Beginning this fall, Massasoit Community College in Brockton will become the first two-year school in the state to offer a degree in Black Studies.

Only a handful of community colleges in the United States offer such degrees, with several of them located in California and one in Philadelphia. The new offering at Massasoit comes as political leaders in other states are attempting to limit diverse curricula.

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn race-conscious admissions, there has been a movement toward ending legacy admissions. Recently, Wesleyan University announced its decision to do just that. 

Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a New York Democrat, wants more institutions to follow suit, and his bill, if enacted, would prohibit colleges from participating in federal student-aid programs if they offer admissions based on legacy or donor status. Bowman talks about the legislation and legacy admissions in this interview.

Photo: Andrea Morales

Many schools struggle to find teachers, and many teachers struggle with student loan debt. So the federal government’s long-running Teacher Loan Forgiveness program seems like a win-win. 

But new research suggests that the federal government’s educator debt forgiveness program is not keeping teachers in the classroom and probably isn’t attracting new ones either. Researchers say the program’s complexity limits its reach, and few teachers take advantage of it each year.