Tag: Maryland Legislative Session 2018

Legislative Update: School Calendars

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by Lori Morrow  

Update as of March 30: The Prince George’s County Board of Education voted unanimously last night to restore spring break. Schools will open on April 9. See the PGCPS press release here.

Clearly Mother Nature has her own agenda this year, and it did not include allowing spring to start on time. The late season snow, coupled with the recent “wind day,” are wreaking havoc with spring break plans for families and staff. Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) has announced that it will use both April inclement weather days that were programmed when the 2017-18 school calendar was created, as well as an additional day on April 4 (see PGCPS’s March 22 announcement here). The two days in June and one make-up day in February have already been used.

This year’s school calendar is the first since Governor Hogan’s executive order that mandated all public schools start after Labor Day and end by June 15th. The compacted schedule has created challenges for PGCPS administration and other districts around the state trying to balance instructional days with professional development, state-mandated holidays, and possible inclement weather. While Maryland law does have a process for waivers, the State Board of Education has not approved any waivers to the 180-day requirement yet this year.

Unfortunately we cannot control the weather, but there are two bills before the Maryland General Assembly that may allow for greater flexibility in future school calendars by modifying the June end date:

SB 729/HB 553 would authorize a county board of education to extend the length of the school year for up to 5 days without approval from the State Board of Education. The bill was passed unanimously by the Senate and is scheduled for a hearing in the House of Delegates at 1 PM on Thursday, March 29.

HB 679 would require public schools to complete the school year on or before the third Friday in June.  This would help account for the variability in the length of the school year because Labor Day is not a fixed date.  This bill passed the House with a 125-12 vote but has not been scheduled for a hearing in the Senate.

How can you help? Contact your State Delegates and Senators and ask that they support SB 729/HB 553. Phone numbers and email addresses are available online.  You can also submit testimony by writing or in person for the March 29th hearing.

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Prince George’s Delegation Considers Eleven Education Bills

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by Lori Morrow

Delegate Angela Angel (D-25) hosted a legislative update at the Prince George’s County Education Association (PGCEA) on February 28 to discuss the eleven education bills pending before the Prince George’s Delegation this session.Over twenty community Image 2-20-16 at 4.28 PMmembers attended to learn more about the legislation and ask questions of the delegate. Slides were presented with a brief synopsis of each of the bills.

Theresa Dudley, President of the PGCEA, spoke briefly to open the forum. Ms. Dudley encouraged everyone to contact state senators in favor of House Bill (HB) 196, which would fully repeal the 2013 changes to the Prince George’s County Board of Education governance structure. She expressed concern that the current structure politicizes the school board and does not provide proper checks and balances.

Throughout the presentation, Delegate Angel emphasized the need for the community to be involved in the legislative process. She said her purpose in hosting the session was to “educate, engage, and empower.” The most powerful statement is when community members show up in Annapolis during the legislative session, but she encouraged everyone to call, email and use social media to reach out to representatives to share their support or opposition.

  • HB 216, Student Hearing and Vision Screenings: Delegate Angel supports this bill that would help identify how many students are not getting the services they need despite screenings. A community member asked why legislation is required to do this, but the delegate explained that the data collected can be used to find out why students aren’t getting the services or figure out ways to fund services for families that cannot afford them.
  • HB 215, Elementary School Limit on Class Size: Delegate Angel stated that this is likely to pass and has already been passed by the Prince George’s House Delegation. She believes that Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) currently has the capacity to meet this requirement. (Local bills that are not passed by PGC Delegation will not go forward in the legislative process.)
  • HB 214, Equity in Education: This bill was created to address an issue of charter schools that require higher cost logo uniforms that are not widely available. Delegate Angel says some schools have already revised their uniform requirements.
  • HB 185, Students With Disability Report: This bill would collect data to find out how many student accessibility needs are actually being met.
  • HB 186/207/196, Related to PGCPS Governance: Delegate Angel explained that these bills overlap and that if multiple bills pass, they would likely be amended or merged. HB 196 would fully repeal 2013 changes to the Board of Education structure. Theresa Dudley and Bob Ross, NAACP, expressed their opposition to HB 186, which addresses only the 2/3 voting requirement to override the CEO’s decision and the selection of the vice chair. To date, the PGC House Delegation has passed only HB186.
  • HB 184, PGCPS Inspector General: Delegate Angel explained that this is separate from the Inspector General bill proposed by the Governor. This IG would report to the PGCPS Board of Education and County Council.  A question was asked relative to the Internal Audit office that already exists, but she explained that Internal Audit does not report beyond the school system.  Per the fiscal note, the IG would have six full-time positions and be funded from the PGCPS budget.
  • HB 241, Telecommunications Transmission Facility on School Grounds: This bill would dictate public notification for companies proposing to install cel towers on a school.

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