Massachusetts Advocates for Children

Massachusetts Advocates for Children Since 1969 - Removing barriers to educational and life opportunities for children and youth
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Know your rights: in Massachusetts, long-term suspensions generally cannot carry over into the next school year. If your...
06/12/2026

Know your rights: in Massachusetts, long-term suspensions generally cannot carry over into the next school year. If your student was suspended this school year and you were notified they must remain out of school in September or October, that goes against state regulations. Your student may have the right to return at the start of the next school year, and parents should challenge suspensions which violate that right.

Reach out to our Helpline if you need support navigating your student’s long-term suspension. Visit www.massadvocates.org/helpline or call (617) 357-8431.

We are proud to celebrate our Legal Director Diana Santiago, who received the Massachusetts Bar Association Juvenile & C...
06/11/2026

We are proud to celebrate our Legal Director Diana Santiago, who received the Massachusetts Bar Association Juvenile & Child Welfare Section’s Annual Award at the Ninth Annual Juvenile & Child Welfare Conference. The award honors attorneys whose work has made a measurable difference in the lives of children and youth, especially those involved in or at risk of entering the juvenile justice system.

Diana’s leadership has helped advance MAC’s recent victories, including the Protect Education Equity Law, which for the first time protects in Massachusetts law the right to a public education regardless of immigration status or disability. As Diana often says, these victories are only possible because of our communities, families, partners, and staff who show up every day for children and families.

We are also celebrating Education Staff Attorney Jennifer White, who co-chaired today’s conference and joined Julian Washington of the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee and Wheatly Gulmi of The EdLaw Project for a panel on education advocacy. Jennifer’s focus on protecting students most at risk of being pushed out of school made her an important voice in the conversation.

Congratulations, Diana and Jennifer. We are proud to have you representing MAC!🎉

We are proud to recognize United Way of Massachusetts Bay as an Education Trailblazer Sponsor for their ongoing support...
06/11/2026

We are proud to recognize United Way of Massachusetts Bay as an Education Trailblazer Sponsor for their ongoing support of MAC!

For nearly a decade, their steadfast partnership has helped advance education equity and build stronger communities. Their commitment enables MAC to show up for students and families every day and advocate for the opportunities that every child deserves.

Thank you, United Way of Massachusetts Bay, for standing with us to remove barriers to education. Lasting change is possible when we work together.

The House and Senate passed “An Act amending certain laws relative to individuals with disabilities, a bill that rids ou...
06/10/2026

The House and Senate passed “An Act amending certain laws relative to individuals with disabilities, a bill that rids our state laws of offensive and outdated terms related to disability and replaces them with person-centered language such as “person with a disability.” The bill has been sent to the Governor for a signature.

Thank you Speaker Speaker Ron Mariano , Senate President Karen E. Spilka , Ways and Means Rodrigues and State Representative Aaron Michlewitz , Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities Chairs Robyn Kennedy and Jay Livingstone, Sen. Pat Jehlen, Rep. Michael Finn, and Rep. Sean Garballey and others for your leadership. And a special thanks to The Arc of Massachusetts for your effective advocacy!

🎊 The State Conference Committee is poised to decide if the PROTECT Act includes protections for schools! 🚨Below is one ...
06/02/2026

🎊 The State Conference Committee is poised to decide if the PROTECT Act includes protections for schools!

🚨Below is one easy thing YOU can do NOW to make sure the final bill includes protections for immigrant students and staff in schools.

1) Go to tinyurl.com/ProtectActSchools to instantly email your state legislators to urge them to advocate for school protections to the conference committee.

2) Share and spread the word. Forward this link to at least five other community members in your network.

We are pleased to share that our Legal Director Diana Santiago will receive this year’s Juvenile and Child Welfare Award...
05/14/2026

We are pleased to share that our Legal Director Diana Santiago will receive this year’s Juvenile and Child Welfare Award from the Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA)! This award recognizes the outstanding contributions of legal professionals who advocate for youth in the juvenile and child welfare systems. Diana will be presented with the award at the MBA’s Juvenile and Child Welfare Conference on June 11 at UTEC in Lowell.

This year’s legal conference will focus on understanding developmental, neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions impacting youth. To register, visit https://www.massbar.org/events/cle-program?productId=10071.

Thank you to the MBA’s Juvenile & Child Welfare Section Council for this acknowledgement of Diana’s tireless work to protect the rights of youth across the Commonwealth!

Thank you to the Senate for passing the PROTECT Act, including protections relating to ICE arrests on school grounds and...
05/08/2026

Thank you to the Senate for passing the PROTECT Act, including protections relating to ICE arrests on school grounds and parent notification measures.

We especially want to thank Senate President Karen E. Spilka, State Senator Cindy Friedman, Chair Michael Rodrigues, and Senator Jason Lewis along with members of the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus who worked tirelessly behind the scenes.

Now on to the Conference committee to ensure these provisions are in the final bill!

🎊The Senate PROTECT Act bill S.3072 has included stronger requirements for schools, including mandatory response plans i...
05/05/2026

🎊The Senate PROTECT Act bill S.3072 has included stronger requirements for schools, including mandatory response plans in districts and a prohibition on immigration enforcement on school grounds without judicial warrant. This is a HUGE win!

🚨But we still have time to secure additional protections for immigrant students, educators, and families in schools, including protecting student information.

Help us secure these critical protections!

🔷 Sign on to our petition at tinyurl.com/44jbkwxj. Our priority deadline is tomorrow 5/6 at noon. We will submit the petition with names and city/town of residence to Senate leadership tomorrow.

🔷 Share and spread the word. Forward this petition to at least five other community members in your network. We are almost at 300 names and are striving to get to 400!

🎊El proyecto de ley del Senado S.3072, la Ley PROTECT, ha incorporado requisitos importantes para las escuelas, incluyendo planes de respuesta obligatorios en los distritos y la prohibición de realizar acciones de control migratorio en las escuelas sin una orden judicial. ¡Esta es una victoria ENORME!

🚨Pero aún estamos a tiempo de asegurar protecciones adicionales para los estudiantes, educadores, y familias inmigrantes en las escuelas, incluida la protección de la información de los estudiantes.

¡Ayúdenos a asegurar estas protecciones fundamentales!

🔷 Firme nuestra petición en tinyurl.com/44jbkwxj. El plazo prioritario vence mañana, 6 de mayo, al mediodía. Entregaremos la petición con nombres y ciudades de residencia al liderazgo del Senado mañana.

🔷 Comparta y difunda el mensaje. Reenvíe esta petición a al menos otros cinco miembros de la comunidad dentro de su red de contactos.

Meet Eden Eguale, our Young Adult Leaders Fellow! Eden attends school in Brookline and joined our team earlier this year...
04/24/2026

Meet Eden Eguale, our Young Adult Leaders Fellow! Eden attends school in Brookline and joined our team earlier this year. Currently, she is supporting our parent trainings, helping families better understand education rights and key topics like transition.

Eden is eager to grow as an advocate for children facing barriers to learning, and we’re excited to see how her perspective will shape our work throughout the rest of her time at MAC. We’re so glad to have her on the team!

Our new blog post highlights recent changes to vocational school admissions. The new rules for Career and Technical Edu...
04/16/2026

Our new blog post highlights recent changes to vocational school admissions.

The new rules for Career and Technical Education (CTE) admissions in Massachusetts reduce barriers for students with disabilities, students of color, English language learners, and low-income students. Admission is now based on a lottery system instead of allowing grades, teacher recommendations, and interviews to be used as selection criteria.

If your child is enrolling in vocational school, it’s important to learn about this new system. And for students with disabilities, ensuring full implementation of 504 or IEP plans will also be critical.

The right to a Free Appropriate Public Education applies to vocational schools too. If you have concerns about admissions practices or a student facing exclusion, please contact our Helpline at (617) 357-8431.

To learn about the new system, read the full blog post at www.massadvocates.org/news/vocational-school. Thank you to Brian Dezurik of MetroWest Legal Services for writing it!

Address

89 South Street, Suite 803
Boston, MA
02111

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+16173578431

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