Support WBUR
Boston's Morning Newsletter
Mass. leaders pledge to uphold transgender student protections, amid rollback attempts
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
The Winteractive Art Exhibition officially kicks off for a second year today in downtown Boston, with over 15 free outdoor art installations. You can use this online map to find all the eye-catching works of public art — including those giant pink inflatable men. They’ll be hanging around, peering into your offices (and souls), through March.
Now, to the news:
Massachusetts education leaders are pledging to uphold legal protections for LGBTQ+ students, even as they face rollbacks at the national level, from the courts to Congress. Here’s what to know:
- Last spring, the Biden administration expanded Title IX anti-discrimination protections for gay and transgender students, among others. The new interpretation of the rules gave students the right to sue under Title IX if, for example, school officials refused to use the pronouns that correspond with their gender identity. The policy was met with backlash from conservatives. And last week, a federal judge in Kentucky struck the rules down.
- The latest: Separately, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives advanced a bill yesterday that would revoke federal funding for any school that allows transgender athletes to compete in K-12 girls sports. All nine Democratic House members from Massachusetts voted against the bill. “Members of Congress are the last people who should decide who gets to play sports in America,” Rep. Lori Trahan said on the House floor. “That responsibility belongs where it always has — to the organizations whose mission it is to protect the fairness, the safety, and the integrity of their sports.” Even Rep. Seth Moulton — who recently faced backlash for expressing discomfort with trans athletes in girls sports — spoke out against the “extremist” bill.
- What’s next: Even with the new GOP-majority Senate, the bill’s fate is uncertain, since it would need 60 votes to clear a filibuster. That means at least seven Democratic senators would have to vote for it; the bill only got two (out of 215) Dem votes in the House.
- Where Mass. stands: Biden’s Title IX protections had already been paused by Republican challenges in 26 states. But as WBUR’s Emily Piper-Vallillo reports, nothing is set to change immediately in Massachusetts. During a meeting yesterday, Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler said the state’s constitution allows schools to continue to “afford enhanced protections based on gender identity and other characteristics reflective of our core values.” Tutwiler added the state “will continue with the same protections.”
- Go deeper: LGBTQ+ activists worry Trump’s second presidency will bulldoze trans rights. Here’s how they’re preparing.
Start the clock: Gov. Maura Healey is giving MBTA Communities Act scofflaws six months to get in line. Healey’s administration filed emergency regulations yesterday, after the state’s top court ruled the previous mandate wasn’t enforceable. The new regs — which take effect immediately — give the 31 cities and towns currently out of compliance with the housing law until July 14 to pass adherent zoning maps.
- That means noncompliant towns have the rest of winter and spring before they are at risk of losing grants or facing legal action from the state. “We want to make sure these communities have adequate time to develop their zoning, conduct public engagement activities and bring that zoning to their local legislative bodies,” Housing Secretary Ed Augustus said in a statement.
- In related news: In a town-wide referendum yesterday, Needham repealed a zoning plan to comply with the law, by a vote of 6,886 to 4,882. That puts them on the six-month countdown to craft a new plan before facing potential penalties from the state.
In court: Ali Ghaffar, a 23-year-old convicted of a string of violent rapes in West Springfield, has been sentenced to 22 years in prison. WBUR’s Willoughby Mariano and Todd Wallack report that all six of his victims testified or assisted the years-long prosecution.
- Meanwhile: Jason Duhaime, the former Northeastern University employee who staged a bomb hoax on campus in 2022, was sentenced yesterday to just over a year in prison.
P.S.— The new season at CitySpace got underway last night, with the first Moth event of 2025. And there’s much more in the weeks ahead, including live podcasts, circus performances and a conversation with the team behind The New York Times Cooking section. Click here to see the full winter lineup and get your tickets before they sell out!
