Education on September 22, 2026

The Boston City Council held a hearing on September 22, 2026, focused on the transparency and accountability of private fundraising in Boston Public Schools (BPS). The discussion centered on disparities in private fundraising capacity among schools, the impact on educational equity, and the need for public disclosure of fundraising data. Experts from New York City shared their experience with legislation requiring annual public reporting of PTA fundraising, which revealed significant inequities and inactive parent organizations. Advocates and BPS administration representatives discussed current efforts, including fiscal sponsorship services by the Boston Education Development Fund (BEDF), the use of the opportunity index to allocate district funds equitably, and the challenges of supporting underresourced schools. Council members expressed interest in adopting similar transparency measures in Boston, improving support for fundraising infrastructure, and ensuring equitable distribution of resources. The hearing concluded with public testimony highlighting the real-world effects of fundraising disparities and calls for a public dashboard to track private fundraising across schools.