Text of MA H 3980 (2026)

1 of 1 HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4443 FILED ON: 2/21/2025 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3980 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts _________________ PRESENTED BY: Carmine Lawrence Gentile _________________ To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General Court assembled: The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: An Act establishing LGBTQIA+ parent advisory councils in the Commonwealth. _______________ PETITION OF: NAME: DISTRICT/ADDRESS: DATE ADDED: Carmine Lawrence Gentile 13th Middlesex 2/21/2025 Liz Miranda Second Suffolk 2/26/2025 Samantha Montaño 15th Suffolk 3/5/2025 1 of 2 HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4443 FILED ON: 2/21/2025 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3980 By Representative Gentile of Sudbury, a petition (subject to Joint Rule 12) of Carmine Lawrence Gentile, Liz Miranda and Samantha Montaño for legislation to establish LGBTQIA+ parent advisory councils in public schools. Education. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts _______________ In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court (2025-2026) _______________ An Act establishing LGBTQIA+ parent advisory councils in the Commonwealth. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: 1 SECTION 1. Chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after 2 section 1D the following section: 3 Section 1E. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the school 4 committee of any city, town, or school district shall establish a LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, 5 Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, or another identity on the Queer spectrum) 6 parent advisory council. Membership shall be offered to all parents who identify themselves as 7 LGBTQIA+ or have children who identify as LGBTQIA+, and other interested parties. 8 The duties of the council shall include, but not be limited to: (i) advising the school 9 committee on matters that pertain to the education and safety of LGBTQIA+ students; (ii) 10 meeting regularly with school officials to participate in the planning, development and 11 evaluation of the school district’s programs; (iii) participating in the review of school 12 improvement plans under section 59C of chapter 71 and district improvement plans under 2 of 2 13 section 1I of chapter 69. Upon request from a parent advisory council, each school committee or 14 school council within that parent advisory council's district shall meet at least annually with the 15 council; provided, however, that if the parent advisory council advises a charter school the board 16 of the charter school shall, upon request from the parent advisory council, meet not less than 17 annually with the council. The parent advisory council shall establish by-laws regarding officers 18 and operational procedures. In the course of its duties under this section, the council shall receive 19 assistance from the school committee without charge, upon reasonable notice, and subject to the 20 availability of staff and resources. SECTION 2. The department of elementary and secondary 21 education shall adopt, promulgate, amend and rescind rules and regulations or formulate policies 22 and make recommendations as necessary to implement this act. SECTION 3. This act shall take 23 effect on January 1, 2027