BOARD OF EDUCATION OF HARFORD COUNTY
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
March 14, 2011
Background Information:
The Maryland General Assembly meets in Annapolis each year for 90 days to act on legislative measures including the State’s annual budget. The 428th Session began January 12, 2011 and adjourns April 11, 2011. To date approximately 1,331 House Bills, 970 Senate Bills, 10 House Joint Resolutions and 6 Senate Joint Resolutions for a total of 2,317 legislative measures (as of March 6) have been introduced in the 2011 Maryland General Assembly. Of those, approximately 504 (206 Senate and 298 House) represent the operational and instructional side of issues facing our public schools and employees. Other measures are included in the bill count as informational only and are carefully watched for possible amendments and subsequent impact to local boards of education and school systems.
Discussion:
The following bills are presented for the Board of Education’s consideration. The first section contains bills on which the Board is requested to take a formal position. The second section contains bills for your information. A Board position is not being requested at this time. The third section contains bills addressed by the Board’s Legislative Platform. That being so, no vote is needed and we will continue to advocate the Board’s interests consistent with the 2011 Legislative Program.
Superintendent’s Recommendation:
The Superintendent recommends that the Board of Education of Harford County adopt the Legislative Update as presented.
Section 1: BOE Vote Requested
Bill / Title / Synopsis/Recommended Position /
HB 1141 / Juvenile Court - Truancy Court - Petition
Delegate James
This bill would repeal a certain requirement that a certain criminal charge against a certain person must be filed and dismissed or stetted before filing a truancy petition in certain judicial circuits that have established Truancy Reduction Pilot Programs.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/bills/hb/hb1141f.pdf
SUPPORT
This bill was introduced at the request of Judge Carr who feels one of the impediments encountered in getting referrals on younger children is created by the statute (Section 3-8C-06 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article) which requires that before a Truancy Court petition can be filed in the Juvenile Court, the custodial parents(s) must be criminally charged in District Court and those charges must be dismissed or stetted. The filing of criminal charges is obviously a very serious matter and one that the local authorities have in the past used sparingly and only in the most extreme cases. It also prolongs the period of time that must pass before a case can be referred to the Truancy Court. Judge Carr asked the Harford County Delegation to amend the statute to delete this particular requirement, or at the very least, provide that it is not necessary in Harford County cases. If given the opportunity to allow direct referrals to this program for younger children without the cumbersome criminal proceeding being required first, Harford’s Truancy Court can become more effective and better serve the children of Harford County.
Section 2: BOE Vote Not Recommended at the Time
Bill / Title / Synopsis/Recommended Position /
HB 712
SB 104 / Early Child Care and Education Enhancement Program - Annual Report
Introduced by Delegates Hucker, Braveboy, Carr, Gutierrez, Ivey, Kaiser, Luedtke, Olszewski, Rosenberg, and V. Turner
This bill requires the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to include in its annual report on the Judith P. Hoyer Early Child Care and Education Enhancement Program specified information on participating agencies and programs. The annual report must provide a description of the Hoyer Programs and participating agencies and programs’ expenditures, enrollment, and statewide performance data, including school readiness data disaggregated by program and by jurisdiction. MSDE must submit its annual report by November 1 each year rather than by January 1.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/bills/hb/hb0712f.pdf
http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/bills/sb/sb0104t.pdf
NO POSITION
In its annual report on the Judith P. Hoyer Early Child Care and Education Enhancement Program, MSDE must include information on the implementation of the program and a description of the program’s expenditures. The report is due by January 1 annually.
Bill / Title / Synopsis/
Recommended Position /
HB 470
SB 167 / Higher Education - Tuition Charges - Maryland High School Students
Introduced by Delegates Hixson, Alston, Anderson, Arora, Barkley, Barnes, Barve, Bobo, Braveboy, Cane, Carr, Carter, Conaway, Cullison, Dumais, Feldman, Frush, Gaines, Gilchrist, Gutierrez, Harrison, Haynes, Healey, Howard, Hubbard, Hucker, Ivey, Jones, Kaiser, A. Kelly, Kramer, Lee, Love, Luedtke, McIntosh, A. Miller, Mizeur, Murphy, Nathan-Pulliam, Niemann, Oaks, Pena-Melnyk, Proctor, Reznik, B. Robinson, S. Robinson, Rosenberg, Ross, Stukes, Summers, Tarrant, F. Turner, V. Turner, Valderrama, Vallario, Waldstreicher, Washington, and Zucker and Senators Ramirez, Madaleno, Benson, Conway, Currie, Ferguson, Forehand, Garagiola, Gladden, Jones-Rodwell, Kelley, King, Manno, Montgomery, Pinsky, Pugh, Raskin, and Robey
This bill exempts individuals who attended and graduated from Maryland high schools from paying nonresident tuition at public institutions of higher education in Maryland. Documented immigrants who are in the country on student visas do not qualify for the exemption, but otherwise the exemption applies regardless of residency status. The governing board of each public institution of higher education must adopt policies to implement the bill.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/bills/hb/hb0470f.pdf
http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/bills/sb/sb0167f.pdf
NO POSITION
Because of their inability to establish permanent residency, many immigrants, both documented and undocumented, are considered nonresidents for tuition purposes regardless of how long they have lived in Maryland. Undocumented students are not eligible for federal student aid or loans as well as most State financial aid since they cannot legally establish State residency. HB 253 of 2003 would have extended in-state tuition benefits to undocumented and other immigrants who attended and graduated from Maryland high schools. The bill passed the General Assembly but was vetoed by the Governor. In his veto letter, Governor Ehrlich gave several policy reasons for vetoing the bill. First, the Governor stated that granting in-state status to undocumented immigrants violates the spirit of the federal Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 and would reward illegal behavior. Second, the Governor raised concerns that the fiscal cost to the State was indeterminate and could be potentially large. He noted that additional community college students included in the enrollment counts would increase the State’s obligations under the Senator John A. Cade funding formula. Finally, the Governor raised concerns that the bill would allow undocumented immigrants to take in-state slots from legal Maryland residents.
Section 3: BOE Vote Not Needed – Established Position in 2011 Legislative Program
Position to be Taken
HB 526
SB 610 / Education - Public Charter Schools - Hiring of Certificated Employees
Introduced by Delegates Rosenberg, Ivey, Kaiser, and Luedtke and Senators Ferguson, Benson, Currie, King, McFadden, Pugh, and Young
This bill establishes that, notwithstanding any other provision of law or contract, the hiring of qualified and certificated staff by a public charter school is governed by mutual consent between the local board of education and the charter school operator. Presently, existing obligations or contract rights are not impaired by the bill’s provisions.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/bills/hb/hb0526f.pdf
http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/bills/sb/sb0610f.pdf
OPPOSE
Amending the law as proposed by House Bill 526 to permanently limit the school system’s role regarding charter school staffing decisions by empowering charter school operators to mutually agree, or disagree, with such decisions. In this way, MABE believes this bill would lead to unnecessary, and potentially intractable, conflicts between the charter school and the school system. Also, the bill would shift too much control over hiring decisions to charter operators, thereby limiting the necessary authority of school systems to assign and transfer staff based on the best interests of the students, and the system as a whole.
Bill / Title / Synopsis
Position to be Taken
HB 751 / Agriculture - Jane Lawton Farm-to-School Program - Reporting
Introduced by Delegates Luedtke, Barkley, Carr, Frick, Kaiser, S. Robinson, Rosenberg, and Waldstreicher
This bill requires each local educational agency participating in the Jane Lawton Farm-to-School Program to report to the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA), by January 1 of each year, the types and amounts of farm products purchased from farms in the State. Under current law, The Jane Lawton Farm-to-School Program was established within MDA pursuant to Chapters 371 and 372 of 2008 for various purposes generally aimed at promoting and facilitating the sale of farm products grown in the State to Maryland schools. The program is also charged with establishing promotional events that promote State agriculture and farm products to children through school meal and classroom programs, including a Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week. No reporting requirements associated with the program are currently specified in statute.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/bills/hb/hb0751f.pdf
OPPOSE
The administrative requirements could be somewhat onerous in evaluating every purchase order to determine the exact farm that a product comes from. Additionally, school food is governed by numerous laws and regulations on both state and federal levels; therefore, further regulation of this particular program is not necessary as the Maryland Department of Agriculture reports that all of the public school systems in the State participate in the Jane Lawton Farm-to-School Program, and in 2010, over 30 different Maryland farms provided fresh Maryland-grown agriculture products to the schools. The December 2010 report on the Maryland Food Policy Workgroup Summer Study (conducted to “explore opportunities for systems-based and policy-level changes that improve nutrition and healthy food access in Maryland”) indicated that approximately $17.9 million is spent on produce for Maryland schools each year, but that many factors influence school systems’ ability to purchase the produce locally, including a limited growing season, limited quantities, pricing, distribution issues, and customer acceptance.
Bill / Title / Synopsis
Position to be Taken
HB 1062 / Public Schools - Meal Menus - Nutrition Information
Introduced by Delegates Niemann, Carter, and Glenn
This bill requires each local school to list next to an item on its published menu the number of calories contained in the menu item, beginning in the 2011-2012 school year. The bill takes effect July 1, 2011.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/bills/hb/hb1062f.pdf
OPPOSE
The Harford County Board of Education appreciates the bill’s intent to ensure that schools provide parents and students with information regarding the nutritional value of the meals provided by their local school system. However, the Board consistently opposes legislative efforts to dictate educational policies and administrative procedures, respectfully requesting the General Assembly’s continued acknowledgement that these matters are most appropriately the responsibility of local and state boards of education and professional educators. Furthermore, there is simply no money to support new programs, services, or reporting requirements. At a time when school systems are confronting unprecedented local, state, and federal funding cuts, this bill would mandate what some may already be doing, but also what others have opted not to do, with some systems reporting the need to hire additional staff to implement.
Bill / Title / Synopsis
Position to be Taken
HB 1067 / Education - Public Charter Schools - Appeals, Policies, and Regulations
Introduced by Delegates Ivey, Afzali, Glass, Murphy, Rosenberg, Ross, and Walker
This bill requires that charter school policies developed by local school systems include specific criteria, guidelines, and procedures related to the application procedure for new charter schools, and requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to hear appeals of rejected charter school applications de novo. SBE is required to develop regulations to implement the bill’s provisions, and local board policies must be consistent with SBE’s regulations and must be approved by SBE. Regulations developed by SBE must establish specific criteria, guidelines, and procedures for the development of a charter school policy by each local school system. The regulations must include procedures for applicants to view documentation and timelines related to the establishment of a public charter school, including applications, review of applications, and appeal procedures for the denial of applications.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2011rs/bills/hb/hb1067f.pdf
OPPOSE
Charter school applications to operate public charter schools within a local school system should continue to be decided first by local boards of education, and appealable to the State Board of Education under the same standard of review that applies to all other local policy decisions. This standard of review empowers the State Board to ensure that local boards are not arbitrary, unreasonable, or illegal in their decisions, without allowing the State Board to substitute its judgment for that of the local board. This standard of review has withstood the test of time; resulting in reversals, remands, and instructions to reconsider, without allowing for the type of state dictation of local policy proposed under this bill. Furthermore, the Board opposes this bill’s proposal to allow de novo review (de novo is a Latin expression meaning “from the beginning,” “afresh,” “anew,” “beginning again.”) of local policy decisions on whether to open a new public charter school; decisions that should be affirmed when no error is found in the application review process employed by the local board. The State Board should not, and does not desire to be, given the authority to render de novo decisions not grounded in the record established, and the decision made, by the local board.
Bill / Title / Synopsis
Position to be Taken
HB 1081 / Education - Public Schools - Petitions for Intervention
Delegates Bates, Aumann, Elliott, Hough, Kipke, McDonough, and W. Miller
This bill authorizes parents or legal guardians of students attending a public school, or that would matriculate into the public school, to petition the local board of education to implement an intervention if the school is subject to corrective action for at least one full school year and continues to fail to make adequate yearly progress (AYP). If more than 50% of the parents or legal guardians sign the petition, the local school board must implement the requested intervention. The intervention may be an educational choice model, a restart model, or a school closure model. Any student of, or a student who would normally attend, a school petitioned for the educational choice model intervention must have the option of either using a monetary scholarship equal to a specified amount to attend any private school or attending another public school, including one outside the county in which the student resides, free of charge. The State Board of Education must adopt regulations to implement the bill.