[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6142315,"mediaKeyId","5558673-1aaa803157aadd4f057afc47520397a5","parentId",5558673,"title","Senate accepts $259 million midyear supplemental; injects funds for public defense, home care and education protections","audioSeconds",3974,"startMs",1100000,"endMs",5074000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5558673-1aaa803157aadd4f057afc47520397a5&start=1100&end=5074","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5558673-1aaa803157aadd4f057afc47520397a5/thumbnail_1100000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6142315/Massachusetts/Senate-accepts-259-million-midyear-supplemental-injects-funds-for-public-defense-home-care-and-education-protections","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6142315-7db36a405b27e8747117ff70e93cf2fa/orig.mp4?Expires=1770440212&Signature=K8sFi7d1mGUteLlmGXrJo47rBVqrQ~YBOy40Nq5BQyOmp0OWprZQR7XTvYHAzJSQWvL1tmWxHdOGTu7PBetqYnm46-TbofWMfaaSrwOoo6z9XouVUWfA8kYR3vrIs-VTJnAyEv4ixgI-nsyvNSz38MFWTc2d0776Zi7g4B3ji~Yer3fIaL044OvCavRZJ2vUvgQ604~3mmzeGuFH~bPb6wa3F0YCbODWmUTYPlUbHKhGwK6lEaVgTgvE-KMiPcBvWzIyyNQnenrRiaVRQMy5J0eI1aMXAtZ~7JRPiBHG3MTAPKZ4dAzbJhBUqBh4itGFf2LG3FfnwokjAUlHdY24sg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Massachusetts Legislature","date","2025-07-31T00:00:00Z","article","The Massachusetts Senate accepted a conference committee report and passed legislation implementing a $259,000,000 midyear supplemental spending plan that funds indigent defense reforms, health and social service needs, and an outside section to codify protections for English learners and students with disabilities.

Senator John Roderick, chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, described the package as a plan that \"pays the bills and funds critical deficiencies across government,\" listing major allocations on the Senate floor. The conference report includes $40,000,000 to hire 320 new public defenders as staff attorneys for the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), a two-year series of $10-per-hour increases for private bar advocates (which the chair said yields a roughly $27,000,000 annual investment and a 30% increase for district court cases), and a top-to-bottom independent review of the indigent defense system.

The supplemental also contains program funding and one-time investments that Senators identified on the floor: $60,000,000 for home care services, $42,000,000 for the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program, $10,000,000 for emergency medical services (including $5,000,000 targeted to communities affected by the closure of the Sherrill Valley Medical Center), $7,500,000 for the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP), $5,800,000 for veterans benefits, $4,200,000 for the state police crime lab, $3,000,000 for the state supplement to Supplemental Security Income, $1,000,000 for the Fair Housing Fund and $600,000 for the National Guard. The conference report also contains $15,000,000 for an upgrade to EBT cards to chip-card technology and a provision criminalizing the use of skimming devices to steal benefits, both items confirmed on the floor.

Senator Roderick said the bill \"represents a thoughtful solution\" to ongoing disruptions in the public defense system and described the combination of hiring, rate increases and guardrails as a way to stabilize services while protecting defendants’ constitutional rights. He told colleagues the administration would have authority in the bill to use available funds, including the transitional escrow fund; he said there is approximately $160,000,000 remaining in that account that could be deployed alongside general revenue to cover the $259,000,000 appropriation.

Not all conferees agreed with the vehicle used to move funds. Some senators expressed concern that four provisions were added in conference that had not been separately considered by either the House or Senate; Senator Roderick acknowledged those additions and said the urgent nature of the public defense disruption led conferees to use the moving vehicle. Several senators said funding for hospitals and community health centers was not included and will need to be revisited in a final closeout supplemental this fall.

The conference report also included an outside section based on Senate Bill 436 to \"affirm and maintain equal access to public education for all children,\" which Sen. Pavel M. Peano of Lawrence described as codifying federal protections for English learners, immigrant students and students with disabilities. Peano said the provisions require DESE to adopt regulations on interpreter qualifications and require IEP teams to include experts who can distinguish limited English proficiency from disabilities so students receive appropriate services.

Senators voted to accept the conference report and to pass the supplemental package; the Senate announced the measure would be sent to the governor after enactment. The debate and floor remarks distinguished discussion (options and concerns about who provides indigent defense and how to fund hospitals) from direction (the specific appropriations included) and formal action (adoption of the conference report and final passage).","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Session of July 31, 2025 (Part 2 of 2)","oneSentenceSummary","The Massachusetts Senate accepted a conference committee report on a $259 million supplemental budget that includes $40 million to hire 320 public defenders at CPCS, rate increases for private bar counsel, $60 million for home care, and an outside section codifying protections for English learners and students with disabilities.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature MA, Massachusetts","taxId",77682,"location","Massachusetts","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6142319,"Senate approves 'bell-to-bell' ban on student cell phones in classrooms",3797,568000,4365000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5558673-1aaa803157aadd4f057afc47520397a5&start=568&end=4365","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5558673-1aaa803157aadd4f057afc47520397a5/thumbnail_568000.jpg","/articles/6142319/Massachusetts/Senate-approves-bell-to-bell-ban-on-student-cell-phones-in-classrooms","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6142319-559de15e07ff08ef94701f2cf547d659/orig.mp4?Expires=1770440212&Signature=Ge-IfZSA9sXJkm9l4fo4iXeYfgOTGBVBEjNXFPcCOZ07qUP~8i6ntihTO4dpA5gAbwHy-ibJCyL7XQbD8UKjY9~qF88sNrhhKOtgtQIxk-aikhlUvzzhKq08HwN37pSm7L4-Ll5EYNVSgsjE2MUu3rNY9IQWQUE-ojD-F0sqMHCpGYcbx6fNInEF7pxI9qq2UwRgzRmgBuSiU3KN84e4XxZvMXGwZ0TpNw-ZIzgrK9Qrx2dba0rSwYD6nN3tAVf6ztMA6NwBrD8HiCt0aUACFV7tuhWJJ6XRQWI6hWi3qSI-H8C2p1dzC7BZi4YQhcc62hzKC6JuRQ4SmoeFEeDjPw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Massachusetts Senate passed Senate Bill 2561, a measure to ban student use of personal electronic devices during the school day “bell to bell,” advancing the measure to engrossment.

Supporters said the rule is intended to improve academic focus, mental health and social interaction in classrooms. Senator Creighton, Third Essex District, said she filed the legislation after reading Jonathan Haidt’s Anxious Generation and from personal experience, and argued the bill’s “bell to bell component” will reduce constant distraction for students. \"This legislation strikes the right balance in being bold and going bell to bell, providing exceptions where necessary,\" Creighton said on the Senate floor.

The bill drew examples from districts that have already limited phones. Senator Patrick O'Connor, First Plymouth and Norfolk District, cited a recently opened middle school in Weymouth and said administrators there reported students were \"being kids\" after a local ban. O'Connor referenced a Johns Hopkins study linking social media to increased depressive symptoms and said the state should adopt a consistent standard.

Senators emphasized that the measure preserves local flexibility and exceptions for students with special needs. Senator Nick Collins, First Suffolk District, noted the bill’s language allows districts to choose how to implement device removal and to accommodate students who depend on devices for learning. Senator Lewis, Fifth Middlesex District, described a range of local implementation options, from leaving phones at home to locked pouches, lockers or geofencing technology, and said the bill deliberately does not prescribe a single enforcement mechanism.

During floor debate the Senate adopted a package of amendments that shaped how the policy will be implemented. The chamber approved an amendment calling for consistent and necessary exemptions across the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) model policy and local policies and adopted a provision requiring DESE to hold at least one public hearing during rule development and for local governing bodies to solicit public input when implementing local device policies. Several other proposed amendments were withdrawn or rejected.

The Senate recorded 38 votes in favor and 2 opposed on final passage to be engrossed. The bill will proceed through the legislative process toward enrollment; no signature by the governor was recorded in the Senate debate transcript.

Proponents and opponents repeatedly separated discussion from formal action in the debate: senators described policy goals and local implementation options (discussion), won approval for the amendments directing public hearings and local notice (direction), and the chamber then voted to pass the bill to engrossment (formal action).

The measure’s supporters urged districts to use the flexibility in the bill to protect students who need devices for educational or medical reasons while enforcing a broad ‘‘bell to bell’’ restriction to reduce distractions and encourage in-person socializing and classroom engagement.

The Senate debate included multiple references to classroom testimony, teacher reports and studies; where the transcript recorded specific statements, the article quotes them directly and attributes them to the named senators who spoke on the floor.

The Senate action does not itself change local school rules until districts adopt policies consistent with the state law and DESE rulemaking; the adopted amendments require DESE to solicit public comment as it develops guidance and require local boards to hold hearings or otherwise solicit local input.

The Senate’s passage sends the bill to the next legislative steps toward final enactment.","The Massachusetts Senate passed Senate Bill 2561, a measure that would prohibit student use of personal electronic devices during the school day and requires model policies, consistent exemptions and public input as districts implement local rules.","actionData","errors"]

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Senate accepts $259 million midyear supplemental; injects funds for public defense, home care and education protections

Senate approves 'bell-to-bell' ban on student cell phones in classrooms