Boston Council Hearing Surfaces Discrimination Claims at BPS and Police Department

BOSTON — May 29, 2024 — Boston City Council equity hearing exposes diversity failures at BPS and BPD, with no formal votes taken. Councilor Julia M. Mejia chaired a virtual hearing of the Committee on Government Accountability, Transparency, and Accessibility on Docket 0585, drawing testimony that the cost of paid administrative leave at Boston Public Schools rose from $1.2 million in 2019 to $2.7 million in 2022, that BPS has never met the 25 percent Black teacher threshold required under the federal Garrity order, and that of roughly 80 officers promoted to sergeant from BPD's 2020 exam list, only about 15 were people of color. Boston Teachers Union elementary representative Leah Serena testified that 16 of the 26 disciplinary hearings she personally tracked in the past two school years involved educators of color, and that 66 percent of the 337 educators on emergency licenses are educators of color. Police Commissioner Michael Cox defended a September 2024 promotional exam as part of a culture-change strategy, while Councilor Benjamin J. Weber and retired officer Larry Ellison of the Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers argued for a delay to allow more officers of color on the existing list to be promoted. Mejia said the hearing will remain in committee and a second session will be held before the next school year.