MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION

Rockville, Maryland

February 10, 2020

MEMORANDUM

To: Members of the Board of Education

From: Danielle M. Susskind

Coordinator, Legislative Affairs

Subject: Recommended Positions on Education Legislation

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide information regarding proposed legislation that

could impact Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). These bills have been analyzed to

determine any impact on MCPS, as well as whether or not they are consistent with the legislative

annual priorities (hereafter platform) that were adopted by the Board on October 28, 2019.

Attachment A provides the recommended positions on the bills not covered by the platform that

may require a position from the Board. Attachment B contains a list of bills that are covered under

the platform and for which no action is necessary. Attachment C contains bills that are included

just for your information and do not require a position.

Each bill is listed below with a hyperlink to the bill text. To access the text online, right click each

hyperlink (bill number). If there is no hyperlink the text of the bill is not yet available (likely in

cross filed bills where the other bill is the same)

Bills with Recommended Positions (Attachment A)

HB0208- Public Schools - Provision of Menstrual Hygiene Products

HB0331/SB0605-Public Schools – Medical Cannabis – Guidelines for Administration to

Students (Connor’s Courage)

HB0617/SB0604-Public and Nonpublic Schools - Medical Cannabis - Policy for Administration

during School Hours and Events

HB0457/SB0371- Environment - Drinking Water Outlets in School Buildings - Testing for

Elevated Level of Lead

SB0992/HB1475- School Buildings - Drinking Water Outlets - Elevated Level of Lead (Safe

School Drinking Water Act)

HB0497-Education - School Physical Examinations - Physician Assistant

HB0516/SB0542- Public School Students - Daily Physical Activity (Student Health and Fitness

Act)

DISCUSSION/ACTION

HB0615-Education - School Construction - Pedestrian Safety Plans

HB0624/SB0593-Juvenile Law - Child Interrogation Protection Act

HB0675/SB0549- Education – Public Schools – Seizure Action Plans (Brynleigh Act)

SB0418/HB1522- Education Savings Account Program – Established

SB0798/HB1513- Education - Juvenile Services Education System - Establishment, Powers, and

Duties

Curriculum

HB0119- Commission on African American Patriots in the American Revolutionary War

Employee Relations

HB0163 -Labor and Employment - Labor Organizations - Right to Work

HB0251/SB0236- Teachers' Retirement and Pension Systems - Obsolete Reemployment

Provisions

HB0312/SB0473- Discrimination in Employment - Reasonable Accommodations for Applicants

with Disabilities

HB0452-Income Tax - Subtraction Modification for Classroom Supplies Purchased by Teachers

- Alteration

HB0476- Education - Certification in Secondary Education Content Areas - Expanded Grade

Range

HB0794- Education - Educational Interpreters - Certification Requirements

SB0241- Maryland Healthy Working Families Act - Applicability

SB0296-Family Law – Preventing or Interfering With Report of Suspected Child Abuse or

Neglect – Statute of Limitations

Special Education

HB0184/SB0783- Special Education - Judicial Actions - Attorney's Fees and Related Costs

Public Information Act

HB0401/SB0758- Public Information Act - Remote Access, Fee Complaints, Fee Waivers, and

Inspection of Judicial Records (Open Government, Better Government Act)

Bills Covered Under the Platform (Attachment B)

Fully Funding Education

HB0169- Expansion of Commercial Gaming - Referendum - Sports Wagering

HB0500- State Lottery - Unclaimed Prizes - Distribution to Local Boards of Education

Supporting Physical, Social, & Psychological Well-Being for All Students

HB0277/SB0367- State Department of Education - Guidelines on Trauma-Informed Approach

HB0409- Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Participation of School-Based Health Centers

- Regulations

SB0322- Public Schools – Health Education – Gambling Dangers and Addiction

Preparing All Students to be College, Career, and Community Ready

HB0769/SB0133- Education - High School Students - Graduation and Attendance Credit for

Vocational Training

Preserving Local Autonomy over Education

HB0284- Education - Maryland High School Diploma - Civics Test Requirement

HB0347/SB0275- Education - Community and Local Accountability for Struggling Schools

(CLASS) Act of 2020 - Innovation Schools

HB0453- Education - Public Schools and Youth Sports Programs - Tackle Football

HB0508- Education - Public High Schools - Financial Literacy Curriculum and Graduation

Requirement

HB0516/SB0542- Public School Students - Daily Physical Activity (Student Health and Fitness

Act)

HB0548- Career and Technology Education - Training in Soft Business Skills

HB0575- Education - Sexual Abuse and Assault Awareness and Prevention Program - Human

and Sex Trafficking

HB0743/SB0558- Universal School Start Act of 2020

SB0434/HB0722- Labor and Employment - Occupational Safety and Health - Heat Stress

Standards

Create a Safe and Secure Environment for all Students

HB0202- Restorative Schools Fund and Grants - Establishment

HB0327- Public Schools - School Resource Officers - Prohibited Conduct

HB0328- State Department of Education - School Discipline - Data Collection

SB0258- Public Schools - Electric Retractable Room Partitions - Operation Requirements

Providing Equitable Opportunities to all Students & Working Together with Families &

Communities

HB0337/SB0298- Election Law - Local Public Campaign Financing - Boards of Education

HB0348/SB0267-AP Opportunities Act of 2020

HB0383- State Department of Education - Student Performance Reports - Students with

Disabilities

HB0403/SB0903- Immigration Enforcement - Public Schools, Hospitals, and Courthouses -

Policies

HB0503/SB0391- Primary and Secondary Schools - Dependent Children of Service Members -

Enrollment and Documentation Requirements

HB1135/ SB0828- Department of Education- Summer Food Service Program- Waivers (Summer

Meals Waiver Act)

SB0401/HB1147- Places of Public Accommodation and Public Buildings - Single-Occupancy

Public Restrooms - Availability (The Accessible to All Act)

Bills for Information Only (Attachment C)

HB0150/SB0190- Budget Bill (Fiscal Year 2021)

HB0152/SB0192- Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2020

HB0450- Public High Schools - Career Exploration and Development Activities - Coffee

HB0515- Public Schools - Staff Members - Report

HB0603/SB0794- County Boards of Education - Establishing Regional Career and Technical

Education Schools - Authority

HB0644/SB0617- State Department of Education - Financial Literacy Instruction - Reporting

SB0065- Counties - Construction of Sidewalks and Crosswalks - Safe Alternative Routes to

Public Schools

I will continue to monitor the proposed legislation and bring you recommended positions on

additional bills that will impact the Montgomery County Public Schools.

Attachments

DMS:dms

Recommended Positions on Proposed Legislation ATTACHMENT A

1

HB0208 Public Schools - Provision of Menstrual Hygiene Products

Sponsors Delegates Reznik, Acevero, Attar, Bagnall, Bartlett, Bhandari, Boyce, Bridges, Cain,

Cardin, Carr, Charkoudian, Crutchfield, Cullison, Dumais, Ebersole, Feldmark, Fennell,

W. Fisher, Forbes, Fraser-Hidalgo, Gilchrist, Guyton, Henson, Hettleman, Hill, Ivey

Synopsis

Requiring each county board of education to ensure that each public school provide, at no charge to

students, menstrual hygiene products via dispensers in the restrooms at the school; requiring a public

school to install menstrual hygiene product dispensers in at least two restrooms on or before October 1,

2020, and in all restrooms on or before August 1, 2024; and defining "menstrual hygiene products" as

size-appropriate tampons or sanitary napkins for use in connection with the menstrual cycle.

Analysis

• HB0208 would require that each public school install feminine hygiene product dispensers in

bathrooms in order to provide students with free feminine hygiene products.

• MCPS already provides students with free feminine hygiene products (i.e., sanitary napkins) that

are stored in the health room. Any student may go to the health room to obtain free feminine

hygiene products.

• MCPS and the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) do not

provide tampons to students based on health reasons and personal preferences. Tampons are

used internally and students may run the risk of significant health complications if they are

allergic to any part of the tampon or if they do not comply with safe practices, resulting in Toxic

Shock Syndrome. In addition, MCPS and DHHS are aware that there may be family or cultural

preferences that would prohibit or discourage the use of tampons. The legislation states “or” so

it does not require the availability of tampons.

Recommendation: Support

HB0331/ Public Schools – Medical Cannabis – Guidelines for Administration to

SB0605 Students (Connor’s Courage)

Sponsors Delegates Lisanti, Boteler, Grammer, and Johnson

Senator Feldman

Synopsis

Requiring, on or before December 1, 2020, the State Department of Education and the Natalie M.

LaPrade Medical Cannabis Commission jointly to develop guidelines for public schools regarding the

administration of medical cannabis to certain students during school hours and school-sponsored after-

school activities; providing for the contents of the guidelines; requiring, on or before December 1, 2020,

the Department and the Commission jointly to provide certain technical assistance to schools; etc.

Analysis

Recommended Positions on Proposed Legislation ATTACHMENT A

2

• HB0331 would require that the Maryland State Department of Education and the Natalie M.

LaPrade Medical Cannabis Commission develop guidelines for the administration of medical

cannabis to qualified students.

• Procedures would include: Educating school nurses; creating protocols to ensure students receive

care during school hours and school-sponsored after-school activities; protocols to securely store

the medical cannabis; and notification to school staff members, parents/guardians, and law

enforcement

• Cannabis currently is listed as a Schedule I federal controlled substance; thus, federal law

prohibits the use of cannabis in school buildings or on school grounds. A state law permitting

the use of cannabis, for medical reasons or otherwise, on school property would place federal

law in conflict with state law. As a result, school districts in Maryland could risk losing federal

funding if they are compelled by state law to permit use of medical cannabis on school property.

• There is no regulation or standardization of medical marijuana and cannabis and the Food and

Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved medical use of the cannabis plant.

• Currently, the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) does not require employers to

accommodate medical marijuana use by employees. If we can accommodate children who have

medical marijuana licenses, arguments for not allowing adult employees to use marijuana on

school premises during a workday diminish greatly.

• The use of marijuana in a public place is still considered criminal under Maryland Crim Law

Code 5-601(c). If a committee is formed to establish guidelines, the committee should consider

advocating for an exception or affirmative defense to this criminal law both for students and

employees that would be administering marijuana to the students.

Recommendation: Hold/Deffered

HB0617/SB0604 Public and Nonpublic Schools - Medical Cannabis - Policy for

Administration During School Hours and Events

Sponsors Delegates Kipke, Lehman, Anderton, Arikan, Bagnall, Bhandari, Chisholm, Ciliberti,

Clark, Corderman, Hettleman, Hornberger, Kerr, R. Lewis, Love, Malone, McKay,

Metzgar, Moon, Saab, and Szeliga

Senators Feldman, Augustine, Beidle, Benson, Guzzone, Hayes, Jennings, Kramer, Lee,

Reilly, and Young

Synopsis

Authorizing a parent or legal guardian of a medical cannabis patient under the age of 18 years to

designate an adult to be a caregiver, in addition to the parent or legal guardian; increasing the number of

caregivers a patient may be assigned; repealing a limitation on the number of qualifying patients that a

caregiver may serve; requiring the State Department of Education and the Natalie M. LaPrade Medical

Cannabis Commission jointly to develop guidelines for public schools regarding the administration of

medical cannabis to students; etc.

Analysis

HB0617 would require that the Maryland State Department of Education and the Natalie M.

LaPrade Medical Cannabis Commission develop guidelines for the administration of medical

cannabis to qualified students. In addition, HB0617 would alter the definition of “caregiver,”

Recommended Positions on Proposed Legislation ATTACHMENT A

3

presumably to allow parents/guardians to designate a school staff member to be the caregiver in

order to administer medical cannabis to their child.

Cannabis currently is listed as a Schedule I federal controlled substance; thus, federal law

prohibits the use of cannabis in school buildings or on school grounds. A state law permitting

the use of cannabis, for medical reasons or otherwise, on school property would place federal

law in conflict with state law. As a result, school districts in Maryland could risk losing federal

funding if they are compelled by state law to permit use of medical cannabis on school

property.

Currently, the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) does not require employers to

accommodate medical marijuana use by employees. If we can accommodate children who have

medical marijuana licenses, arguments for not allowing adult employees to use marijuana on

school premises during a workday diminish greatly.

The use of marijuana in a public place is still considered criminal under Maryland Crim Law

Code 5-601(c). If a committee is formed to establish guidelines, the committee should consider

advocating for an exception or affirmative defense to this criminal law both for students and

employees that would be administering marijuana to the students.

Recommendation: Hold/Deffered

HB0457/ Environment - Drinking Water Outlets in School Buildings - Testing for

SB0371 Elevated Level of Lead

Sponsors Delegate Rosenberg

Senators Carter, Lam, Sydnor, and Washington

Synopsis

Altering the definition of "elevated level of lead" for purposes of certain provisions of law relating to

testing for the presence of lead in certain drinking water outlets in certain school buildings to be a lead

concentration in drinking water that exceeds 5 parts per billion rather than a certain standard

recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and requiring certain regulations adopted

by the Department of the Environment to require that certain testing be conducted at least once every 18

months.

Analysis

This lowers the standard from 15 ppb (last year’s bill) to 5 ppb of the amount of lead allowed in drinking

water. MCPS has already been remediating water outlets and continues to work towards lower lead

levels. However, there is a large costs to re-checking water sources every 18 months as opposed to every

3 years (previous legislation). MCPS respectfully requests two amendments: 1- Ensure full funding

for the more frequent monitoring and for any remediation needed; and 2- Require clarification

about state and local standards being aligned.

Recommendation: Support with Amendments

Recommended Positions on Proposed Legislation ATTACHMENT A

4

SB0992/HB1475 School Buildings - Drinking Water Outlets- Elevated Level of Lead (Safe

School Drinking Water Act)

Sponsors Senator McCray

Delegates Solomon, Acevero, Attar, Barve, Boyce, Bridges, Cain, Carr, Charkoudian, D

.M. Davis, Fraser-Hidalgo, Gilchrist, Guyton, Healey, Holmes, Korman, Lehman, R.

Lewis, Lierman, Lopez, Love, Moon, Palakovich

Carr, Queen, Shetty, Stein, Stewart, Terrasa, Wells, and K. Young

Synopsis

Altering the definition of "elevated level of lead" for purposes of certain provisions of law requiring the

periodic testing for the presence of lead in drinking water outlets in occupied public and nonpublic school

buildings.

Analysis

This lowers the standard from 15 ppb (last year’s bill) to 5 ppb of the amount of lead allowed in drinking

water. MCPS has already been remediating water outlets and continues to work towards lower lead

levels.

Recommendation: Support

HB0497 Education - School Physical Examinations - Physician Assistant

Sponsor Delegate R. Lewis

Synopsis

Altering the types of health care providers required to complete a physical examination of a student

entering the Maryland Public School System for the first time to include a physician assistant.

Analysis

• House Bill 0497 would expand the definition of health care provider to include physician’s

assistants for the purpose of conducting physical examinations so that students may enter school.

• Physician’s assistants must complete a Master’s degree program and a certain number of clinical

hours, pass a licensure examination, and complete periodic professional development and

examinations to remain licensed.

• HB0497 would give families additional options when seeking a physical examination of their

child as part of the school enrollment process and would potentially increase access to and the

affordability of healthcare.

Recommendation: Support with Admendment

Recommended Positions on Proposed Legislation ATTACHMENT A

5

HB0516/SB0542 Public School Students - Daily Physical Activity (Student Health and

Fitness Act)

Sponsors Delegates Walker, Anderton, Arentz, D. Barnes, Bhandari, Boyce, Branch, Brooks,

Buckel, Cardin, Charkoudian, Clark, Corderman, Cullison, D.E. Davis, Fennell, M.

Fisher, Ghrist, Harrison, Hettleman, Hill, Jacobs, Johnson, Korman, Krimm, Lopez,

McComas, McKay, Miller, Patterson, Qi, Reznik, Shetty, Szeliga, Terrasa, Turner,

Valderrama, Wivell, and K. Young

Senator Young

Synopsis

Requiring a public school student in elementary school to be provided a daily program of physical

activity totaling 150 minutes each week to include physical education and developmentally appropriate,

moderate-to-vigorous activity, including recess and at least 90 minutes each week of physical education;

requiring that the program of physical activity for a certain category of student be consistent with the

student's Individualized Education Program; etc.

Analysis

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) concurs with the intent of this bill, to increase physical

activity time for all students. Currently, MCPS meets or exceeds weekly elementary school recess

minutes, providing 30-40 minutes daily. This exceeds the request of the House Bill 516. MCPS

provides 45-60 minutes of physical education per week through a scheduled elementary physical

education classes. The current state of local school wellness councils allows local schools to select a

goal area which may include nutrition education, food services, and/or physical activity and does not

require that the local school wellness councils focus solely on moderate-to-vigorous physical activities.

MCPS respectfully request the following amendments:

Remove middle school students (they do not have recess in middle school in MCPS).

Modify the number of minutes for physical education from 90 minutes per week to 60

minutes per week.

Amend the language about a statewide advisory council to align with the existing

MSDE/State committee

Require the triennial assessment to be an every other year reporting, rather than annual

reporting.

Align the need for baseline student data with the current FERPA and HIPPA laws.

Include an exception for facilities that host students receiving alternative methods of

education from the requirement for every school to have a gymnasium.

Recommendation: Support with Amendments

Recommended Positions on Proposed Legislation ATTACHMENT A

6

HB0615 Education - School Construction - Pedestrian Safety Plans

Sponsors Delegates Solomon, Acevero, Bagnall, Carr, Charkoudian, Ebersole, Feldmark, Forbes,

Fraser-Hidalgo, Guyton, Hettleman, Korman, R. Lewis, Love, Metzgar, Palakovich

Carr, Shetty, Stewart, Terrasa, C. Watson, Wilkins, and P. Young

Synopsis

Requiring a county board of education seeking State funds for the construction of a new school, or the

renovation of or an addition to an existing school that would increase the capacity by more than 100

students, to submit a pedestrian safety plan to the Interagency Commission on School Construction;

requiring the plan to identify safe routes for students to walk or bike to school, evaluate existing and

needed infrastructure, analyze existing and potential school zones, and document the public participation

in development of the plan; etc.

Analysis

The bill would require submission of a pedestrian safety plan to the Interagency Commission on School

Construction (IAC) for all school projects increasing student capacity by more than 100 students. The

safety plan is intended to review existing and potential safe routes to schools for students to walk or bike.

The intent is to determine if increased capacity (e.g., sidewalk, bike paths, pedestrian crossings, etc.) is

required for pedestrian safety. A public hearing for each project, as well as documented minutes are

required as part of the safety plan submission.

This bill is not clear as to what the IAC would constitute as a safe route to a school.

An amendment should be added that indicates options such as providing transportation in lieu of

walking or biking should be considered when reviewing individual school safety plans.

While MCPS can control provisions on Board of Education property, many of the potential

improvements are not within the jurisdiction of MCPS. Therefore, it is unclear as to the regulatory and

fiscal oversight and/or connection between a school construction project and that of off-site public right-

of-way improvements controlled by the various transportation agencies.

Recommendation: Support with Amendment

HB0624/ Juvenile Law - Child Interrogation Protection Act

SB0593

Sponsors Delegates Lierman, Johnson, Acevero, Anderson, Atterbeary, Barron, Cardin, D.M.

Davis, Feldmark, Guyton, Hill, R. Lewis, Lopez, Moon, Mosby, Palakovich Carr, Pena-

Melnyk, Queen, Shetty, Smith, Stewart, Valentino-Smith, and Wells

Senators Carter and Benson

Synopsis

Requiring a law enforcement officer who takes a child into custody to provide notice to the child's

parents, guardian, or custodian in a manner reasonably calculated to give actual notice; specifying the

Recommended Positions on Proposed Legislation ATTACHMENT A

7

required contents of a notice; prohibiting the interrogation of a child by a law enforcement officer until

the child has consulted with a certain attorney and a notice has been provided to the child's parent,

guardian, or custodian; requiring that a consultation between a child and an attorney under the Act be

confidential; etc.

Analysis

This proposed bill would impose additional requirements on law enforcement when they take juveniles

into custody or engage in custodial interrogations. Significantly, the proposed legislation requires the

Court of Appeals to develop age-appropriate language to be used to advise a child who is taken into

custody. In addition, the proposed legislation prohibits law enforcement officers, a term that is

expressly defined to include school resource officers, from conducting a custodial interrogation of a child

unless the child has consulted with an attorney and the law enforcement officer must notify parents. The

requirement to consult with an attorney may not be waived. Custodial interrogations are defined under

the law to include questioning under circumstances where a reasonable person in the individual’s

circumstances would not feel like they are free to walk away and end the encounter, even if the individual

is not under arrest. Current law, as set forth below, already limits the circumstances where police can

question students on school grounds. This legislation would provide additional clarity to school

employees as to parent notification in those circumstances were police do question students. In order to

ensure that this proposed legislation does not impede effective collaboration with law enforcement in

response to school shooting threats and other imminent safety risks, we recommend supporting with

an amendment that creates a narrow exemption for public safety emergencies – defined as an

active assailant situation or another similarly critical incident that places the individual or others

in imminent, life-threatening danger.

Recommendation: Hold/Deffered

HB0675/SB0549 Education – Public Schools – Seizure Action Plans (Brynleigh Act)

Sponsors Delegate Kerr

Senators Young, Feldman, and Klausmeier

Synopsis

Requiring a county board of education and authorizing a nonpublic school, beginning in the 2021-2022

school year, to require at least two school employees to be trained in recognizing the signs and symptoms

of a seizure, administering first aid for a seizure, and administering or assisting with the administration

of seizure medication and performing manual vagus nerve stimulation; etc.

• House Bill 0675 would require training on the signs/symptoms of a seizure and how to administer

medications for the following staff members:

o Staff with direct supervision of a student with a seizure disorder (i.e., teachers,

administrators, paraeducators, school bus drivers). This training would include specific

instruction on the student’s Individualized Health Care Plan.

o At least two staff members per school (c.f., previous bills requiring similar training on

anaphylaxis, diabetes, and opioid overdoses).

• HB0675 also could require an increase in school health services staffing to ensure school-based

staff members are adequately trained.

Recommended Positions on Proposed Legislation ATTACHMENT A

8

• HB0675 includes standardization of seizure treatment protocols across all school districts in

Maryland.

• Finally, HB0675 specifies that all students will be provided with an age-appropriate educational

program on seizure disorders.

Analysis

• In MCPS, approximately 500 MCPS students have been diagnosed with a seizure disorder. At

least 140 students have a seizure disorder that require daily medication or as needed medication

administration at school.

• MCPS’ current practices are in alignment with HB0675’s requirement that staff members who

are responsible for the daily care of students with seizures learn about the students’ Individualized

Health Care Plan and what to do in an emergency. Current practices include the development of

an Individual Health Care Plan for any student with a medical need, including seizure disorders.

Staff members who work with the affected students are trained on the student’s individual health

care needs and how to identify signs and symptoms that might indicate a more serious concern.

MCPS Concerns:

• Unlike with previous legislation on anaphylaxis, opioid overdoses, and diabetes, there is much

variation in treatment protocols for students with a seizure disorder. Training two staff members

general seizure awareness and how to administer medication does not take into account that

several students with a seizure disorder may attend a school and each student could have a

different treatment regimen and different medications. A staff member with no medical

background would be significantly challenged if called upon to administer medication to an

unfamiliar student.

• MCPS respectifully requests the following amendments:

o Include funding in HB0675 to address the cost of training thousands of staff

members will alleviate the costs associated with this bill (i.e., for developing and

implementing trainings, cost of training hourly employees).

o Reconsider language on training at least two staff members per school on seizure

awareness and medication administration. There is the potential for there to be

many factors (and combinations of factors) that would make it irresponsible for a

non healthcare professional to be expected to administer seizure medication to an

unfamiliar student. This sets the stage for medication to be inadvertently

administered to the wrong student.

o With previous bills related to health awareness training, MCPS also requested that

language be included so that staff members could not be required to be one of the

two staff members trained on seizure disorders and how to administer medication.

If this part of the bill remains, it is especially important that staff members not be

required to administer medications. Some seizure medication, for example, must

be administered per rectum as an enema. This is a much more intrusive task than

volunteering to administer an epinephrine autoinjector in the event of an

emergency.

Recommendation: Support with Amendments

Recommended Positions on Proposed Legislation ATTACHMENT A

9

SB0418/HB1522 Education Savings Account Program- Established

Sponsors Senator Serafini

Delegates Boteler, Arikan, Chisholm, Corderman, Cox, Grammer, Malone, McComas,

Parrott, Saab, and Wivell

Synopsis

Establishing an Education Savings Account program in the State; stating the purpose of the program;

establishing the requirements for participation in the program; requiring a certain deposit into the account

of certain students; establishing a process for calculating and depositing a certain amount; limiting the

use of certain funds to certain educational purposes; establishing the autonomy of a participating private

school; etc.

Analysis

This bill could potentially have a large fiscal impact with loss of funds to public schools as well as the

school system’s obligation to provide transportation costs ($13K per student)

Recommendation: Strongly Oppose

SB0798/HB1513 Education- Juvenile Services Education System- Establishment, Powers,

and Duties

Sponsors Senator Kelley

Delegates Luedtke, Bartlett, Clippinger, Crutchfield, Ebersole, Fennell, Ivey, and Moon

Synopsis

Repealing certain provisions of law regarding educational programs for juveniles in residential facilities;

establishing a Juvenile Services Education System; establishing the Board of Education for the Juvenile

Services Education System; requiring the Board to have the authority and responsibility for all functions

relating to the juvenile services educations programs in the State beginning July 1, 2021; requiring each

county board of education to pay to the Board a certain cost for certain juveniles; etc. This bill would

create a 25th school district to oversee Juvenile Services program.

Analysis

MCPS supports the creation of the 25th school district which would then be able to hire school systems

to oversee the Juvenile Services schools or contract out the operation of these schools.

Recommendation: Support

Recommended Positions on Proposed Legislation ATTACHMENT A

10

Curriculum

HB0119 Commission on African American Patriots in the American Revolutionary War

Sponsors Delegate Rosenberg, Attar, Bridges, and Conaway

Synopsis

Establishing the Commission on African American Patriots in the American Revolutionary War;

authorizing the Commission to raise funds for its operation; requiring the Commission, in consultation

with certain persons, to conduct research to advance the documentation of African American patriots in

the American Revolutionary War; requiring the Commission to develop a plan to commemorate

Maryland African America patriots at certain sites by the placement of statues, landmarks plaques, or

historical markers; etc. Note: Does not require instruction but it does require procedures to have access

to materials from the Commission at each school library

Analysis

• Authorizes the formation of a Commission on African American Patriots in the American

Revolutionary War tasked with researching the roles of African American patriots in Maryland in

order to provide commemorative plaques and markers throughout the state as well as a publication

to be provided to all county boards of education with information about the patriots.

• County boards of education may choose to share the information with both elementary and secondary

schools when students learn about the American Revolution. This is not a mandate for instruction,

but is provided as an available resource.

• County libraries will also be expected to include books at various grade levels celebrating the

contributions of African American patriots in the American Revolution.

Recommendation: Support

Employee Relations

HB0163 Labor and Employment - Labor Organizations - Right to Work

Sponsors Delegates Miller, Adams, Arentz, M. Fisher, Howard, Impallaria, and Mautz

Synopsis

Prohibiting an employer from requiring, as a condition of employment or continued employment, an

employee or a prospective employee, under certain circumstances, to join or remain a member of a labor

organization, pay charges to a labor organization, or pay a certain amount to a third party; prohibiting an

employer from threatening an employee or a prospective employee with certain action; providing certain

penalties for violation of the Act; applying the Act prospectively; etc.

Analysis

This bill prohibits all employers from requiring membership in a union, or payment of bargaining

member fees, as a condition of employment. In effect, this is a “right to work” bill that would further

destabilize unions, in particular public sector unions. MCPS has benefited from a long and productive

partnership with MCPS’ three associations: MCEA, MCAAP, and SEIU Local 500. They are strong and

Recommended Positions on Proposed Legislation ATTACHMENT A

11

influential organizations that contribute to the success of MCPS. We are proud of their collective

contributions and committed to supporting their roles in the success of our students.

Recommendation: Oppose

HB0251/SB0236 Teachers' Retirement and Pension Systems - Obsolete Reemployment

Provisions

Sponsors Delegate M. Jackson (Chair, Joint Committee on Pensions)

Senator Elfreth (Chair, Joint Committee on Pensions)

Synopsis

Repealing certain obsolete provisions relating to the reemployment of certain teachers and principals

who are retirees of the Teachers' Retirement and Pension Systems.

Analysis

The proposed amendment changes the rules that govern the earnings limitation for a retiree rehired by

the school district where they retired from.

The existing rules allow for a retired teacher or principal rehired in a Title I school or a school not making

adequate progress or in a school in need of improvement under the federal No Child Left Behind Act to

not be subjected to the earnings limitations that potentially result in reduction in the retiree’s pension

payment. Rehired retirees are not allowed to continue employment once the school makes adequate

progress.

The new rules state that a retiree rehired in the same public school system where they retired from is not

subjected to earnings limitation if they are employed in a school that has more than 50 percent of the

students eligible for free and reduced-price meals, established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In

addition, the new rules also limit the term of reemployment in such schools to four consecutive years.

MCPS hires a very small number of retirees in a permanent position. The number is less than 10 at this

time. Individuals rehired are not reenrolled in the state pension plan once again. Therefore, there is no

additional pension cost. These individuals receive a supplemental pension from MCPS during the period

of reemployment, and MCPS pension stops payment. The payment is resumed once individuals leave

employment. As a result of the additional service, these individuals could see a small increase in their

supplemental pension.

This house bill continues to require the Office of Human Resources and Development to provide a list

of individuals hired in high needs schools so that they are approved to not have earnings limitations

applied to them.

Recommendation: Support

HB0312/SB0473 Discrimination in Employment- Reasonable Accomodations for Applicants

with Disabilities

Sponsors Delegates Charkoudian, Boyce, Bridges, Carr, Conaway, Cullison, Feldmark, W.

Fisher, Fraser-Hidalgo, Guyton, Healey, Hettleman, Kelly, Korman, R. Lewis, Lierman,

Love, Moon, Palakovich Carr, Patterson, Pena-Melnyk, Proctor, Reznik, Shetty, Stein,

Recommended Positions on Proposed Legislation ATTACHMENT A

12

Terrasa, Wilkins, and P. Young

The President (By Request - Administration) and Senators Bailey, Carozza, Cassilly,

Eckardt, Edwards, Gallion, Hershey, Jennings, Ready, Salling, Serafini, and West

Synopsis

Prohibiting an employer from failing or refusing to make a reasonable accommodation for the known

disability of an otherwise qualified applicant for employment; and expanding a certain undue hardship

exception for employers regarding providing a certain reasonable accommodation to include certain

qualified disabled applicants for employment.

Analysis

The proposed legislation would confirm the importance of reasonable accommodations to ensure that

qualified applicants with disabilities have a fair opportunity to access employment with MCPS,

consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act and other federal laws.

Specifically, the proposed legislation identifies specific accommodations to ensure the application

process is accessible, including:

(I) ALLOWING ALTERNATIVES TO AN ONLINE APPLICATION PROCESS;

(II) (ACCEPTING A VIDEO RESUME OR OTHER ALTERNATIVE FORM;

(III) ALLOWING A DIRECT SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL OR OTHER THIRD PARTY TO

PROVIDE ASSISTANCE DURING AN INTERVIEW; OR

(IV) PROVIDING AN ACCESSIBLE INTERVIEW LOCATION FOR APPLICANTS WITH

MOBILITY IMPAIRMENTS

Providing these accommodations is consistent with MCPS’ approach to implementing non-

discrimination requirements of applicable federal and state laws, as well as Board Policy ACA,

Nondiscrimination, Equity, and Cultural Proficiency.

This proposed legislation is also consistent with MCPS’ goal of expanding opportunities for career

readiness for our students with disabilities, and the work that our Office of Special Education

undertakes to support students with disabilities with the necessary resources, tools, supports and

professional development needed to ensure students a successful transition into further education,

employment, and full participation in their community.

Reccomendation: Support

HB0452 Income Tax- Subtraction Modification for Classroom Supplies Purchased by

Teachers- Alteration

Sponsor Delegate Walker

Synopsis

Increasing from $250 to $500 the maximum amount allowed as a subtraction modification under the

Maryland income tax for expenses paid or incurred by certain teachers during a taxable year for certain

classroom supplies; applying the Act to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2019; etc.

Analysis

Recommended Positions on Proposed Legislation ATTACHMENT A

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The bill would increase the tax deduction for a full-time K-12 teacher using personal funds for the

purchase of classroom supplies used by students in a classroom. The Montgomery County Board of

Education has heard testimony from teachers in the past who have used personal funds to buy supplies

for classrooms.

Reccomendation: Support

HB0476 Education - Certification in Secondary Education Content Areas - Expanded

Grade Range

Sponsors Delegates Cain, Guyton, and Smith

Synopsis

Requiring the State Board of Education to authorize a teacher certificated in secondary education to

provide instruction in the teacher's content area to students in grades 6 through 12; and requiring the

State Board to adopt certain regulations.

Analysis

• MCPS has previously advocated for secondary teacher content area certification to include

grades 6 through 12 and strongly supports the proposed legislation.

• This would also shift Grade 7-12 certifications to include Grade 6.

• This would expand the pool of certified teachers in critical subject areas as well as professional

and technical education.

Reccomendation: Support

HB0794 Education-Educational Interpreters- Certification Requirements

Sponsors Delegates Qi, Acevero, Bhandari, Boyce, Charles, Crutchfield, Feldmark, Guyton,

Krimm, R. Lewis, Lierman, Luedtke, Palakovich Carr, Shetty, and Wilkins

Synopsis

Requiring the State Board of Education and the Professional Standards and Teacher Education Board to

develop certain rules and regulations for the certification of educational interpreters; providing that

certain individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing may not be denied the right to receive certain

credentials or contract for work for which the individual is otherwise qualified because the individual is

deaf or hard of hearing; requiring certain educational interpreters to obtain certification on or before July

1, 2027; etc.

• This bill specifies “educational interpreter” as an individual who provides sign language

interpreting services in an educational setting (Grades kindergarten (K)–12)

• This bill requires that qualifications, regulations, and standards are established for certification of

educational interpreters.

• This bill stipulates certification renewal requirements, including professional development hours.

• This bill requires that certification of educational interpreters is achieved by a certain date (July 1,

2027).

Recommended Positions on Proposed Legislation ATTACHMENT A

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Analysis

• MCPS has a long history of providing high-quality interpretation services to students who are

deaf or hard of hearing, with both certified and noncertified interpreters. It is not anticipated that

merely by meeting certification requirements, students will receive better services than those

currently provided. Observation and evaluation by the supervisor current interpreters are better

indications of quality than certification status.

• Currently, sign language interpreters are not subject to certification requirements to work in a

school setting. MCPS employs 36.5 Full-time Equivalent (FTE) sign language interpreters;

currently only 3.0 FTEs are certified.

• MCPS is the largest public school employer of educational interpreters in the state and has a long

history of providing qualified sign language interpreters to students who are deaf or hard of

hearing in educational settings Grades K–12.

• MCPS recognizes that continuous improvement and professional development is necessary and

valued for all staff positions.

• Currently, MCPS is experiencing a severe shortage of interpreters to provide the appropriate

services critical to providing access to communication and instruction. If certification becomes a

requirement for a school setting, it is anticipated that it will be more challenging to attract and

retain interpreters. Once certified, MCPS will increasingly be competing with private sector

agencies in hiring interpreters and MCPS will experience an even greater shortage.

• It is anticipated that once a current interpreter becomes certified, they may be enticed to leave

MCPS for private agency employment at a significantly higher rate of pay.

• With a greater shortage of interpreters, MCPS will need to hire a greater number private agency

contractors at a significantly higher rate of pay than current MCPS hourly rates to meet students’

needs and comply with special education mandates.

• MCPS employs cued speech transliterators as well as sign language interpreters, both under the

same job classification and bargaining unit; this proposed bill only includes sign language

interpreters. MCPS will be required to increase salaries for cued speech transliterators to

maintain pay parity with interpreters.

Proposed Amendments:

• Newly hired interpreters not meeting the certification requirements will be considered

provisional and will be granted two years to meet the requirements.

• The state will establish an oversight entity and provide fiscal support for this statewide

mandate.

• The state will include fiscal support to increase MCPS budget for certified interpreters’

salaries.

Reccomendation: Support with Amendments

Recommended Positions on Proposed Legislation ATTACHMENT A

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SB0241 Maryland Healthy Working Families Act- Applicability

Sponsors Senators Baily and Beidle

Synopsis

Providing that the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act does not apply to employees of a county

board of education who are called to work on an as-needed basis, can reject or accept the shift offered

by the county board of education, and are not guaranteed to be called on to work by the county board of

education.

Analysis

MCPS has a large number of daily substitute teachers and temporary employee pool of employees who

work only as needed. These individuals receive a phone call when a daily vacancy comes up due to an

absence of a permanent employee. They have the ability to accept or reject the job for the day. Under

the provisions of Maryland Safe and Sick Leave, these individuals have the ability to avail sick leave

should they become ill on the day the job is to be performed. This has resulted in the school system

needing to have a substitute for a substitute.

• This bill would benefit MCPS and other school districts by removing the requirements to issue

“sick leave” to daily substitutes, for teaching and other jobs, who are called to work on an

as-needed basis.

• The requirements to provide leave to long-term substitutes or permanent school-based

substitutes may still apply in some cases. MCPS already provides sick leave to these temporary

employees.

• This proposed legislation would restore the original intent of the Maryland Healthy Working

Families Act not to apply to substitute teachers, in the face of an opinion of the Maryland

Attorney General interpreting the Act to apply to them.

• Attached is the brief that was submitted on behalf of school districts raising concerns about the

potential adverse impact on the delivery of teaching and learning that could result from

providing sick leave to substitutes.

Reccomendation: Support

SB0296 Family Law- Preventing or Interfering with Report of Suspected Child Abuse or

Neglect- Statue of Limitations

Sponsors Senators Hough, Cassilly, and Ready

Synopsis

Altering the statute of limitations for a violation of the prohibition on preventing or interfering with the

making of a certain report of suspected child abuse or neglect; providing that a person who violates the

prohibition on preventing or interfering with the making of a certain report of suspected child abuse or

neglect may reserve a point or question for in banc review; etc..

Analysis

Recommended Positions on Proposed Legislation ATTACHMENT A

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• Under Maryland Law, an individual may not intentionally prevent or interfere with the making

of a required report of suspected abuse or neglect. A violation of this provision is a

misdemeanor subject to imprisonment not exceeding five years or a fine not exceeding

$10,000, or both.

• The proposed legislation would eliminate the statute of limitations for state prosecutions for

intentionally interfering with child abuse reporting.

• Most people who experience sexual abuse in childhood do not disclose until adulthood.

Therefore, narrow statutes of limitation can prevent the punishment of perpetrators. Similar

barriers may limit redress for intentional interference with required child abuse reporting.

• Given the research focused on disclosures of child sexual abuse, an amendment could be

considered to specifically focus this shift in the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse.

Reccomendation: Support with Amendment

Special Education

HB0184/SB0783 Special Education- Judicial Actions- Attorney’s Fees and Related Costs

Sponsors Delegate Luedtke

Senators Zucker and Patterson

Synopsis

Authorizing a court to award attorney's fees and related costs to the parent of a child with a disability

who is the prevailing party in a certain special education proceeding; prohibiting a court from awarding

attorney's fees and related costs to certain parents in a certain proceeding under certain circumstances;

and authorizing an award of attorney's fees and related costs to a parent of a child with a disability who

is a prevailing party under certain circumstances.

(Note: The proposed legislation is an improvement as compared to the prior session’s legislation that

authorized an administrative law judge to award attorney’s fees.)

Analysis

• There is currently an existing adequate remedy that affords parents/guardians (and local school

systems) the right to recover attorney fees as the prevailing party under the Code of Maryland

Regulations (COMAR) 13A.05.01.15(C)(22), which states: “in an action or proceeding under

this section, courts may award reasonable attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party under the

circumstances described in 20 U.S.C. §1415(i)(3) and 34 CFR §300.517.”

• Although Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) remains consistently successful in

being the prevailing party in the minimal number of cases which are actually litigated at a due

process hearing, MCPS also continues to resolve cases successfully without going to a hearing,

with lump sum fees that account for a portion of the parent’s/guardian’s attorney fees. These

resolved cases have resulted in signed settlement agreements to the satisfaction of both parties.

• The proposed bill has the potential to prolong administrative special education proceedings,

and it may discourage parents/guardians from seeking to resolve matters prior to a due process

hearing in the hopes of receiving a full award of attorney fees, which is not guaranteed.

• This bill is inconsistent with the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

(IDEA), which authorizes a court of law, in its discretion, to award reasonable attorney fees to

Recommended Positions on Proposed Legislation ATTACHMENT A

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either party to an administrative special education due process hearing. 20 U.S.C.

§1415(i)(3)(B)-(G) and 34 C.F.R. §300.517.

• The proposed bill also explicitly permits fees for expert witnesses to be awarded. There is

currently no similar provision in special education federal laws or regulations.

• The prospect of attorney fees and expert witness fees may cause an increase in filings if parents

are led to believe that the school system must pay for their attorney fees.

Reccomendation: Oppose

Public Information Act Requests

HB0401/SB0758 Public Information Act - Remote Access, Fee Complaints, Fee Waivers, and

Inspection of Judicial Records (Open Government, Better Government Act)

Sponsors Delegates Barron, Guyton, and Lierman

Senators Lam and Carter

Synopsis

Establishing the intent of the General Assembly that each official custodian adopt an internet use policy

and other technological advances to expand remote access to public records and increase the

transparency of government; requiring the Public Information Act Compliance Board to receive, review,

and resolve certain complaints alleging that a custodian unreasonably failed to waive a fee under certain

circumstances; altering the minimum fee charged under which the Board has authority to review a

complaint; etc.

Analysis

Montgomery County Public Schools is committed to transparency. We regularly publish data and other

information about our school system on our website. This data include school level information about

student performance disaggregated by student demographics and services; data about our school

facilities; data about school climate; data about school energy use; data about school security incidents

and more. Community members can access this data remotely at any time with internet access.

The definition of news media in HB0401/SB0758 is too broad. As written, any person with a social

media account would qualify as news media as they would be gathering information; drafting a tweet

about the content; and posting it online for others to access. The overly broad definition could, in

practice, prevent a custodian from charging anyone as they could claim to be the news media.

Conversely, we are also concerned that the proposed definitions new media would place the burden on

a custodian to decide what is and is not “news media.” This could lead to bias selection of who gets

their fee waived and who does not.

It is important to note that of news agency regularly requests a large number of sensitive documents

that include student or personnel information. If this law is passed as written, it could take the school

system hundreds of hours, and cost the school system thousands of dollars, to review the records with

no ability to recoup the cost. This would essentially be taking money away from classrooms and

schools. It is also important to note that many news agencies have greater access to resources to cover

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the cost of a fee than an individual community member.

MCPS respectfully requests an amendment to significantly narrow the definition of news media

and clarify waivers are not required for requests that would have significant financial impact to

the school system.

Recommendation: Support with Amendments

Platform Positions on Proposed Legislation Attachment B

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Fully Funding Education HB0169 Expansion of Commercial Gaming - Referendum - Sports Wagering Sponsors Delegates Patterson, Ebersole, Boyce, Fennell, Guyton, Ivey, Kaiser, Lehman, Lisanti,

Proctor, and Reznik Synopsis Providing that the General Assembly may authorize, by law, the State Lottery and Gaming Control Commission to issue certain sports wagering licenses; providing that a license may be issued only to the holder of a video lottery operation license or certain horse racing licenses; declaring the intent of the General Assembly that State revenues generated by the proposed sports wagering be used for public education; submitting the Act to a referendum of the qualified voters of the State; etc. Analysis

• In May 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional a federal ban on sports betting, leaving states free to authorize this activity. Since then, a number of states have authorized sports betting in an effort to take advantage of a new source of gaming revenue.

• The proposed legislation states that the State revenues generated by sports wagering must be used for the funding of public education. This proposal is consistent with current Maryland law requiring revenue from casino gambling to be used for public education funding.

• The Montgomery County Board of Education has previously supported legislation to ensure that “casino funding” is supplemental or additional funding on top of the state’s educational funding formulas and that it does not supplant general fund money to help fund the state aid formulas. Given the push to expand educational funding to implement the recommendations of the Kirwan Commission, an amendment should be considered to ensure that revenues from sports betting also supplement and do not supplement existing educational funding.

• In addition, an amendment should be considered to clarify that sports betting should not be permitted for any interscholastic athletic competitions or other sports activities at the K-12 level.

Recommendation: Support with Amendment HB0500 State Lottery Unclaimed Prizes- Distribution to Local Board of Education

Sponsor Delegate Walker Synopsis Requiring the Director of the State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, at the end of each fiscal year, to remit money in the unclaimed prize fund to the Comptroller for distribution to each county board of education in the State on a pro rata basis determined by the total lottery sales made in each county; and providing that a distribution from the fund is supplemental to and is not intended to take the place of funding that otherwise would be appropriated for county boards of education. Analysis

Platform Positions on Proposed Legislation Attachment B

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MCPS supports efforts to further fund education throughout the State. The Montgomery County Board of Education has previously supported legislation to ensure that “casino funding” is supplemental or additional funding on top of the state’s educational funding formulas and that it does not supplant general fund money to help fund the state aid formulas. Given the push to expand educational funding to implement the recommendations of the Kirwan Commission, an amendment should be considered to ensure that revenues from unclaimed state lottery prizes supplment and do not supplement existing educational funding. Recommendation: Support with Amendment

Supporting Physical, Social, & Psychological Well-Being for All Students HB0277/SB0367 State Department of Education- Guidelines on Trauma-Informed

Approach Sponsors Delegates Wilkins, Acevero, D. Barnes, Bridges, Cain, Carr, Charkoudian, D.M. Davis,

Ebersole, Feldmark, Fraser-Hidalgo, Guyton, Hettleman, Ivey, Kerr, R. Lewis, Lierman, Love, Mosby, Palakovich Carr, Queen, Shetty, Solomon, Terrasa, C. Watson, and P. Young Senators Washington, Augustine, Carter, Elfreth, Ellis, Hayes, Hester, Lam, Lee, Patterson, Smith, and West

Synopsis Establishing the Trauma-Informed Schools Initiative in the State Department of Education to expand the use of the trauma-informed approach used in schools and to intensively train schools on becoming trauma-informed schools; requiring the Department, to develop and distribute certain guidelines and to develop a website on the trauma informed approach; requiring, on or before July 1, 2020, the Department to select one school each from certain areas to receive intensive training on the trauma-informed approach; etc. Analysis House Bill 0277 contains the same language as House Bill 0256 did in 2019. The one difference is that HB0277 added in a clause that the Governor would include an appropriation of at least $300,000 in the state budget for the program. This was one of the amendments requested by MCPS in 2019. HB0277 aligns with MCPS’ Be Well 365 initiative which includes trauma-informed practices as a necessary component. MCPS again requests that language be added to clarify that any suggested training be mindful of requirements on staff members whose core mission remains the education of our youth. Recommendation: Support with Amendment

Platform Positions on Proposed Legislation Attachment B

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HB0409 Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Participation of School-Based Health

Centers - Regulations Sponsor Delegate Cullison Synopsis Requiring the Maryland Department of Health on or before January 1, 2021, to revise its regulations regarding school-based health centers that may participate in the Maryland Medical Assistance Program to include school-based health centers that have a written agreement with a sponsoring agency that meets certain requirements identified by the State Department of Education in the version of the "Maryland School-Based Health Center Standards" report available December 1, 2019; etc. Analysis HB0409 would align Maryland Department of Health regulations on school-based health centers with Maryland State Department of Education standards on school-based health standards (http://marylandpublicschools.org/about/Documents/DSFSS/SSSP/SBHC/MarylandSBHCStandards.pdf) This bill has the potential for increasing student access to healthcare services. Recommendation: Support SB0322 Public Schools- Health Education- Gambling Dangers and Addiction Sponsor Senator Simonaire Synopsis Requiring the State Department of Education, on or before December 31, 2020, to develop a certain program of education on the dangers of gambling and gambling addiction to be provided in public schools; requiring the program to be coordinated with other State agencies responsible for gambling addiction education; requiring a county board of education to require each public middle and high school in the county to include certain instruction in grades 6 through 12, beginning in the 2021-2022 school year and annually thereafter; etc. Analysis Gambling dangers and addiction education are not included at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool, National Health Education Standards, or the Maryland State Department of Education mandated curriculum framework and are not included at the local Montgomery County Public Schools health education curriculum framework. Mandating an annual curriculum on gambling dangers and addiction in Grades 6 through 12 would reduce instructional time in the content area that has only 9 weeks of instruction in Grades 8 through 8 and 18 weeks of instruction in high school.

Platform Positions on Proposed Legislation Attachment B

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•Additional structures for instruction would need to occur as health education only occurs one time during Grades 9 through 12. This would cause an additional time impact to the instructional demands set forth by the national, state, and local graduation requirements meeting a well-rounded curriculum. MCPS supports SB0322. Gambling dangers and addiction are important topics for students to know. However, there are concerns of all the topics currently required to be covered in the MSDE health Education Curriculum. This topic does not currently align with the mandated state curriculum and should be added to the state level requirements. MCPS respectfully requests this bill be amended to ask MSDE to create materials for use in public schools as needed and as appropriate. Recommendation: Support with Amendment

Preparing All Students to be College, Career, and Community Ready HB0769/SB0133 Education - High School Students - Graduation and Attendance Credit for

Vocational Training Sponsors Senators West and McCray

Delegates Adams, Anderton, Arentz, Arikan, Buckel, Chisholm, Ciliberti, Clark, Corderman, Cox, Grammer, Griffith, Hornberger, Jacobs, Kipke, Krebs, Mangione, McComas, McKay, Metzgar, Miller, Morgan, Otto, Parrott, Reilly, Saab

Synopsis Authorizing a county board of education to award credit to a high school student toward a high school diploma or a postsecondary credential, or both, for one vocational course per semester in a career and technical education program approved by the county board; and authorizing a county board to count toward high school attendance the time a high school student spends during vocational training in a career and technical education program approved by the county board. Analysis The intent of this Bill is currently being addressed by the Career and Technical Education programs and processes approved by MSDE and in place within MCPS. It is recommended that the language in the Bill be amended as noted in Article 2 from: “One vocational course per semester in a career and technical education program approved by the county board”, to:“One ALL career related instructional course completed prior to or concurrently with the work based experience to earn the equivalent of 1 high school credit in a career and technical education program approved by the county board”. This change will better align with the current practice and ensure increased options for all students. MCPS also requests sponsors remove the restriction for only one course as students currently can earn credit for more than one career related instructional course. Recommendation: Support with Amendment

Platform Positions on Proposed Legislation Attachment B

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Preserving Local Autonomy over Education HB0284 Education - Maryland High School Diploma - Civics Test Requirement Sponsors Delegates Szeliga and Kittleman Synopsis Requiring an individual to take a certain civics test, and achieve a passing score by correctly answering at least 60% of the questions, in order to, on or after January 1, 2022, graduate from a public high school, meet certain alternative requirements for obtaining a Maryland high school diploma, or qualify for a Maryland high school diploma by examination; requiring the State Board of Education to determine the means of providing each high school student an opportunity to take the required civics test; etc.

• House Bill 0284 requires the State Board of Education to develop curriculum content for the civics portion of the U.S. naturalization test.

• The bill also requires county boards of education to implement civics curriculum featured in the U.S. naturalization test developed by the state board in every high school in the county.

• The bill requires students to take and pass the civics test in order to graduate from high school effective January 1, 2022.

Analysis American Government standards developed by the Maryland State Department of Education is currently taught and assessed in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Grade 10 government classes. In addition, students must take and pass the Government High School Assessment (HSA) or complete and pass a Government Bridge project to graduate from high school. On suggestion is that that the Government HSA align to the suggested topics of this legislation. Recommendation: Oppose HB0347/SB0275 Education - Community and Local Accountability for Struggling Schools

(CLASS) Act of 2020 - Innovation Schools Sponsors The President (By Request - Administration) and Senators Bailey, Carozza, Cassilly,

Eckardt, Edwards, Gallion, Hershey, Jennings, Ready, Salling, Serafini, and West The Speaker (By Request - Administration) and Delegates Adams, Arentz, Arikan,

Beitzel, Synopsis Requiring a county board of education to designate as an innovation school each school that receives one star under the star rating system for at least the previous two consecutive school years; requiring a county board to establish an Innovation Plan Committee for each innovation school; providing for the contents of an innovation plan; providing the process for review, adoption, modification, or rejection of a proposed innovation plan, including electronic posting, a public comment period, and a requirement for a public hearing; etc.

Platform Positions on Proposed Legislation Attachment B

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Analysis The bill calls for an “innovation school” designation for any school with a star rating of 1 for the previous two consecutive years. Based on data shared at the Maryland State Board of Education meeting on December 3, 2019, MCPS has two schools (Carl Sandburg and Alternative Programs) with a star rating of 1. In the previous year, MCPS had one school with a star rating of 1 (Alternative Programs). If enacted this year, this bill would impact Alternative Programs because it has had a star rating of 1 for the previous two consecutive years. (Data Source - https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/Graphs/#/DataDownloads/datadownload/3/17/6/99/XXXX ) • Local districts would be required to establish a six-member Innovation Plan Committee, consisting

of the superintendent (or designee), a BOE member, a principal, a parent of a child enrolled in the innovation school, and two teachers.The Innovation Plan Committee would be responsible for the following:

• Informing parents at the innovation school of the innovation school designation; • explaining the reason for said designation; • explaining how the school plans to address performance, including how parents can be

involved; • establishing procedures for public input; • conducting a comprehensive needs assessment and investigation to determine root causes for

performance; and • developing an action plan, based on various data points, to address areas of need.

• Innovation plans will comprehensively explain how the innovation school will address areas of need Innovation plans will explain how the innovation school will assess student performance by including data from multiple measures.

• Innovation schools will provide updates every three months as a part of a progress monitoring and reporting structure. Progress updates will be submitted to the local and state BOEs.

• Annually, superintendent will assess implementation and evaluate plan to see if goals have been met. Superintendent will also submit an evaluation report.

• Approval Process • Teachers at the Innovation School vote by secret ballot; two-thirds of the vote of teachers is

required for approval • Approved plan is submitted to local BOE for public comment. • County BOE will vote to authorize the plan and approve it

Recommendation: Oppose HB0453 Education - Public Schools and Youth Sports Programs - Tackle Football Sponsor Delegate Walker Synopsis Limiting a certain tackle football season to the months of August through December; prohibiting a county board of education or school from offering, approving, or sponsoring tackle football games during the months of January through July; prohibiting a youth sports program from providing tackle football games to youth athletes during the months of January through July; etc.

Platform Positions on Proposed Legislation Attachment B

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Analysis MCPS believes the right to determine sports schedules are the purview of the local Board of Education. Recommendation: Oppose HB0508 Education - Public High Schools - Financial Literacy Curriculum and Graduation

Requirement Sponsors Delegates Walker and Anderton Synopsis Requiring the State Board of Education to develop curriculum content for a half-semester-long course in financial literacy; requiring each county board of education to implement the financial literacy curriculum content in every public high school in the county; and requiring students to complete a course in financial literacy in order to graduate from a public high school.

• House Bill 371 requires the State Board of Education to develop curriculum content for a semester course in financial literacy.

• The bill also requires county boards of education to implement the financial literacy curriculum content developed by the state board in every high school in the county.

• The bill requires students to complete a course in financial literacy in order to graduate from high school and would take effect on July 1, 2020.

Analysis The financial literacy standards developed by the Maryland State Department of Education are currently taught and assessed in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in middle school social studies classes and Grade 10 government classes. In addition, financial literacy is addressed in middle school Family and Consumer Sciences classes and in high school College/Career Research Development classes. All grade 7 students in MCPS attend Finance Park, a financial literacy program administered by Junior Achievement that addresses all financial literacy standards. MCPS is in the process of developing online modules aligned to financial literacy standards that could ultimately be a requirement in lieu of a semester course. Recommendation: Oppose HB0516/ SB0542 Public School Students- Daily Physical Activity-(Student Health and Fitness

Act) Sponsors Delegates Walker, Anderton, Arentz, D. Barnes, Bhandari, Boyce, Branch,

Brooks, Buckel, Cardin, Charkoudian, Clark, Corderman, Cullison, D.E. Davis, Fennell, M. Fisher, Ghrist, Harrison, Hettleman, Hill, Jacobs, Johnson, Korman, Krimm, Lopez, McComas, McKay, Miller, Patterson, Qi, Reznik, Shetty, Szeliga, Terrasa, Turner, Valderrama, Wivell, and K. Young Senator Young

Platform Positions on Proposed Legislation Attachment B

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Synopsis Requiring a public school student in elementary school to be provided a daily program of physical activity totaling 150 minutes each week to include physical education and developmentally appropriate, moderate-to-vigorous activity, including recess and at least 90 minutes each week of physical education; requiring that the program of physical activity for a certain category of student be consistent with the student's Individualized Education Program; etc. Analysis Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) concurs with the intent of this bill, to increase physical activity time for all students. Currently, MCPS meets or exceeds weekly elementary school recess minutes, providing 30-40 minutes daily. This exceeds the request of the House Bill 516. MCPS provides 45-60 minutes of physical education per week through a scheduled elementary physical education classes. The current state of local school wellness councils allows local schools to select a goal area which may include nutrition education, food services, and/or physical activity and does not require that the local school wellness councils focus solely on moderate-to-vigorous physical activities. MCPS respectfully request the following amendments:

• Remove middle school students (they do not have recess in middle school in MCPS). • Modify the number of minutes for physical education from 90 minutes per week to 60

minutes per week. • Amend the language about a statewide advisory council to align with the existing MSDE/State

committee • Require the triennial assessment to be an every other year reporting, rather than annual

reporting. • Align the need for baseline student data with the current FERPA and HIPPA laws. • Include an exception for facilities that host students receiving alternative methods of education

from the requirement for every school to have a gymnasium.

Recommendation: Support with Amendments HB0548 Career and Technology Education - Training in Soft Business Skills Sponsor Delegate Stein Synopsis Requiring career and technology programs in public schools to integrate into the academic curriculum training and exposure in soft business skills; and including in "soft business skills" employee and employer relationships, business etiquette, social and emotional awareness in the workplace, group work skills, appropriate professional communication skills, public presentation and customer service, project planning, and use of common business tools. Analysis MCPS recognized the importance of incorporating professional skills/competencies (formerly referred to as ‘soft skills’) into our curriculum at all levels, including career and technical education programs. MCPS has worked with higher education institutions in Montgomery County and have adopted the research based National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) professional competencies for integration across the academic continuum.

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Recommendation: Oppose HB0575 Education - Sexual Abuse and Assault Awareness and Prevention Program -

Human and Sex Trafficking Sponsors Delegates Johnson, Acevero, Anderson, Anderton, Arentz, Atterbeary, Bagnall, Barron,

Bartlett, Bhandari, Boyce, Cain, Cardin, Carr, Charkoudian, Charles, Chisholm, Corderman, Cox, Crosby, Crutchfield, Cullison, D.M. Davis, W. Fisher, Forbes, Fraser-Hidalg

Synopsis Requiring the State Board of Education and certain nonpublic schools to develop and implement a program of age-appropriate education on the awareness and prevention of sexual abuse and assault; and including, for students in grades 6 through 8, material promoting the awareness and prevention of human and sex trafficking. Analysis MCPS supports the instruction of human and sex trafficking and actively participates in the Montgomery County Committee on Human Trafficking. Given that safety and injury prevention are taught in grades 6 and 8 in MCPS believes the implmentation and timing of this curriculum should be determined by the local school ssytem. This is also due to the limited amount of instructional time (nine weeks) for health education in middle schools. Recommendation: Oppose HB0743/SB0558 Universal School Start Act of 2020 Sponsors The Speaker (By Request - Administration)

The President (By Request - Administration) Synopsis Requiring, beginning in the 2020-2021 school year, a county board of education to set the start date of the school year for schools in the county not earlier than the first Tuesday after Labor Day; authorizing a county board to grant a school a certain waiver from a certain requirement for good cause as established by the State Board of Education in regulations; requiring the State Board to adopt certain regulations; etc. Analysis This bill would require school systems to begin school after Labor Day. The bill does not include a required end to the school year, which would provide more flexibility than the previous Executive Order; however, local jurisdictions should have the ability to determine all of the aspects of the instructional year in context with each other and with the priorities of the local community. For example, in 2019, Labor Day fell on September 7, which would have made the first day of school September 8, 2019, under this requirement. That creates a very late end to the school year the

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following spring in order to meet all of the necessary educational and operational elements. This bill appears to require that the post-Labor Day start requirement would be effective for the 2020–2021 school year. At this point in the year, it would create a very significant series of practical challenges not only for MCPS but for the entire Montgomery County community to alter the calendar for the upcoming school year. The 2020–2021 school year calendar was approved by the Board of Education in December 2019, and everything from testing and instruction to construction schedules and community use for summer camps is already set around the approved instructional calendar. At a very minimum, the bill would need to take effect for the following school year, 2021–2022. Recommendation: Oppose SB0434/HB0722 Labor and Employment- Occupational Safety and Health- Heat Stress

Standards Sponsors Senators McCray, Augustine, and Kelley

Delegates Charkoudian, Brooks, Crutchfield, Cullison, Moon, Palakovich Carr, Rogers, Shetty, Stewart, Turner, Valderrama, and Wilkins

Synopsis Requiring the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to adopt regulations, on or before October 1, 2022, that include a certain standard establishing certain heat stress levels and to ensure that all employers comply with certain requirements with respect to occupational exposure to excessive heat; requiring certain employers to develop, implement, and maintain a certain excessive heat-related illness prevention plan for employees; etc. Analysis Currently, online heat stress training is offered to all MCPS employees, and some divisions provide informal staff training and seasonal guidance related to heat and cold stress. MCPS employees rarely experience serious heat-related worker illnesses (three cases since 2011). MCPS supports providing additional training and planning around this issue to ensure worker safety. Many of the details of how this bill would impact MCPS will not be known fully until the implementing regulations are developed. Recommendation: Oppose

Creating a Safe and Secure Environment for all Students HB0202 Restorative Schools Fund and Grants - Establishment Sponsors Delegates Cain, Feldmark, Guyton, Mosby, Smith, and Wilkins Synopsis Establishing the Restorative Schools Fund as a special, nonlapsing fund; specifying the purpose of the Fund; requiring the State Department of Education to administer the Fund; requiring the State Treasurer

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to hold the Fund and the Comptroller to account for the Fund; specifying the contents of the Fund; specifying the purpose for which the Fund may be used; providing that a distribution from the Fund is supplemental to and is not intended to take the place of existing funding; etc. Analysis This fund would allow MCPS to scale the work of restorative justice and restorative practices within schools by providing a means to expand the team of central office staff dedicated to school support in the adoption and implementation of restorative justice by expanding the central office staff members who support schools in the implementation of restorative practices within their school communities, MCPS would be able to strategically focus on the disruption of disproportionality in school discipline, specifically in- and out-of school suspensions by:

• by expanding the central office staff members who support schools, on-site training, coaching, and feedback models can be implemented and monitored with greater efficiency to allow schools to focus on both preventative and responsive restorative practices

• by expanding the central office staff members who support schools, it offers MCPS greater support measures to schools in designing and implementing restorative practices with specific student populations (students with disabilities, students who are linguistically diverse students who are impacted by trauma)

This state grant fund would allow at least one particular central office staff member within the restorative justice unit to focus specifically on rating the implementation of restorative practices within schools and the district and providing specific data analysis and recommendations based on specific implementation guides. This would also allow MCPS to expand the central office staff members who can work in partnership with the Equity Initiatives Unit to ensure schools are able to examine practices through racial and cultural lenses and then implement both preventative and responsive restorative practices that meet the needs of a diverse school community Recommendation: Support HB0327 Public Schools - School Resource Officers - Prohibited Conduct Sponsors Delegates Washington and Ivey Synopsis Prohibiting a school administrator or official or a school safety coordinator from directing a school resource officer to enforce certain discipline-related policies, rules, regulations, or procedures; prohibiting a school resource officer from unilaterally enforcing certain discipline-related policies, rules, regulations, or procedures; and requiring a specialized curriculum for use in training of school resource officers to include training in conduct that is prohibited. Analysis HB0327 prohibits a school administrator, official, or a school safety coordinator from directing a School Resource Officer (SRO) to enforce certain discipline-related policies, rules, regulations, or procedures; prohibiting an SRO from unilaterally enforcing certain discipline-related policies, rules,

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regulations, or procedures; and requiring a specialized curriculum for use in training of SROs to include training in conduct that is prohibited. MCPS/Montgomery County Police Department Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding SROs and school discipline specifies SROs are not to be engaged in the practice of enforcing MCPS polices, rules, regulations, and/or other procedures to include school discipline. All roles are addressed within the MOU. MCPS supports HB0327 with the following two amendments:

1. Nothing in the bill should preclude SROs, school administrators, and school security employees from collaboratively working together to promote safe, inclusive, and positive learning environments in the best interest of students. This collaboration can include a discussion regarding the Code of Conduct and disciplinary sanctions in order to reduce school arrests which mitigates the concept of School to Prison Pipeline. It may be in the best interest of a student to receive school disciplinary sanction(s) as opposed to being arrested.

2. School security employees need to be exempt from the bill as they regularly interact with school administrators in discussing the best interests and well-being of students when it comes to school discipline. School security employees very often know the students and issues that impact their education and behavior.

Recommendation: Support with Amendments HB0328 State Department of Education - School Discipline - Data Collection Sponsors Delegates Washington, Charles, W. Fisher, Ivey, and J. Lewis Synopsis Requiring the State Department of Education to disaggregate certain discipline-related data in an electronic spreadsheet format for the Maryland Report Card website; requiring certain discipline-related data to be available as a data download; requiring the Department to provide certain discipline-related data to the public in an accessible electronic spreadsheet format; requiring the Department to lower a risk ratio used to identify a school's disproportional disciplinary practices from 3.0 to 2.0; etc. Analysis The data collection and reporting would not be particularly onerous because MCPS already collects this data in disaggregated form. Any data not already rolled up to MSDE could be easily done. Furthermore, MCPS is already in the process of updating Policy JGA, Student Discipline, to reflect our emphasis on restorative approaches to student discipline. Moreover, the MCPS Student Code of Conduct also emphasizes fairness and equity through clear, appropriate, and consistent expectations for student behavior. MSDE spent a great deal of time coming up with their formula for identifying disproportionality in discipline through their expectations for each school system to develop a Disproportionate Discipline Local Action Plan. Recommendation: Support

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SB0258 Public Schools - Electric Retractable Room Partitions - Operation Requirements Sponsors Senators Bailey, Beidle, Gallion, Ready, and Salling Synopsis Prohibiting school employees from operating an electric retractable room partition in a public school except under certain circumstances; requiring any annual safety review, evaluation, or exercise for school employees in a certain school building to include certain information and demonstrations; and requiring the State Department of Education to develop and disseminate model safety guidelines on the safe operation of electric retractable room partitions. Analysis MCPS currently is in the process of verifying the inventory of electric retractable room partitions that are in 100 schools to confirm the status and features of each. We know that many do not have a safety sensor as described in the legislation. MCPS has implemented safety protocols across all schools to ensure safe operation regardless of the specific features of the partition. The current practice for operating the wall requires two staff members, each with a control key, to be standing on opposite sides of the operable wall opening. MCPS is not aware of any current law in Maryland regulating these partitions. As MCPS is renovating schools, partition doors with the sensor systems are being installed, and the two key operation is still required. As written, the bill would have an immediate impact on the operations in schools. Currently, in order to accommodate different classes and provide maximum flexibility for student education opportunities, the partitions (especially in gymnasiums) frequently are operated during the instructional day. In order to provide adequate supervision for all students, students may be present in the gymnasiums while the doors are moved, but to ensure safety, students are required to stand on one side of the gymnasium away from the doors. MCPS recommends the following amendments to the legislation:

• Add (B): No student will ever be permitted to operate any type of electric retractable room partition.

• Rename existing (B) to "&"(C) • Insert new (C) (2): If the doors are not equipped with the safety sensors as required in (C)

(1), partitions with a two-key mechanism that stops the partition immediately if either of the two keys are released may be operated by two school employees,"&" only if schools develop a written process that requires:

o Both persons operating the keys must be in a position to view the entire area around the moving wall;

o Both must simultaneously turn and hold the keys during the entire operation; o Post instructions to operate the partitions; o Create a key management plan; o Develop provisions for maintaining student supervision and safety while doors are

in operation; and o Require that students and other bystanders stand next to a fixed wall at least

1"&"5 feet away from the moving room partition.

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• Insert as (C)(3): If there is not a safety sensor or two-key mechanism, doors may only be operated when:

• Change existing (B)(2) to be labeled as (C)(3)(a) • Change existing (B)(3) to be labeled as (C)(3)(b)

Recommendation: Support with Amendments

Providing Equitable Opportunities to All Students & Working Together with Families & Communities

HB0337/SB0298 Election Law - Local Public Campaign Financing - Boards of Education Sponsors Delegates Ebersole, Feldmark, Lierman, Lisanti, Moon, Palakovich Carr, Shetty,

Solomon, and Terrasa Senators Lam, Beidle, Carter, Feldman, Patterson, Rosapepe, and Washington

Synopsis Authorizing the governing body of a county to establish a system of public campaign financing for an elected member of the county board of education; prohibiting a certain system of public campaign financing from financing the election of a student member of a county board of education; requiring the governing body of a county that establishes a system of public campaign financing to finance certain elective offices for one full election cycle before implementing financing for elected members of the county board of education; etc Analysis This Bill alters a certain provision of law to authorize the governing body of a county to establish, by law, a system of public campaign financing for an elected member of the county board of education. School Board members in Montgomery County do not receive public financing. This funding could help to add equity to the Board election process. Montgomery County Public Schools supports this legislation on the grounds of providing more equitable opportunities for those who which to be a part of the Board of Education. However, MCPS does request a potential consideration regarding the Student Member of the Board (SMOB) elections, which do receive public funds through the MCPS budget. MCPS would like to be sure that this Bill recognizes a separate track for the student member of the board election process. Recommendation: Support HB0348/SB0267 AP Opportunities Act of 2020 Sponsors The Speaker (By Request - Administration) and Delegates Adams, Anderton, Arentz,

Arikan, Buckel, Chisholm, Clark, Corderman, Ghrist, Griffith, Hartman, Howard, Jacobs, Kipke, Kittleman, Krebs, Long, Malone, Mautz, McComas, McKay, Metzgar, Morgan, Otto, and Saab The President (By Request - Administration) and Senators Bailey, Beidle, Carozza,

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Cassilly, Eckardt, Edwards, Elfreth, Ferguson, Gallion, Guzzone, Hershey, Jennings, Kagan, Ready, Salling, Serafini, and West

Synopsis Requiring the State Board of Education to provide Advanced Placement examination fee assistance, beginning in the 2020-2021 school year, for students whose annual household income is at or below 185% of the federal poverty level, who is in foster care or Head Start, who is homeless, who is living in a household receiving certain federal assistance, or who is able to show that the fee would be a financial hardship; authorizing the State Board to adopt certain regulations; etc. Analysis MCPS supports legislation which will support students in participating in the Advanced Placement Assessments. This funding would help replace the federal grant that was for this same purpose which ended in 2015. Recommendation: Support HB0383 State Department of Education - Student Performance Reports - Students With

Disabilities Sponsors Delegates Guyton, Bhandari, Cain, Forbes, Hettleman, Kerr, Metzgar, Palakovich Carr,

and P. Young Synopsis Requiring each report on student performance that is published by the State Department of Education to include data disaggregated by student status under § 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Analysis The Office of Special Education supports the enactment of the bill requiring that each report on student performance that is published by the Maryland State Department of Education includes certain disaggregated data relating to students with disabilities. This bill mirrors the Montgomery County Public Schools Equity Accountability Model, which moves beyond the typical state and federal aggregate reporting to reporting for specific focus groups of students who have not experienced the same level of access, opportunity, or success as other students. Recommendation: Support HB0403/SB0903 Immmigration Enforcement- Public Schools, Hospitals, and Courthouses-

Policies Sponsors Delegates Wilkins, Charkoudian, Feldmark, W. Fisher, Hill, Ivey, Kaiser, Lehman,

Lierman, Love, Luedtke, Moon, Mosby, Pena-Melnyk, Rosenberg, Shetty, Solomon, Stewart, and Terrasa Senator Smith

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Synopsis Requiring the Attorney General, in consultation with certain stakeholders, to develop guidelines to assist public schools, hospitals, and courthouses to draft policies that limit civil immigration enforcement activities on their premises in order to ensure these facilities remain safe and accessible to all; and authorizing public schools, hospitals, and courthouses to establish and publish policies that limit immigration enforcement on their premises to the fullest extent possible; etc. Analysis Schools are already listed as sensitive places by the federal government where immigration enformcement generally will not occur. Nevertheless, MCPS can benefit from standard guidelines across the state on these points. MCPS supports this legislation and is willing to share our approach as a template for others. Recommendation: Support HB0503/SB0391 Primary and Secondary Schools - Dependent Children of Service Members

- Enrollment and Documentation Requirements Sponsors Delegates Valentino-Smith, Arikan, Bagnall, D. Barnes, Barron, Bartlett, Brooks,

Chang, Cox, Crosby, Griffith, Hettleman, Hornberger, Howard, Impallaria, M. Jackson, Krebs, Lehman, Long, McComas, Patterson, Pena-Melnyk, Proctor, Saab, Solomon, R. Watson,

Synopsis Requiring a county superintendent of schools to allow a dependent child of a service member relocating to the State on military orders to enroll in a school in the county in accordance with certain provisions of law; requiring a county superintendent to allow a dependent child of a certain service member to apply for enrollment in a certain public school in the same manner and at the same time as individuals domiciled in the county; requiring the service member to provide certain documentation to the school by a certain time; etc. Analysis Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) thoroughly follows the Military Compact for Educational Opportunity for Military Children. The Compact articulates accommodations in place so that children of active military are not disadvantaged as they have to change school systems due to frequent moves. MCPS also has an active relationship with Tashina Andrus, the military’s Montgomery County School Liaison Officer, to ensure that military parents and students have access to the information and resources they need to fully take advantage of their education in MCPS. MCPS would have no problem accommodating this slight change, which would allow for earlier enrollment of students once a relocation was confirmed for the military family member. Recommendation: Support

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HB1135/ SB0828 Department of Education - Summer Food Service Program - Waivers

(Summer Meals Waiver Act) Sponsors Delegates Korman, Bridges, Charkoudian, D.M. Davis, Haynes, Lopez, Moon,

Palakovich Carr, Shetty, Stewart, Valentino-Smith, and P. Young Senator McCray

Synopsis FOR the purpose of requiring the State Department of Education to apply for certain state–wide waivers relating to the federal Summer Food Service Program; requiring the Department to renew any such waivers which are granted and then lapse or are terminated; making this Act an emergency measure; making this Act subject to certain contingencies; and generally relating to the Summer Food Service Program. Analysis Without the waivers, the challenges Montgomery County Public Schools will face will include: 1. Meal Service Times

• A large number of our sites, including our Title I summer programming, have a high volume of children (600+) and due to limited space for service and program time restrictions, lunch has to be served prior to the three-hour window.

• A large number of our sites have a high volume of students but with limited space for all to utilize the cafeteria. Students would be consuming meals in areas not designated for eating, which would require additional staff at the site level to make sure all waste is disposed of properly. In addition, staff already is at a minimum, resulting in inadequate supervision throughout the building if required to eat within a one or two hour period of time.

• If programming was changed to only serve lunch at these sites due to a three hour service window, approximately 105,000 breakfasts would not be served to students at these sites. This equates to approximately $241,237 in lost participation reimbursement.

2. Monitoring • We will need additional staff members, which we cannot afford with the reimbursement

amount. The approximate additional staffing costs would be $27,300. • Our current staffing for the Summer Food Service Program would not be adequate to ensure

that all sites receive first week visits. Start dates may have to be staggered to meet this requirement.

• Students in the Summer Food Service Program would not receive meals the first week of the program.

• Prioritizing the sites for start-up would be inequitable. • Our sites are geographically spread throughout our serving area. We are unable to physically

reach all of the sites within the first week. This means we would have to serve fewer sites, and therefore, fewer children.

• Due to this regulation, for sites that are operating a short time period such as a site that serves for one week, we will have to go to that site multiple times in one week. We do not have adequate staff to cover all of those visits.

• Some of our sites are only open for a short period of time each day, so it will not be possible for our staff to get to all sites within one week while the sites are open.

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• During the first week of July, we have over 100 summer sites beginning operations. It would not be possible to visit all of the sites the first week due to the volume of sites operating.

3. Closed Enrolled: • A large number of our high volume sites average 400–600 students. The accountability of

this volume of students would require additional staff to monitor record keeping procedures which is not fiscally available.

• In order to maintain adequate accountability record keeping during the time provisions allotted, we would likely only be able to serve one meal at each site instead of two, and this would drastically impact participation.

• Sites that may have previously participated in the Summer Food Service Program may choose not to participate knowing the volume of record keeping required.

MCPS has been serving students during the summer for more than 33 years. Our community has relied on us as a source of nutrition in the summer. Despite strong stakeholder support for expansion of summer meals programming, including additional sites to serve our students, without these waivers we will not be able to expand our services to the fullest extent possible to our community. Recommendation: Support SB0401/ HB1147 Places of Public Accommodation and Public Buildings - Single-Occupancy

Public Restrooms - Availability (The Accessible to All Act) Sponsors Senators Kagan, Carter, Elfreth, Guzzone, Hayes, Hester, Kelley, Lee,

Washington, West, and Young Delegates Solomon, Kelly, Acevero, B.Barnes, Barron, Boyce, Bridges, Carr, Charkoudian, Clippinger, Conaway, Cullison, Hill, Lehman, R. Lewis, Love, McIntosh, Mosby, Pena-Melnyk, and K. Young

Synopsis Requiring that a single-occupancy public restroom be marked with certain gender-inclusive signage in certain places of public accommodation and certain public buildings; authorizing certain places of public accommodation to use certain gender-inclusive signage that was in use before October 1, 2020; providing that a county or municipality is responsible for enforcing the signage requirement in place of public accommodation; etc. Analysis This particular bill requires the appropriate gender-inclusive signage that does not use a pictorial representation for single-occupancy public restrooms. The bill does not apply to primary or secondary education facilities. It also requires the county or municipality to set fines for facilities that serve the general public to have the appropriate signage installed by October 1, 2020. Recommendation: Support

Items for Informational Purposes ATTACHMENT C

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HB0150/ Budget Bill (Fiscal Year 2021)

SB0190

Sponsor The Speaker

The President

Synopsis

Making the proposed appropriations contained in the State Budget for the fiscal year ending June 30,

2021, in accordance with Article III, Section 52 of the Maryland Constitution; etc.

Analysis

This bill reflects the funding that has been included in the governor’s budget proposal for FY 2021. It

includes funding for the Maryland State Department of Education including Bridge to Excellence

funding, which is the major source of state aid funding that MCPS receives each year.

HB0152/ Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2020

SB0192

Sponsor The Speaker

The President

Synopsis

Authorizing, altering, or requiring the distribution and payment of certain revenue in certain fiscal years;

altering the requirement that the Comptroller provide notice of abandoned property in a certain manner;

altering the manner in which the Governor is required to provide certain budget books; repealing and

altering certain programs; increasing the amount local governments are required to reimburse the State

for certain services; repealing a requirement that the State appropriate money for certain purposes; etc.

Analysis

Bill adds language that prekindergarten expansion grants are a source from which the Blueprint for

Maryland’s Future Fund may be used.

Bill provides aid amounts from state operating budget for community and other colleges.

Bill provides that at the discretion of the governor, budget books may be prepared in either printed or

electronic format and be posted on the Department of Budget and Management’s website.

Starting in FY 2021 and thereafter, the governor is directed to add to the State Retirement and Pension

Fund the amount that the unappropriated general fund surplus exceeds $10 million.

Items for Informational Purposes ATTACHMENT C

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HB0450 Public High Schools- Career Exploration and Development Activities- Coffee

Sponsor Delegate Grammer

Synopsis

Prohibiting an Executive Branch agency from banning or regulating the sale of coffee in conjunction

with a career exploration and development activity in any public high school in the State; and repealing

the exception that prohibited banning or regulating the sale of coffee in a Baltimore County public high

school that sold coffee on or before June 30, 2018, in conjunction with a career exploration and

development activity.

Analysis

MCPS supports students in career and technical education (CTE) programs that engage in

entrepreneurial business experiences that help them build knowledge and skills for career and business

success. In hospitality programs, entrepreneurial activities may include the sale of food and beverages,

event management, or catering, typically for adults.

It is important to note that if food or beverage is provided to students as part of this career exploration

activity, it would need to conform with all established guidelines such as MCPS Regulation JPG-RA,

Wellness: Physical and Nutritional Health. Currently, any products containing caffeine are not allowed

at any grade level, for students.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/policy/pdf/jpgra.pdf

HB0515 Public Schools - Staff Members - Report

Sponsor Delegates Cain, Bagnall, Bartlett, Carey, Chang, Charkoudian, Feldmark, Henson,

Howard, Ivey, Mosby, Rogers, Saab, Smith, and Wilkins

Synopsis

Requiring each county board of education to submit, on or before July 1 each year, a report to the State

Board of Education, the Governor, and certain legislative committes on the ratio of students to certain

staff members at each school; and requiring the report to include the ratio of students to certain staff

members for the school system as a whole.

Analysis

The bill would require MCPS to report to the state board, the governor, et. al., the ratio of MCPS

students to six specific categories of staff members. The report would start on July 1, 2021, for these

ratios and for each fiscal year thereafter. It should be noted that of the six categories of staff members

listed in the bill, MCPS does not have a “bilingual facilitator” position.

Items for Informational Purposes ATTACHMENT C

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HB0603/ SB0794 County Boards of Education- Establishing Regional Career and Technical

Education Schools- Authority

Sponsors Delegate Ghrist

Senators Hershey and Rosapepe

Synopsis

Authorizing the county boards of education in Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's, and Talbot

counties to establish a regional Career and Technical Education (CTE) school to provide career and

technical education programs to public high school students in the counties; requiring a regional CTE

school to operate under the terms of a certain collective bargaining agreement; requiring the

Interagency Commission on School Construction to study and develop a certain cost-share formula for

certain county boards of education; etc.

Analysis

HB0603 seeks to establish a regional CTE center for the Eastern Shore of Maryland. It would be a

collaborative effort between Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot Counties.

According to the Bill, the center would be required to operate under a collective bargaining agreement,

utilize a cost-sharing formula for the participating Boards of Education to abide by, and require at least

two or more of the local counties’ Board of Educations to participate in the creation of the center.

If a regional center for the Eastern Shore is created, the Center would potentially be eligible to receive

Perkins funding. Since MCPS receives Perkins funding for its CTE programs, there may be potential

impact to MCPS.

MCPS already has established CTE centers within Montgomery County and would not be directly

impacted nor need to access a multi-county regional CTE program.

HB0644/SB0617 State Department of Education - Financial Literacy Instruction - Reporting

Sponsor Delegate Stein

Senator Klausmeier

Synopsis

Requiring the State Department of Education to report to the Senate Education, Health, and

Environmental Affairs Committee and the House Committee on Ways and Means, on or before

December 1 each year, on the implementation by local school systems of certain standards and objectives

in the program of instruction in financial literacy specified in COMAR 13A.04.06.

Analysis

This legislation does not impact MCPS, as it orders MSDE to collect and report the information.

Items for Informational Purposes ATTACHMENT C

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SB0065 Counties - Construction of Sidewalks and Crosswalks - Safe Alternative Routes to

Public Schools

Sponsor Senator Ellis

Synopsis

For the purpose of requiring a county board of education each year to prepare and post in a certain

manner a certain report that identifies pathways that certain public school students may use to travel to

school using only safe alternative routes under certain circumstances; requiring the governing body of

a county each year to review a certain report and construct any sidewalks and crosswalks necessary to

create safe alternative routes for certain public school students under certain circumstances; requiring

the governing body of a county to develop a certain plan with a certain governmental entity or person

and take certain efforts to execute a certain plan under certain circumstances; defining a certain term;

providing for the application of this Act; and generally relating to safe alternative routes to public

schools.

Analysis

This bill would require the county (not school system) to provide more sidewalks and crosswalks, but

does not clarify that these are not the only safe routes for school. MCPS will continue to monitor this

bill.