race-based discrimination, there is still plenty of work that needs to be done. However, I am hopeful that we can continue working together to make these changes a reality in the near future." 

The National CROWN Coalition has had success in elevating the public narrative around hair discrimination in recent years and inspiring a movement to end hair bias and discrimination. In 2019 and 2020 alone, they were successful in advocating for new laws across the nation. DiDomenico stated that "It is because of the extraordinary work of the CROWN Coalition nationally that we have gotten so much attention put on the issue, and rightfully so. It is my sincere hope that Massachusetts be the next state to pass the CROWN Act to protect Black women, men and children and ensure that natural hairstyles are celebrated, not discouraged."

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BOSTON- On July 7th, Senator Sal DiDomenico joined with Cecilia Rouse, President Joe Biden's Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, at a local childcare center in his district to promote the American Families Plan. Senator DiDomenico and Chair Rouse, alongside Massachusetts Congresswomen Katherine Clark, Ayanna Pressley, and Lori Trahan, toured Nurtury Early Education in Cambridge, New England’s first early education and care agency, in an effort to spotlight the nation’s “care infrastructure” and its fragility– a fact which has been brought into sharper focus during the pandemic.

Like many early education providers across the nation, Nurtury was hit hard by the pandemic and has remained under-staffed and unable to meet its licensed capacity despite high demand. This has largely been due to the fact that many childcare workers were unable to find care for their own children during the Covid-19 crisis. Consequently, a lack of available childcare services and providers prevented many parents from being able to get back to work.

“Education, and more specifically early education, has been a top priority of mine since I was first elected back in 2011,” said DiDomenico following the tour. “Therefore, it was sadly no surprise to hear that childcare centers like Nurtury are unable to fill classrooms, since they cannot find staff who either can afford to work in the childcare industry or can find care for their own kids. This pandemic has hit our childcare industry hard but has also revealed how critical this industry is to our economy. I do hope that this crisis has showed all Americans just how important it is that we invest in early education and care at both the state and federal levels.”

Senator DiDomenico’s visit was in support of an infusion of public funds for early childcare and education services through President Biden’s $1.8 trillion American Families Plan. The plan would create universal pre-Kindergarten for all children ages three and four and help to make the childcare industry more affordable for all families. The provision would also establish rules preventing childcare costs for low and middle-income families from exceeding more than seven percent of their income. Additionally, the plan would create a national comprehensive paid family and medical leave program, as well as extend the Child Tax Credit increases that were included in the national COVID-recovery package signed into law by the president in March.

After the tour, Senator DiDomenico, accompanied by Chair Rouse and all three Congresswomen in attendance, participated in a roundtable with members and staff of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA). The discussion centered on the experiences of Black entrepreneurs and small business owners who shared stories of their struggles and challenges throughout the pandemic. The conversation illustrated the disproportionate impact that the pandemic has had on people of color and the universal challenges for families to access affordable, high-quality childcare.

“This roundtable was a fantastic learning opportunity, and for everyone at the federal, state and local levels to discuss the work that lies ahead to solve this childcare crisis. I am grateful to everyone who shared their expertise and experiences, and of course to our incredible Congresswomen for their dedication to passing the American Families Plan. Without question, this tour will help to inform the work that I do around early education and childcare in the Massachusetts Legislature, which I hope will serve as a complement to the passage of American Families Plan.”

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