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THIS WEEK IN ANNAPOLIS

MSEA Works for Better Star Rating School Accountability System

Contributing to a years-long process to make the state’s school accountability system more meaningful and transparent, MSEA testified yesterday in the House Ways and Means Committee for House Bill 1582, the Comprehensive Outcomes and Measures of Progress for Supporting Schools, or COMPASS Act. The legislation would update the existing law regarding the state’s accountability system, including altering the school quality indicators, academic indicators, and indicator weights that can be included in a revised Maryland School Report Card. The legislation was introduced by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), in consultation with MSEA (see previous coverage in Up the Street). HB1582 is consistent with important guardrails around accountability measures and over-testing limitations that were established by the Protect Our Schools Act (POSA) that MSEA fought to pass in 2017.

The COMPASS Act supports limits on standardized testing established by POSA and promotes academic growth and would add the option to measure staffing indicators as part of the School Quality and Student Success (SQSS) component. MSEA advocates for the rating system to become a descriptive model that prioritizes transparency, context, equity, and continuous improvement over labeling and scores that overly reduce and simplify the strengths and areas of improvement for individual schools. 

MSEA Members Advocate for Bills to Strengthen Profession, Worker Rights

This week, in two dozen hearings MSEA provided testimony on bills to expand worker rights, reduce the educator shortage, and protect resources for public schools, among other issues.

Improve Wages and Address the Educator Shortage

On Wednesday, Stacy Tayman, president of the Calvert Association of Educational Support Staff, and MSEA President Paul Lemle were part of a panel that informed the House Ways and Means Committee that a majority of education support professionals (ESPs) who hold full-time school jobs have to work more than one job to support themselves and their families. The panel advocated for House Bill 1205, sponsored by Del. Greg Wims (D-Montgomery), which would set a $25 per hour starting professional wage for ESPs by July 1, 2028. The crossfile of HB1205 is Senate Bill 764, sponsored by Sen. Craig Zucker (D-Montgomery).  Also on Wednesday, in the Senate Finance Committee, MSEA supported Senate Bill 886, sponsored by Sen. Anthony Muse (D-Prince George’s), to establish a minimum wage for workers in food service. SB886 is crossfiled with House Bill 1229, sponsored by Del. Vaughn Stewart (D-Montgomery).

MSEA testified Tuesday in the Ways and Means Committee for House Bill 1115, sponsored by Del. Andrew Pruski (D-Anne Arundel), to correct an oversight in the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future and fully recognize National Board Certified educators who are eligible for salary increases promised by the Blueprint to educators who maintain their certifications. The bill would remedy the unintentional penalization of educators who hold an earlier version of National Board Certification (NBC), delaying their salary increases. The bill adds recognition of educators who have renewed a 10-year NBC and codifies that their NBC renewal is equivalent to two maintenance-of-certification cycles for a 5-year NBC. The crossfile of HB1115 is Senate Bill 957, sponsored by Sen. Dawn Gile (D-Anne Arundel), which will be heard Tuesday in the Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee.

MSEA supported House Bill 1192 on Tuesday in the House Government, Labor, and Elections Committee (GLE), to expand the membership of the State Board of Sign Language Interpreters and require the nomination process to include outreach to underrepresented deaf, deafblind, and interpreter communities. MSEA supports the bill’s goal to ensure access to qualified interpreters for all who benefit from their services. HB1192 is sponsored by Del. Heather Bagnall (D-Anne Arundel), and the crossfile is Senate Bill 645, sponsored by Sen. Nancy King (D-Montgomery).

Worker Rights

On Wednesday in the GLE Committee, MSEA supported House Bill 1492, sponsored by Del. Eric Ebersole (D-Baltimore County), to repeal the threat of penalty associated with striking that currently applies to educators and library employees. While never a first resort, MSEA supports ensuring that educators have a right to strike without sanctions against their licenses or their unions, as educators in many other states do, and as private employees do. Prior to the hearing, MSEA President Paul Lemle spoke at a rally for the bill organized by the Baltimore Teachers Union.

In support of expanding collective bargaining rights, MSEA testified on Wednesday in the GLE Committee in support of House Bill 1433 and on Thursday in the Senate Finance Committee for Senate Bill 922. HB1433, sponsored by Del. Aletheia McCaskill (D-Baltimore County), would better define who is a supervisory employee in the community college setting. The crossfile for HB1433 is Senate Bill 978, sponsored by Sen. Alonzo Washington (D-Prince George’s). SB922, sponsored by Sen. Kevin Harris (D-Prince George’s, Charles, and Calvert), would establish collective bargaining rights for local government employees. The crossfile for SB922 is House Bill 831, sponsored by Del. Matthew Schindler (D-Washington).

BRE Reports Slight Revenue Improvement with Little Impact

Maryland’s revenue picture for Fiscal Year 2026, which ends June 30, improved slightly since the December Board of Revenue Estimates report. This week, the BRE revised the FY26 revenue estimate upward by $356 million, but the outlook declined for FY27. The BRE reduced revenue projections for FY27 by $108 million.

NEWS AND NOTES

Moore’s Pick for Education Inspector General Is Lawyer Experienced in Education Issues  

Gov. Moore has nominated attorney Natalia Ahn to be the next inspector general for education. Former Gov. Hogan appointed the first person to hold the position, Richard Henry. Henry is leaving his position in April. Ahn has served as deputy legal counsel to Moore for three years and served three years as general counsel for Montgomery County Public Schools. Before that she was an assistant district attorney in the District of Columbia.

US Education Department’s Anti-DEI Policy Resurfaces via GSA Enforcement

The impact of Trump Administration cuts to the U.S. Education Department in the past year continues to be felt and revealed. The administration is taking a new approach to defund schools that value diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The administration did not appeal a federal court ruling against the administration plan for the Education Department to withhold funding from public schools that it decided are engaged in what they deemed to be unacceptable DEI classroom practices. Now the General Services Administration is threatening to withhold funds from public schools that practice DEI. It would require federal funding recipients to certify that they are not hiring or recruiting undocumented workers.

Decimated by DOGE, IES Studies Face Cuts Now by US Education Department

The Institute for Education Sciences (IES) within the U.S. Department of Education collects a wealth of statistics about public schools and produces the Nation’s Report Card, among other reports. After IES laid off most of its employees a year ago, a skeleton staff is left to produce the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Report Card and other projects. Now the IES is faced with deciding what research to continue or abandon as Education Secretary Linda McMahon considers a report on IES that advises narrowing the data collection to “focus on the most urgent education challenges” and devalues some of the longitudinal studies that the department has undertaken.