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By ELLA ADAMS

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted unanimously Tuesday to put its proposed competency determination regulations out for public comment, and solicit comment about a second potential pathway to graduation that could still feature use of the MCAS exams.

By CHINANU OKOLI

Applications are rolling in for the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources’ new Farm Transfer Planning Assistance initiative that connects aging farmers and their successors with experienced planners to set retirement goals and figure out how management and assets will be transferred.

By ALEXA LEWIS

NORTHAMPTON — Commemorating the third anniversary of the war in Ukraine, a handful of activists with Massachusetts Peace Action stood outside U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern’s Northampton office on Monday afternoon to demand peace negotiations. This standout mirrored another held by the organization at the same time in Boston.

By ALISON KUZNITZ

BOSTON — Bay Staters struggling to afford hefty energy bills this winter could soon see modest relief, after state regulators instructed utility companies to slash costs.

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

The Cannabis Control Commission (CCC), the state’s regulatory body for marijuana products, said it will continue to raise its standards for testing after cannabis contaminated with mold and mildew was reported in more than 20 dispensaries, including those in Greenfield, Montague, Winchendon and Easthampton.

By CHRIS LISINSKI

The Healey administration moved to overhaul the way vocational and technical schools admit students after years of criticism that the system excludes applicants from certain backgrounds, but some advocates who sought the changes are concerned the proposal will lead to “the same discriminatory selection pattern.”

By MICHAEL P. NORTON

Private sector efforts to seek and support diverse, equitable, inclusive and accessible workplaces are not illegal, a coalition of state attorneys general said Thursday, and the federal government can’t prohibit such efforts in the private sector through executive order.

By SCOTT MERZBACH

Over the course of two hours Monday, legislators sitting on the Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism presented numerous pro-Palestinian exhibits — resources that educators might use in their classroom — drawn from a members-only section of the Massachusetts Teachers Association website.

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey is proposing to limit spending on a rapidly growing home care program that is popular among the state’s expanding senior population but has become one of the state’s most expensive budget items.

By ALISON KUZNITZ

With the House gearing up for a potential legal battle over Question 1, Auditor Diana DiZoglio is trying to attach new urgency to her monthslong request that Attorney General Andrea Campbell intervene or allow her to seek outside counsel.

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — As nonprofits across Massachusetts face uncertainty over the future of federal funding, some are also expressing concern over a proposal from Gov. Maura Healey that they fear could further strain their budgets.

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Accessory dwelling units are now allowed by right in single-family zoning districts across most of Massachusetts, under a law Gov. Maura Healey signed in August. The rule went into effect on Sunday.

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey intends to run for reelection in 2026, she said Friday.

By SAM DRYSDALE

The astronomical cost of housing for Massachusetts households across the income spectrum and a bleak outlook for the new units needed over the next decade underscore the focus of the Healey administration’s new housing plan for the next five years – more production.

By CHRIS LARABEE

BOSTON — When flooding devastated the Pioneer Valley in summer 2023, it took an extraordinary partnership between the state, nonprofits and private individuals to quickly bring millions of dollars in aid to those affected.

By SAM DRYSDALE

Any selective criteria used to admit students to vocational technical schools must be actually essential to the success of the school, per new regulations the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is drafting for their board’s review in February.

By GREG VINE

ATHOL – The Polus Center for Social and Economic Development is one of five organizations to receive state grants to support job training, employment placement and post placement services for young adults with disabilities.

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Attorney General Andrea Campbell wants to stop students from using cell phones in schools, but education regulators seem unsure how far they should go – especially when that power lies not in the state’s hands, but with local school districts.

By SAM DRYSDALE and MICHAEL P. NORTON

Reacting to reports that President Donald Trump rescinded his federal funds freeze order, Congresswoman Lori Trahan warned “the fight is far from over” and the White House made clear that efforts to “end the egregious waste of federal funding” will continue.

By SAMUEL GELINAS

BOSTON — Less than three months after voters rejected a ballot measure to legalize certain natural psychedelic substances and introduce therapeutic care, legislators have filed 10 bills at the start of this legislative session hoping to push the cause forward.