Amendments to resolutions are recommended
M TA Resolutions are the association’s statements of principle on issues relating to members, public education, the welfare
of students and human and civil rights.
Resolutions may be submitted by any member
to the Resolutions Committee by the second Friday
in January. They also may be submitted by the end
of business on Friday at the Annual Meeting of
Delegates. In addition, the committee may propose
resolutions.
All resolutions submitted are considered by
the committee, and those submitted by the January
deadline are also brought before the Board of
Directors. To become an official position of the
MTA, a resolution must be adopted by the delegates
at the Annual Meeting.
The revisions printed here were recommended
by the Resolutions Committee.
The Board voted unanimously on March 21 to
recommend passage by the delegates.
In instances where the proposal is to amend an
existing resolution, the current version is shown first
and the proposed modifications are shown below it.
A section that has a line through it is proposed
for elimination; a section that is underlined is a
proposed addition.
All current resolutions are posted on the MTA
website. To review the resolutions and bylaws,
please visit www.massteacher.org/resolutions.
Current A- 6
Financing of Public Education
The Massachusetts Teachers Association urges
the Legislature to properly fund all public education
on an equitable basis, including those special
programs which are state-mandated.
The MTA believes that public education should
be financed largely by the state through equitable
taxes, thereby lowering local taxes and ensuring the
availability of quality education to all students. The
state should build a reserve fund through existing and
new revenue sources as a means of protecting public
schools and children from inevitable economic
downturns. The MTA condemns all state and local
agencies which, under the guise of economy, use
budgetary practices and procedures which result
in the reduction of the quality of education from
preschool through graduate studies. Furthermore,
the MTA strongly opposes any effort to impose an
unrealistic budgetary limit.
The MTA believes that public education should
receive the highest priority during any municipal or
state fiscal crisis. Therefore, the MTA opposes the
closing of schools and/or the reduction of staff during
any such crises and urges the Legislature to meet its
constitutional responsibilities by providing sufficient
funds to any school district faced with severe financial
problems. (74, 77, 78, 80, 81, 82, 88, 07)
Proposed Amended A- 6
Financing of Public Education
The Massachusetts Teachers Association urges
the Legislature state and federal governments to
properly fund all public education on an equitable
basis including those special programs which are state-mandated. , and opposes unfunded education mandates.
The MTA believes that public education should
be financed largely by the state through equitable
taxes, thereby lowering local taxes and ensuring the
availability of quality education to all students. The
state should build a reserve fund through existing
and new revenue sources as a means of protecting
public schools and children from inevitable
economic downturns. The MTA condemns all state
and local agencies that, under the guise of economy,
The MTA believes that public education should
receive the highest priority during any municipal or
state fiscal crisis. Therefore, the MTA opposes the
closing of schools and/or the reduction of staff during
any such crises and urges the Legislature to meet its
constitutional responsibilities by providing sufficient
funds to any school district faced with severe financial
problems. (74, 77, 78, 80, 81, 82, 88, 07, 15)
Current B- 11
The Environment and Natural Resources
The Massachusetts Teachers Association
believes that preservation of natural resources is vital
to the future quality of life. The MTA also recognizes
the importance of all matter within the life cycle
and urges the establishment of programs to teach
students the concepts of and appreciation for the
interdependence of all living organisms.
The MTA urges its members to support and
teach educational programs that develop in students
an understanding of their responsibilities to all living
and non-living things, positive behaviors toward
the environment, and an understanding of the need
to protect the Earth’s resources. The MTA also
recognizes the importance of programs designed to
improve the ecological balance and shall actively
support federal, state and local programs that seek to
combat the pollution of the environment.
Additionally, the MTA, recognizing that
alternative energy use will reduce dependence on
fossil fuels, strongly urges that the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts and its cities and towns actively
pursue the use of alternative energy resources in
public buildings. (70, 79, 80, 85, 88, 89, 91, 99, 02)
Proposed Amended B- 11
The Environment, and Natural Resources
and Climate Change
The Massachusetts Teachers Association
believes that preservation of natural resources is vital
to the future quality of life. The MTA also recognizes
the importance of all matter within the life cycle
and urges the establishment of programs to teach
students the concepts of and appreciation for the
interdependence of all living organisms.
The MTA urges its members to support and
teach educational programs that develop in students
an understanding of their responsibilities to all living
and non-living things, positive behaviors toward
the environment, and an understanding of the need
to protect the Earth’s resources. The MTA also
recognizes the importance of programs designed
to improve ecological balance and shall actively
support federal, state and local programs that seek to
combat the pollution of the environment.
The MTA further believes that students should
be taught about the impact of human behavior on
global climate change and about environmentally
sound practices that lessen that impact.
Additionally, the MTA, recognizing that
alternative energy use will reduce dependence on
fossil fuels, strongly urges that the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts and its cities and towns to actively
pursue and promote the use of alternative energy
resources in public buildings. (70, 79, 80, 85, 88, 89,
91, 99, 02, 15)
Current B- 32
Standardized Testing Of Students
The Massachusetts Teachers Association
believes that the primary purpose of standardized
tests should be to improve the quality of education
and instruction for students. Standardized tests
are most useful when selected or developed by
educational professionals closest to the classroom
and integrated with assessment information specific
to district programs.
The MTA urges locals to advocate
developmentally appropriate assessment techniques
that are bias-free, reliable and valid.
The MTA also believes that when a test is
mandated at the state or national level it should only
be used to evaluate programs toward meeting state
or national standards and/or goals. The MTA opposes
any use of standardized tests when scores are:
n used as criteria for the reduction or
withholding of any educational funding;
n used inappropriately to compare students,
