North Reading Public Schools Awarded $50K Hate Crime Prevention Grant

House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading) and Senate Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr (R-Gloucester) joined with North Reading Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patrick Daly to announce that the North Reading Public Schools have been awarded a $50,000 Hate Crime Prevention Grant from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

According to DESE, these grants can be used to “establish or expand programs designed to prevent hate crimes and incidences of bias in selected schools.” These programs focus on “collaborations with local organizations including local human rights organizations that have ongoing local relationships and expertise in promoting equity, building positive school climate, preventing hate crimes, and addressing bias-motivated incidents.”

North Reading was one of 10 public school districts to receive funding under the state program. A total of $461,920 was awarded in the latest round of grants, ranging from $23,250 to $50,000, the maximum amount allowed under the program.

“We are delighted to once again receive grant funding to support our ongoing efforts to address the needs and implement strategies based upon the Governor's Task Force on Hate Crimes and using the resources of the Hate Crimes Prevention Resource Guide,” said Dr. Daly. “In partnership with Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society we are looking to offer professional development and training sessions for students, staff, and the community that will help us to meet our goal of improving the policies, procedures, and protocols for reporting and responding to incidents of hate crime and bias in a timely, consistent, and effective manner. We will also use a portion of these $50,000 in grant funds to support evidence-based programs that promote awareness and understanding and partner with local law enforcement and other community-based organizations to help prevent hate crimes and incidents of bias-motivated conduct.”

“Our public schools have an important role to play in educating students about the importance of identifying, responding to, and preventing discriminatory and prejudicial behavior that singles out a particular group of people,” said Representative Jones. “The North Reading Public Schools have done an extraordinary job to try to pro-actively address this problem, and this grant funding will allow them to continue their admirable efforts to deter hate crimes.”

“Hate crimes present a serious threat not only to our public safety, but also to the fabric of our society, and we must do everything possible both to identify and confront them when they occur, and prevent them from happening in the first place,” said Senator Tarr. “North Reading's public schools are clearly committed to working effectively to educate and empower students to be leaders on this front, and these grant funds will provide critical support for those efforts. Moreover, the award of this grant rewards the tremendous work of the school department's leadership in this important area for our society.”

Legislation signed into law in December of 2021 required Massachusetts school districts to teach middle and high school students about the history of genocide in a way that aligns with the content standards laid out in the 2018 Massachusetts History and Social Science Framework beginning with the 2022-2023 academic year. According to DESE, the intent of this law is to promote a broader understanding of human rights issues in general; to examine the patterns of genocide that show how prejudice and hatred impact societies; and to reject group-specific targeting and prejudice that can lead to violence and genocide.

In September, the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) released the 2022 Hate Crime Report for Massachusetts, which indicated there were 440 reports of hate crime incidents in the state last year, compared to 406 in 2021, making it the highest number reported since 2002. The majority of incidents (53.2 percent) were reportedly motivated by prejudice against a particular race and ethnicity or national origin, followed by religion (21.1 percent), sexual orientation (19.7 percent), gender identity (5 percent), and gender (1 percent).

On November 20, Governor Maura Healey announced the creation of a Hate Crimes Awareness and Response Team (HART) within the Massachusetts State Police. This new unit will be “dedicated to enhancing federal, state and local partnerships and liaising with community leaders to strengthen statewide response to hate crimes and hate-based incidents.”