Thursday, February 11, 2016

Bills that might be of particular interest to students

There are some bills before the General Assembly this session that may be of particular interest to students.  I've already blogged about bills that could affect the ability to pay for college, but students care about more things than that!  Here are a some bills relating to issues as diverse as voting rights for Montgomery County's Student Member of the Board of Education, creation of an anonymous text-messaging system for students to use to report bullying, and protecting the First Amendment rights of student journalists.

HB 41 Anonymous two-way text messaging tip programs – sponsor Del. Arentz
This bill would amend the Safe Schools Reporting Act to expand the model policy developed by the State Board of Education for reporting bullying, investigating reports of bullying, and disciplining students who have violated school bullying policies. The bill would require local boards of education to create and publicize two-way anonymous text messaging programs for use by students and others involved in or witnessing bullying to anonymously report the incidents.

Here is a link to the bill’s page on the GA website:

The bill is assigned to the House Ways and Means committee, and had an initial hearing on 1/28– no further action yet.  As of 2/11 there is no Senate cross-file.  Here is a link to the Ways and Means committee members – each name is a hyperlink to their contact information:
http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmMain.aspx?pid=cmtepage&stab=04&id=w%26m&tab=subject3&ys=2016RS

HB87 – Student Member of the Board (SMOB) Voting – Montgomery County Delegation
This is a Montgomery County local bill (meaning its provisions would apply only in Montgomery County) to extend the voting rights and Board participation of the Student Member of the Board of Education. Here is the contact information for all of the members of the Montgomery County Delegation:


Here is a link to the HB87 bill page on the GA website:

The bill is assigned to the House Ways and Means committee, and had an initial hearing on 2/4.  No further action as of 2/11 - as of  that date there is no Senate cross-file.  Here is a link to the Ways and Means committee members – each name is a hyperlink to their contact information:
http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmMain.aspx?pid=cmtepage&stab=04&id=w%26m&tab=subject3&ys=2016RS

HB115/SB582 - Public School Robotics Club Grant Program -  sponsor Del. Reznik
The bill would create a grant program, administered by the State Dept. of Education, to support and expand robotics clubs in public schools.  The bill would require the governor to provide at least $500,000 to seed the program. 

Here’s a link to the bill’s page on the GA website:

The bill is assigned to the House Ways and Means committee, and had an initial hearing on 2/4, no further action as of 2/11. Here is a link to the Ways and Means committee members – each name is a hyperlink to their contact information:
http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmMain.aspx?pid=cmtepage&stab=04&id=w%26m&tab=subject3&ys=2016RS

SB582 is the Senate cross-file.  There is a hyperlink to the SB582 bill page on the HB115 bill page.  SB582 is assigned to the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs committee. The bill will be heard in EHEA on 2/24. Here is a link to the EHEA committee members – each name is a hyperlink to their contact information:
http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmMain.aspx?pid=cmtepage&stab=04&id=ehe&tab=subject3&ys=2016RS


HB708/SB781 – Maryland Seal of Biliteracy – Del. Gutierrez
A little bit of history. This bill is back after failing to get a vote in the House Ways and Means committee last year – even though it sailed through committee on the Senate side, and was unanimously approved in the Senate.

The bill establishes a Maryland Seal of Biliteracy Program to recognize public high school graduates, beginning with the graduating class of 2017, who have attained proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing one or more languages in addition to English. The purpose of the program is to promote linguistic proficiency and cultural literacy in one or more languages in addition to English and to provide recognition of the attainment of those skills by affixing a Seal of Biliteracy to the student’s diploma or transcript at graduation. Participation in the program by a local school system is voluntary; however, if a local school system chooses to participate, an individual school may not opt out.

Here is a link to the bill’s page on the General Assembly website:

The House version of the bill is assigned to the Ways and Means committee, and is set for initial hearing on 3/10.  Here is a link to the membership of Ways and Means – each name is a hyperlink to the delegate’s contact information:


There is a link to the Senate version of the bill on the HB708 bill page.  SB781 is assigned to the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs committee. The bill will be heard in EHEA on 2/24. Here is a link to the EHEA committee members – each name is a hyperlink to their contact information:
http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmMain.aspx?pid=cmtepage&stab=04&id=ehe&tab=subject3&ys=2016RS

SB764 – Student Journalists – Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press – Sen. Raskin
This bill – which would ensure student journalists enjoy the Constitutionally protected Freedoms of Speech and the Press, is sponsored by Senator Jamie Raskin.  In his other life, Senator Raskin is a nationally recognized Constitutional Law scholar, and a professor of Constitutional Law at American University.  In other words, he knows the subject.

Here’s a link to the bill’s page on the General Assembly website:
http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmMain.aspx?pid=billpage&tab=subject3&id=sb0764&stab=01&ys=2016RS

The bill is assigned to the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs committee, and set for hearing on 3/2. As of 2/11 there is no House crossfile. Here is a link to the EHEA committee members – each name is a hyperlink to their contact information:
http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmMain.aspx?pid=cmtepage&stab=04&id=ehe&tab=subject3&ys=2016RS

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