Tarsky Tackles Education in First Month

February 7, 2025
• Needham Local visited state Rep. Josh Tarsky, D-Needham, at the State House Wednesday to recap his 30-plus days on Beacon Hill and learn what’s to come.

Rep. Josh Tarsky’s first month in office has been a busy one, but that’s sort of his own doing.

In routine talks with his legislative aide, Tarsky considers how to “get the calendar as full as we can.”

His schedule Wednesday was one of those days, which started with a carpool to the State House with his aide, Kyle McGrath, followed by an instructional talk by the Massachusetts Civil Air Patrol, budget discussions with a colleague, a “Go Red for Women” event and later, back home, for an engagement at the Needham Sheraton alongside Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll.

Keeping informed of local politics also comes with the job, Tarsky said, and attending municipal meetings is essential to that.

“It is a lot of meetings,” Tarsky said. “It takes time to build trust and rapport with all these folks, so it’s going to be an ongoing process.”

Tarsky represents the 13th Norfolk District, which includes Needham, Dover and part of Medfield.

The State House proves a daunting place. Between five floors, a complicated mailroom and confusing staircases, it’s easy to get turned around. On Wednesday, Tarsky admitted he’s lost his way once or twice, acknowledging they “need a real tour.”

Tarsky’s home base is a desk he shares with McGrath, surrounded by several other freshman legislators in the basement — a room dubbed the bullpen. Calls and emails from constituents have largely centered on unemployment assistance, and the pair direct inquiries and pass along information on filed legislation.

Issues range from the large-scale, such as the housing crisis and MBTA Communities Act, to the details, like the need for a sidewalk at Chickering Elementary in Dover.

Tarsky said he’s striking a balance between the need to stay apprised of local issues and his responsibility as a state legislator.

“I’m basically a liaison to the municipality and the state,” he said, “and my role is to filter resources to them, but you can’t do that effectively if you don’t understand why they’re important or why they’re being asked for.”

Education dominated the nine bills Tarsky filed this session, including one that would remove cell phones from schools — a measure Tarsky himself implemented while principal in Holbrook. He previously provided input on the matter to the attorney general, which culminated in the proposed STUDY Act.

Tarsky’s other bills aim to increase school resource officers, establish an in-school suspension system and bolster mental health support for students.

“I wouldn’t’ve run for office if I didn’t think education was the thing that’s most important for the state and the country to do well,” Tarsky said.

The freshman lawmaker doesn’t consider those bills a trial run, but rather a concerted effort to make a difference.

“I think if we pass these bills, schools will be better off,” he said, “so we will push to get them passed, whatever that looks like.”

With committee assignments on the horizon, Tarsky hopes to earn a spot on the Education, Transportation or Veterans and Federal Affairs Committee (he served in the U.S. Army Special Forces). First-term representatives, however, don’t typically join their first-choice committees.

Former Rep. Denise Garlick, who spent 14 years on Beacon Hill, serves as “a wealth of information,” Tarsky said. He and his predecessor meet at least once a week, he said. Tarsky put forward a resolution from Garlick requesting a commission be formed to assess the effects of social media on children.

Tarsky and state Sen. Becca Rausch, a fellow Needhamite, jointly filed two bills: one on special education funding, and another seeking to create recovery houses for students with substance use disorder. Rausch also provides an invaluable resource as Tarsky acclimates to the State House, he said.

In the coming weeks, Tarsky expects to receive his committee assignments, which could set the tone for the rest of the legislative session. Even still, there’s still much to learn, he said.

“I have expertise in certain things, specifically education and military, and I know the law, but there’s so many things that people are passionate about… I need to know more, and I think that’s going to be constant for definitely the foreseeable future,” he said. “I think it’s just ingrained in the job.”