Following the first two weekends of the “BPS Sundays” pilot program, MassGOP leadership called for charter school students to have the chance at free admission to several of Boston’s cultural institutions.
“If Mayor Wu continues with the museum initiative, the Mayor should not exclude charter school students,” said MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale in a statement. “Just as families in non-charter school systems face financial struggles limiting access to these museums, so do many charter school families.”
The city launched the BPS Sundays program at the start of February, allowing students enrolled in BPS schools and up to three family members free entry to select museums and institutions on the first two Sundays of each month.
The pilot program is slated to last through August and covers entry into the Boston Children’s Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Science, New England Aquarium and Franklin Park Zoo. Typically, tickets to the aquarium are $34 for adults and $25 for children, and tickets to the science museum are $29 for adults and $24 for children.
Though the program covers about all BPS students, other school-age children in Boston do not qualify. These include Boston students enrolled in public charter schools — about 11,000 students as of 2021, according to BPS data — and METCO students — about 3,000 students, according to METCO data.
Carnevale noted that the charter schools are also public schools and called the decision to exclude the students “politically motivated.”
“I fail to see any justification to exclude children based on the type of public school they attend,” said Carnevale. “It’s unfair to the kids enrolled in charter schools.”
In a statement on the charter schools exclusion, a city spokesperson said the administration started with just the BPS community to “best understand how to engage community members and improve this program.”
“We’re grateful to all our partners in making possible this first-ever collaboration across so many of Boston’s world-renowned cultural institutions to ensure our young people are at home in the places that show them the world,” the city statement read. … “As we measure and learn, we hope to add more partners and resources to be able to expand the program even further.”
City officials have reported an uptick in attendance at the institutions through the first two Sundays, and data showing a sizable number of first-time goers recorded at the Boston Children’s Museum.
