Advocates testify in support of the ACE Act
From left to right: Nicole Agois (Managing Director of Open Door Arts), Emily Ruddock, karen Krolak (Founder and co-Artistic Director of Monkeyhouse), and Charles Baldwin.
On Monday, September 22, 2025, the Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities held a public hearing on bills related to accessibility in the Commonwealth. H.224/S.160, An Act improving accessibility in the creative economy, or the “ACE Act,” were two of the bills included in the hearing docket. The bills are sponsored by Representative Dan Donahue (D-Worcester) and Senator Paul Mark (D-Becket). The ACE Act was developed in partnership with MASSCreative and more than 500 arts and culture advocates who participated in the creation of this session’s Creative Sector Agenda. It is endorsed by 178 individual artists and creative organizations across the Commonwealth.
The ACE Act would create a grant program that would allow non-profit, for-profit, and public arts and cultural organizations to access needed funding to make their programs and facilities more accessible to people with disabilities. The bill is a response to 2022 and 2024 reports published by Open Door Arts and the Mass Cultural Council, which assessed the creative sector’s state of accessibility for individuals and organizations. Of the cultural organizations that participated in the survey, 66% cited a lack of funding as the primary barrier preventing them from becoming more accessible and inclusive.
Additionally:
63% of organizations cited barriers due to limited staff;
29% to physical or facilities barriers; and
28% to limited skills or training.
65% of organizations that applied for Cultural Facilities Funding between 2023-2024 reported they had accessibility-related projects scheduled for the next two-to-three years. The total amount of funding needed just for capital projects in 2024 across all projects was $1.33 billion.
With respect to individual reporting, 31% of individuals reported difficulties navigating physical cultural spaces. 58% ranked arts and cultural organizations as “somewhat accessible.” 26% of respondents cited that untrained or unhelpful staff or volunteers impeded their ability to participate in the sector, while 26% stated a lack of or limited accessible parking. Many others reported difficulties with sensory experiences, requesting accommodations, and other limiting factors.
“We’ve learned that organizations overwhelmingly want to improve accessibility, but many things are getting in the way. Access starts with commitment, but it also requires significant resources. Accessibility varies widely across organizations, and as a result people with disabilities often experience harm, distrust, and fatigue — which leads to disengagement.
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The ACE Act addresses these issues and concerns by establishing a grant program to improve capital and programmatic access to the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences sector in Massachusetts. The program would be funded through 1/10 of 1% of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services budget, an estimated $28 million, and would be administered by the Office on Disability.
The ACE Act establishes a commission consisting of a majority of individuals with disabilities and experienced disabilities advocates to determine grant criteria and administer the fund. Eligible uses for the fund would include training or comprehensive support for organizations, individualized consulting services related to improving accessibility, and capital improvements such as constructing ramps, elevators, power lifts, and signage and assistive listening systems. The commission would be tasked with considering racial, geographic, and programmatic diversity within the cultural sector when awarding grants.
“We need a creative sector that works for everyone, not just some people. We have a real opportunity with the ACE Act to make sure that Massachusetts not only leads the way in having a vibrant arts sector, but in setting the standard for what it could look like to have an inclusive and accessible sector.
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The ACE Act was initially proposed during the 2023-2024 legislative session and was reported favorably from the same Joint Committee. This legislation is modeled off of the successful Municipal ADA Improvement Grant Program in Massachusetts.
Advocates are calling on members of the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities to issue favorable reports for the bills again this session and for the Legislature to pass the policies before the end of the 2025-2026 term.
Learn more about the ACE Act:
