Section 71:101 - Diversity, equity and inclusion officer; diversity team(a) Public school districts and charter schools shall appoint or hire a diversity, equity and inclusion officer or establish a diversity team. The role and responsibilities of a diversity officer or team may be assigned to an existing school employee or existing school entity. A diversity officer or team shall report directly to the superintendent of the school. Diversity officers or teams shall coordinate their school district's compliance with the requirements of this section and applicable federal and state laws. Each school district and charter school shall post information on its diversity officer or team on a publicly accessible website.(b) Public school districts and charter schools shall establish a process for advising the school committee or board of trustees on matters of diversity, equity and inclusion in the school district or charter school which may include establishing an educator diversity council consisting of educators, administrators, parents or caregivers and students and which shall meet regularly with the superintendent or the diversity officer or teams and the school committee or board of trustees. For such councils that are established, members shall, to the best ability of a school district or charter school, represent a diversity of identities including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, culture, immigration status, sex, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability and socioeconomic level. The school committee or board of trustees may appoint a member of the committee to serve as an ex-officio member of the educator diversity council.(c) Pursuant to guidelines established by the Massachusetts commission against discrimination, in consultation with the department, superintendents, school committee members, boards of trustees members, district leaders, principals and school district employees shall attend diversity and implicit bias training every 5 years; provided, however, that training completed during certification or recertification pursuant to section 38G shall satisfy this requirement for the year in which the training was completed.Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 71, § 71:101
Added by Acts 2024, c. 238,§ 219, eff. 11/20/2024.