Hearing DetailsJoint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities

Event Details

Status:: Completed
Event Date:: Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Start Time:: 1:00 PM
Location:: A-2 and Virtual
Event Description: Miscellaneous

This hearing will be chaired by House Chair Jay Livingstone. CART services and ASL interpretation will be available. All matters filed in the House that are listed above are required to be reported on by December 3, 2025, subject to extensions consistent with House Rule 27.

The public is invited to participate in this hearing. To sign up to provide oral testimony, please fill out this form. Sign-ups for oral testimony will close on Friday, November 14, 2025, at 3PM, but same-day, in-person testimony will be accepted, time permitting. Please note, you will not be able to sign up for virtual testimony on the day of the hearing.

The Chairs will limit testimony to 3 minutes per speaker and 6 minutes for a panel. There is no limit to the number of people permitted to be on a panel, although the Chairs do not recommend panels that are larger than 3 people. Please note, to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to testify, each person is only permitted to testify once throughout the entirety of the hearing.

Written testimony may be submitted to the Joint Committee via email and will be accepted until the bill is acted upon. Written testimony on House bills should be sent to Audrey Herrmann (Audrey.Herrmann@mahouse.gov) and written testimony on Senate bills should sent to Olivia Mathot (Olivia.mathot@masenate.gov).

Note: All written testimony received by the Committee will be made publicly available, provided however, the Chairs may limit and redact testimony that includes sensitive personal information or information that may jeopardize the health, wellness, or safety of the testifier or others.

If you have any questions regarding the hearing, legislation, format of the hearing, or reasonable accommodations required to ensure people with disabilities can participate fully in the committee process, please email: Olivia Mathot in Chair Kennedy’s Office, at (Olivia.mathot@masenate.gov) or Audrey Herrmann in Chair Livingstone’s Office, at (Audrey.Herrmann@mahouse.gov).

The bills will be heard in the order displayed on the hearing notice with House and Senate companion bills heard together. Please be advised that the schedule and agenda are subject to change at the discretion of the Chairs.
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Item Name	Start Time	Duration	Webcast
Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities - 11-18-2025	11/18/2025 1:00 PM	03:44:04

Miscellaneous 1:00pm - 5:00pm

Bill	Bill Title	Sponsor
H.202	An Act to close the achievement gap by addressing disparities in children's vision	Christine P. Barber
H.210	An Act to promote equity in school attendance requirements	Manny Cruz
H.215	An Act supporting the development of children experiencing homelessness	Marjorie C. Decker
H.216	An Act improving emergency housing assistance for children and families experiencing homelessness	Marjorie C. Decker
H.226	An Act to end child homelessness	Michelle M. DuBois
H.240	An Act requiring licensure for use of graduated electronic decelerators	William C. Galvin
H.245	An Act regarding the use of aversive therapy	Danielle W. Gregoire
H.260	An Act to study the role of resettlement agencies in the successful integration of new arrivals in the Commonwealth	David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf
H.279	An Act to ensure parity in social work licensure	James J. O'Day
H.280	An Act providing for insurance coverage for vision screening for children	Bridget Plouffe
H.285	An Act relative to health care quality for children and youth	Greg Schwartz
H.289	An Act establishing a special commission to study women and homelessness	Chynah Tyler
H.291	An Act establishing a special commission on two-generation approaches to childhood education	Steven Ultrino
H.4194	An Act pertaining to the estimated rate of inflation for social service programs	Colleen M. Garry
S.126	An Act requiring licensure for use of graduated electronic decelerators	Paul R. Feeney
S.143	An Act to study the role of resettlement agencies in the successful integration of new arrivals in the Commonwealth	Robyn K. Kennedy
S.166	An Act to close the achievement gap by addressing disparities in children's vision	Michael O. Moore
S.169	An Act relative to health care quality for children and youth	Jacob R. Oliveira
S.2714	An Act studying discrimination in public accommodation for individuals with service animals	Joan B. Lovely

Present (14)

Robyn K. Kennedy (SEN)

Jay D. Livingstone (HOU)

Kate Donaghue (HOU)

Michelle M. DuBois (HOU)

Lisa Field (HOU)

Judith A. Garcia (HOU)

David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf (HOU)

John J. Marsi (HOU)

Liz Miranda (SEN)

Thomas W. Moakley (HOU)

Patrick M. O'Connor (SEN)

Aaron L. Saunders (HOU)

Danillo A. Sena (HOU)

Alyson M. Sullivan-Almeida (HOU)

Absent (1)

Rebecca L. Rausch (SEN) *

Hearing Conflicts (2)

Lydia Edwards (SEN)
*Another committee hearing

James B. Eldridge (SEN)
*Another committee hearing

Hearing DetailsJoint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities

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