Because Opportunity Belongs to Everyone
The Maryland State Department of Education constantly strives to ensure that the best education opportunities are available to all students, and this year was no exception. MSDE released the official 2018 Accomplishments Document: Strengthening Education in Maryland- Opportunity Belongs to Everyone this summer.
Our main focus is "Equity and Excellence", a phrase that encompasses excellence in education for all. Through using our resources to produce better results in the classroom, we are building the pathways to success for each Maryland student. By providing strong foundations in early education, quality educators and leaders, and a host of new and innovative education programs, we are equipping each student with the tools necessary for a bright future.
To view the document, read more information about MSDE's 2018 Accomplishments, and to view a special message from Dr. Salmon, follow this link.
 |
|
MSDE hosted it's first-ever statewide joint titles conference, 'Coordinating Federal Resources to Promote Equity,' this summer. Held at Reservoir High School in Columbia, this conference convened hundreds of educators from across the state in an effort to coordinate and analyze the use of Federal Title Program funds. Follow this LINK for a video recap. |
 |
|
The 2018-2019 Leading for School Improvement Institute and Promising Principals’ Academy was hosted in July by the MSDE Office of Leadership Development and School Improvement. These programs provide customized professional learning
experiences to foster the growth of effective leaders and improve student achievement.To view a WBAL news piece on the programs, Click Here.
|
July 24, 2018
 |
|
Congratulations, Dr. Justin M. Hartings!
The
Maryland State Board of Education unanimously elected Dr. Justin M.
Hartings as president, and elected Stephanie Iszard as vice president of The Maryland State Board of Education for the year 2018/19.
|
The following actions were taken at the
July 24, 2018 State Board of Education meeting:
- Granted permission to publish
the proposed amendments to COMAR 13A.06.07.01-.10 Student Transportation. This regulation was brought
before the State Board on June 20, 2018 requesting adoption. Based on discussion and recommendations of
the State Board at the June meeting, further revisions were made to
13A.06.07.07 School Vehicle Driver and
Trainee Disqualifying Conditions and Termination and 13A.06.07.08 School Vehicle Attendant Qualifications and
Disqualifications to remove the second-degree assault automatic
disqualification and to add language that second-degree assault should be addressed
in the regulation and should be held to higher scrutiny.
-
Granted permission to publish the promulgation
of new COMAR 13A.12.01.08-1 Adjunct
Certificate. The new regulatory language provides LEAs the ability to request an adjunct
certificate for individuals with highly specialized content expertise (e.g.
engineers, physicists, medical providers, artists) interested in teaching on a
part-time basis in the classroom as a teacher of record. The regulation establishes the eligibility
criteria for the issuance of the certificate, requires the LEAs to provide specific support and professional
development to an individual who holds an adjunct certificate, and establishes
the limitations of the certificate.
- Granted
permission to publish COMAR 13A.06.09 Maryland Early Literacy Initiative. This
new regulation is designed to carry out the provisions of HB 1415, which establishes the Early Literacy
Initiative, a competitive grant program for up to 50 qualifying schools (Title
I) to develop an evidence-based early literacy program in the school to work
with participating students to meet literacy proficiency targets by the end of
the eighth grade or other literacy targets as determined by the
Department.
-
Granted
permission to publish amendments to COMAR 13A.03.02.08 Grading and Reporting,
which requires each local school system to develop a written policy on grading
and reporting and to file its policies annually with the State Superintendent
of Schools. The proposed amendment requires school systems to recognize
and accept all credits a transfer student earns toward graduation in any other
school system in Maryland and describes requirements that local school systems
must incorporate into their grading and reporting policies.
- Granted permission to adopt amendments to COMAR
13A.06.03.06 Interscholastic Athletics in
the State – Classification, which amend the section regarding how schools
are classified for parity and equitable participation in interscholastic
athletics.
- Granted permission to adopt COMAR 13A.07.11 – Student Suicide Prevention and Safety
Training, which includes language as required in the legislation but also
requires that the annual training for certificated school personnel include
understanding and responding to student mental health, student trauma, student
safety, and other topics related to student social and emotional well-being.
Local Superintendents are required to submit annual documentation by school, on
the type of training, the number of certificated school personnel trained, the
dates of the training, and the materials used for the training.
- Granted permission to publish the amendments to
COMAR 13A.12.01.05 General Requirements
for Professional Certificates to eliminate the basic skills test requirement for those individuals seeking
certification who do not hold a bachelor’s degree (i.e., specialized
professional areas and professional technical education candidates).
- Adopted a qualifying score of 149 for the
revised Praxis subject assessment for certification in the area of Computer
Science, effective July 1, 2018.
- Approved
a request from Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, Inc. to waive the service
learning graduation requirement for the Goodwill Excel Center.
The following Opinions and Orders were rendered:
- Alexander
and Arlene A. v. Harford County Board of Education – student suspension – Opinion No. 18-21
- Shahla F.
v. Montgomery County Board of Education – student transfer – Opinion No. 18-22
- Coldstream
Homestead Monteello Community Corporation, et al. v. Baltimore City Board of
School Commissioners – school closing – Opinion No.
18-23
- Angela Wakhweya v. Prince George’s County Board of
Education – student suspension – Order No. OR18-04
-
Gregory Sutton v. Somerset County Board of Education –
employee termination – Order No. OR18-05
Meeting
materials, Opinions, and Orders can be found HERE.
The next meeting of the Maryland State
Board of Education will be held on Tuesday, August 28, 2018 at the Nancy S.
Grasmick State Education Building, 200 West Baltimore Street, 7th
Floor Board Room, Baltimore, Maryland 21201.
Appropriate
accommodations for individuals with disabilities will be provided upon request.
Eight business days notice prior to the event is required. Please contact
Charlene Necessary at (410) 767-0467 or TTY at (410) 333-6442 so arrangements
can be made.
|
