MA H711

Amends teacher layoff rules to protect teachers with professional teacher status from being laid off before non-professional status teachers or less qualified teachers holding similar positions for which they are certified

Creates layoff exemptions regardless of professional status for teachers who: graduated from district schools or "grow your own" programs in high-needs districts, work in top 20% highest-need or lowest-retention schools, are named Teacher of the Year, received highest performance ratings, or have linguistic proficiency in languages spoken by at least 5% of students or their families

Limits seniority to a tie-breaker role in layoff decisions, with job performance and student interests required as primary factors in determining qualifications

Requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to evaluate the law's impact on increasing teachers of color and report findings by June 30, 2031

Includes a sunset provision: takes effect April 30, 2026 and automatically repeals December 31, 2032