Mass. education chief pledges support as special commission approves K–12 antisemitism recommendations

The Massachusetts Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism voted unanimously on Aug. 5, 2025, to approve a draft package of K–12 recommendations that the commission has developed over several months, after members agreed to several last‑minute wording and citation changes and to fold in a new reference to FBI hate‑crime data.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s new commissioner, Pedro Martinez, told the commission he supports the recommendations and committed DESE to partner with districts and stakeholders to implement them. Martinez said the department plans to add at least one position to lead development and dissemination of guidance, evaluate curriculum materials related to antisemitism and bias, and provide technical assistance and progress monitoring for districts.

The commission’s vote followed a public revision process. Commissioners agreed to reinstate the phrase “should be informed by” in two places that describe how DESE’s rubric and Attorney General guidance should be developed; to add a citation to the FBI’s 2024 hate‑crime data in a footnote; and to remove an editorial sentence and a phrase that public commenters found offensive. Commissioners also directed staff to note the existing DESE regulation (603 CMR 26.05) that already requires instruction to be taught without promoting a teacher’s personal political views.

In floor discussion before the roll call, commissioners emphasized the difference between protected political speech and targeted antisemitic harassment and reiterated that criticism of a foreign government, including Israel, is not antisemitic in itself. The commission’s chairs said the package reflects hundreds of hours of hearings and public comment and that the committee released the draft now so local school systems would receive guidance before the new academic year begins.

The approved draft is preliminary and will be folded into the commission’s final report; members left open the possibility of adding material after DESE shares its rubric work later in the fall. The commission also agreed to permit two commissioners who were briefly offline during the roll call to register written confirmation before the report is publicly posted.

Votes at a glance

Motion: Approve the recommendations before the commission, with the edits discussed today (restore “should be informed by” wording; add FBI citation; delete wording public commenters found offensive; cite 603 CMR 26.05 and encourage robust implementation). Moved by Commissioner David Friedman; seconded on the floor (record shows a second). Outcome: approved (unanimous). Tally: yes 23; no 0; abstain 0. Notes: Chairs said the vote is preliminary and will be included in the final report; commissioners retained the option to submit final edits prior to formal publication.

Why it matters: The recommendations create a set of expectations and resources intended to help districts and educators identify and respond to antisemitism and societal bias in K–12 settings; DESE’s public commitment to staff and to developing a statewide rubric is meant to standardize guidance and technical assistance across districts.

Implementation and next steps: Commissioner Martinez said DESE will continue stakeholder input and plans a mid‑to‑late‑fall timeline to publish curriculum evaluation guidance. The commission asked staff to include a citation to the FBI’s 2024 hate‑crime report in footnote 2 and to preserve the regulatory citation to 603 CMR 26.05, encouraging robust implementation of that existing regulation by DESE. The commission will publish the preliminary recommendations online and fold them into the final report to the Legislature.