BOSTON—State Senator Jason Lewis was presented with the inaugural Legacy Award by Latinos for Education for his many years of work and dedication to passing the Educator Diversity Act.
The ceremony took place on May 28, 2025, at the State House alongside the presentation of the Shine Awards to honor exemplary Latino educators from across Massachusetts.
“I’m deeply honored to be receiving this award,” said State Senator Jason Lewis. “There is strong evidence of the academic and social-emotional benefits for students from having diverse teachers, especially for students of color. I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to champion this legislation along with Latinos for Education and all the students, teachers, parents, and advocates who helped get the Educator Diversity Act across the finish line.”
“Senator Jason Lewis has been a key champion in advancing policies that prioritize educator diversity and equity in our schools,” said Amanda Fernandez, Founder and CEO of Latinos for Education. “His leadership has helped lay the groundwork for systemic change—and it’s the educators we honored today who bring that change to life every day. These teachers are role models, culture shapers, and trailblazers for the next generation. Celebrating them at the State House alongside legislative champions like Senator Lewis affirms that their contributions are not only valued—they are vital to the future of education in the Commonwealth.”
The Educator Diversity Act was signed into law by Governor Maura Healey on November 20, 2024, and seeks to strengthen the K-12 educator workforce by hiring and retaining more diverse educators and improving student outcomes.
Massachusetts is a national leader in public education, but the state’s student population is diversifying at a much faster rate than its teachers and school administrators. While students of color make up over 45% of public school enrollment, educators of colors only account for about 10% of the teacher workforce.
Key provisions of the Educator Diversity Act include:
- Setting statewide educator diversity goals and publishing an annual report to ensure progress in hiring and retaining diverse educators.
- Requiring the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to work with school districts on plans to increase their educator diversity.
- Requiring each school district to appoint a diversity officer or team to advise the Superintendent and other district leaders on efforts to recruit and retain diverse educators.
- Elevating the voices of diverse educators, parents, and students by requiring all school districts to establish a process for advising the Superintendent and School Committee on matters of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Requiring diversity and implicit bias training at least every five years for all school and district employees and School Committee members.
- Requiring DESE to establish a teacher apprenticeship pilot program.
- Requiring teacher preparation programs to examine and address barriers to equity in enrollment and completion of their programs.
- Incentivizing diverse and highly effective educators to work in high-needs school districts.
- Establishing a public information campaign to spread awareness of state scholarships and loan forgiveness programs for prospective educators.
- Enabling DESE to create new pathways for teacher licensure and certification.
