Advocates trying to advance their poll inquiries to the 2024 state elections cleared one other hurdle Wednesday once they submitted 1000’s of signatures to the secretary of state’s workplace.
Campaigns targeted on ending using the MCAS as a highschool commencement requirement, auditing the Legislature, decriminalizing psychedelics for psychological well being remedies, opening a pathway for rideshare drivers to unionize, and classifying rideshare drivers as impartial contractors all mentioned that they had sufficient signatures to maintain shifting ahead.
Members of the Massachusetts Teachers Association rallied outdoors the State House earlier than heading over to the Secretary of State’s workplace to complete off submitting the greater than 135,000 signatures they gathered.
The query would finish using the check as a commencement requirement, not nix the check altogether. The union introduced that they had cleared the 75,000 signature requirement in early November, among the many first initiatives to take action.
“We have very high standards,” mentioned MTA President Max Page. “We have some of the best educators in the country. We don’t need this high stakes test. We need more time for real learning.”
Massachusetts is one in every of 9 remaining states utilizing standardized testing as a commencement requirement. Of the remaining 9, Florida, New Jersey and New York have additionally launched current measures to cast off the follow.
Democrats for Education Reform Massachusetts Director Mary Tamer, a number one opponent of the poll query, mentioned she had considerations concerning the impact eliminating the MCAS requirement would have on pupil achievement and fairness.
“Abandoning the MCAS graduation requirement would eliminate a single statewide standard based on consistent, objective measurements across school districts, significantly reducing the value of a high school diploma,” Tamer wrote.
Attorney General Andrea Campbell licensed 34 poll questions and proposed constitutional amendments, solely a few of which cleared the primary signature gathering deadline final month. Secretary of State William Galvin mentioned Wednesday he solely anticipated 11 to file signatures by the 5 p.m. deadline.
“While the review process typically takes three weeks to complete, Galvin expects this year’s review will be longer, due to the unusually high number of petitions being filed,” a spokesperson mentioned in a press release.
Petitions that clear Galvin’s overview are despatched to the Legislature for consideration. If lawmakers don’t cross them by May, supporters might want to collect a remaining spherical of signatures to get onto the 2024 poll.
Massachusetts for Mental Health Options, the group behind the psychedelics query, mentioned they turned in additional than 95,000 signatures to Galvin’s workplace. Supporters confirmed up with a mountain of packing containers representing signatories from throughout the state.
Winthrop Police Lt. Sarko Gergerian mentioned Massachusetts is in a psychological well being disaster “of epidemic proportions.”
“This has decriminalization for the five traditional psychedelics at home. But it also sets up the healing centers for people to go and work with trained facilitators. And there’s going to be levels of training for those facilitators,” Gergerian mentioned. “Some people will need a more intensive type of care and some people need a lot less care.”
The query would permit adults 21 and older to hunt out regulated psychedelics in licensed therapeutic facilities for psychological well being therapy, in keeping with a abstract ready by Campbell’s workplace. It would additionally permit people to develop mushrooms at house.
United States Navy veteran Emily Oneschuk mentioned psychedelics supply folks “10 years of therapy in like six hours.”
“I’m not saying that’s true for everyone, but you get to work through really complex issues in a very condensed period of time in a way that at least I have not encountered in talk therapy, or cognitive behavioral therapy,” Oneschuk informed the Herald. “It just gives you a new perspective that I think is very hard to find otherwise.”
Another marketing campaign that desires to see tipped staff obtain the complete $15 minimal wage on prime of suggestions mentioned they collected and submitted greater than 85,000 signatures.
“This certification marks a decisive moment in our campaign, clearly showing that Massachusetts voters are ready to move away from outdated wage practices and towards a system that guarantees dignity, justice, and economic security for all workers,” One Fair Wage President Saru Jayaraman mentioned in a press release.
Joanne Miksis, who’s listed because the consultant for various variations of a poll query that will usually require voters to point out identification on the polls, was additionally on the secretary of state’s workplace Wednesday with two suitcases filled with signature papers.
Miksis declined to elucidate the query and didn’t say who was funding the marketing campaign.
“Yeah, but you know what, I have an appointment we got to run to,” Miksis mentioned when requested to substantiate her id. “No, not at this time, we’ve got to go,” Miksis mentioned when requested to elucidate the query.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”