Education

In 2020, Legislators debated and passed the Blueprint for Maryland. Unfortunately the bill was vetoed by Governor Hogan, but his veto was overridden in 2021. Since then, our Issue Team has been inactive, but UULM-MD still follows

implementation of the Blueprint as well as other education bills related to our shared UU values. In some cases, we provide testimony when the issue requires it. The table below shows the bills we are tracking in the current session.

Subject	Bill Number	Title	Current Status	Current Location	Synopsis
Blueprint Revisions	HB0490	Education - The Blueprint for Maryland's Future - Revisions	First Reading Education, Energy, and the Environment	Education, Energy, and the Environment	Extending the time period during which a certain method is used to calculate compensatory education enrollment through fiscal year 2027; altering the qualifications for an initial teacher certificate; requiring the State Department of Education to suspend operation of the Expert Review Team Program during the 2026-2027 school year; requiring the Accountability and Implementation Board and the Department to identify a methodology for counting low-income students for purposes of certain funding formulas; etc.
Phone-Free Schools Act	HB0525	County Boards of Education - Student Electronic Communication Device Use Policy - Establishment (Joanne C. Benson Maryland Phone-Free Schools Act)	Passed Enrolled	Governor	Requiring each county board of education to develop and implement, not later than the 2027-2028 school year, a policy prohibiting the use of certain electronic communication devices by a student during the academic school day; and prohibiting the policy from restricting the use of an electronic communication device for purposes documented in a student's individual education program, to address a documented health issue, as part of a lesson as directed by an instructor, to access language translation tools, or to meet approved caregiving duties.
Excused Absences for Civic Engagement	HB0575	Public Schools - Student Attendance - Excused Absences for Civic Engagement	Passed Enrolled	Education, Energy, and the Environment	Requiring each county board of education to adopt an attendance policy to excuse certain absences for civic engagement by public school students, subject to certain policies and procedures; clarifying that civic engagement may include testimony virtually or in person at a hearing of a public facing body, meeting with members of the public facing body, contributing to the consideration, development, or implementation of policy issues, or participation in the Maryland General Assembly Page Program; etc.
Public Schools – Culture and History of Palestine	HB1202	Public Schools - Content Standards, Curriculum, and Bullying Policies - Culture and History of Palestine	Hearing 3/10 at 1:00 p.m.	Ways and Means	Requiring the State Board of Education to develop certain content standards regarding the culture and history of Palestine to be included in certain State standards for social studies; requiring the Department to develop certain curriculum guides and instructional resources regarding the culture and history of Palestine in alignment with certain content standards; requiring each public school to include Palestinian culture and history in the social studies curriculum beginning in the 2027-2028 school year; etc.
Blueprint Revisions	SB0311	Education - The Blueprint for Maryland's Future - Revisions	Passed Enrolled	Governor	Extending the time period during which a certain method is used to calculate compensatory education enrollment through fiscal year 2027; repealing a termination date for the use of funds under the Concentration of Poverty Grant Program for the purpose of providing certain programs; altering the qualifications for an initial teacher certificate; requiring the State Department of Education to suspend operation of the Expert Review Team Program during the 2026-2027 school year; etc.
Phone-Free Schools Act	SB0928	County Boards of Education - Student Electronic Communication Device Use Policy - Establishment (Maryland Phone-Free Schools Act)	Hearing 4/01 at 1:00 p.m.	Ways and Means	Requiring each county board of education to develop and implement, not later than the 2027-2028 school year, a policy prohibiting the use of certain electronic communication devices by a student during the academic school day; and prohibiting the policy from restricting the use of an electronic communication device for purposes documented in a student's individual education program, to address a documented health issue, to access language translation tools under certain circumstances, or to meet approved caregiving duties; etc.

Value Statement	Related Policy or Information
Every child should have a quality education to advance their opportunties for personal development and gainful employment	Maryland should adopt comprehensive and well researched legislation such as the "Blueprint for Maryland" to transform our current educational system to align with the top world class educational systems.
Children should be protected from harm motivated by racial animus	Local school systems need to take action to prevent hate crimes and other harmful acts of racism throughout all levels of Maryland schools.
Children should have equal access to resources needed for learning	Local school systems need to address inequities in education revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as access to computers and internet that are essential for remote learning.

Education

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