Testimony of Rhonda “Nikki” Barnes, KIPP MA Executive Director, In Opposition to Section 4 of the Thrive Act, S.374
November 12, 2025 | Rhonda Nikki Barnes, KIPP MA Executive Director
Good afternoon. My name is Nikki Barnes, and I am the proud President of the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association Board of Directors, as well as the Executive Director of KIPP Massachusetts.
Over 46,000 students attend Massachusetts charter public schools. If charter public schools were a district, it would be the largest district in the state. Over 21,000 more children are on charter public school wait lists. Many of those children, while they wait, are attending schools that are among the lowest achieving in the state – the “bottom 10%” of districts, as calculated by DESE.
Right now, the law allows more kids and families in those lowest performing districts to attend charter public schools – by design. In those communities, the charter net school spending cap doubles from 9% to 18% – giving twice as many kids access to high-quality public school options.
Section 4 of S.374 proposes eliminating calculation of the bottom 10% of districts and taking away that increased opportunity – making the charter net school spending cap 9% everywhere, including in our lowest performing districts. Thousands of kids would be forced out of their schools, and schools would close.
One argument that has been made is that we should not calculate the bottom 10% because we don’t want to stigmatize the lowest performing communities. Let’s be clear – test scores are not the full story. But they are a vital sign that we cannot ignore. Simply because we don’t like what the mirror shows us, doesn’t mean we throw away the mirror.
In some of these districts, only one in ten or even one in twenty Black children, Hispanic children, and low-income children are reading on grade level in 3rd grade. While these districts work to improve their outcomes, kids and families do not have time to wait.
Families are voting with their feet, telling us what they want and we must listen. When there are thousands more kids who want charter public school options, particularly in our most vulnerable districts, why are we even considering giving fewer kids this chance?
We must reject legislation that hurts our kids and our communities.
Thank you.
Charter public school alumni, leaders, board members, parents, and educators testified before the Joint Committee on Education on November 12th, 2025, expressing unified opposition to Section 4 of the Thrive Act (S.374). Their testimony highlighted how the proposal would eliminate high-quality public school options, undermine strong student outcomes, and restrict access for families – particularly in the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable communities. Together, their perspectives underscored the urgent need to preserve effective charter public school seats and protect the educational opportunities students rely on.
