State Summary: ED Board Requires Criminal Records Tracking of Transferring Students; After four attempts, the Science of Reading policy was adopted; The head of the child welfare agency is aiming for a “balanced approach” to child accountability

NOW CRIMINAL LAW TO PROSECUTE STUDENTS WHO CHANGE SCHOOLS: Maryland’s school board took emergency action Tuesday, requiring school leaders to be informed if a student has committed a serious crime. The new policy follows a story about a 17-year-old Howard High student now charged with murder and the principal’s complaints that he was left in the dark about the teen’s violent past when he switched school systems. It used to be optional for the old school system to notify the new school system if a student committed a violent crime and changed schools. Mike Hellgren/WJZ-TV News.

• Howard County’s superintendent said at a news conference last week that the 17-year-old transferred from a neighboring school district and that Howard had “no record” of the nature of his offenses. State education officials did not say what was the reason for the rule change, an “emergency measure” that passed unanimously. Kristen Griffith/The Baltimore Banner.
• Howard County school officials said they were not informed that the 17-year-old Ellicott City resident — who had a handgun in his backpack at the time of his arrest Oct. 15 — had been charged in another county and was facing criminal charges Before enrolling at Howard High School, he served under the supervision of the Department of Juvenile Services. William Ford/Maryland Matters.

AFTER 4 ATTEMPT, the state school board approves the new reading science policy: Maryland education leaders are rolling out a new literacy plan designed to increase student success as part of the statewide transition to the science of reading. At a board meeting Tuesday, 11 members voted to adopt the fourth version of the policy, with only one member opposing the measure. In June, the original draft was met with strong criticism because one section required schools to hold back struggling third-graders for another school year. Bri Hatch/WYPR-FM.

• In a presentation, the Education Department said there was an “urgent need” to address unequal state test scores, particularly among students at social and economic disadvantages. Maya Lora/The Baltimore Banner.
• Under the plan, parents can insist that their children be allowed to move to fourth grade if they also agree to enroll the child in a free, supplemental reading program. The literacy plan will be phased in, but the retention portion will not be implemented until the 2027-28 school year. William Ford/Maryland Matters.

JUVIE SERVICES DIRECTOR STANDS UNDER CAPTION, SAYS AGENCY NEEDS A BALANCED APPROACH: Maryland’s top child welfare official said Tuesday he remains focused on improving public safety, holding children accountable and trying to rehabilitate them, amid some calls for his resignation following recent incidents. Secretary Vincent Schiraldi, who led the Department of Child Services for nearly two years under Gov. Wes Moore, said the agency should take a “balanced approach” by holding children accountable while doing “everything we can” to to hold them accountable for their lives. Darcy Costello/The Baltimore Sun.

ADD SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS FOR CANCELLATION: Maryland has some of the country’s strictest abortion protections, a longstanding Democratic majority in the state legislature and a governor who has declared the state a “safe haven” for the procedure. Now voters will decide whether to add another protection measure. If Question 1 is approved with a simple majority on November 5th, it would enshrine a right to reproductive freedom in the state constitution. Sapna Bansil/The Baltimore Banner.

BOARD TO REDUCE DRUG COSTS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: A panel of Maryland lawmakers approved a plan Tuesday to allow a state board to cap the price that state and local governments pay for certain expensive prescription drugs for their employees, the latest move by a state to try to reduce the cost of expensive drugs. Staff/WJZ-TV News.

• The committee is chaired by Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and House Speaker Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore), who said Tuesday that the cost of prescription drugs has become “unjustifiably expensive” and the board’s efforts to Supported cost reduction. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.

HOGAN AND BROOKS ALSO SUPPORT THE DEHICTION OF THE BELOW MINIMUM WAGE: Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and her Republican opponent in the Senate, former Gov. Larry Hogan, were each asked whether they support eliminating the minimum wage for people with disabilities nationally. Both candidates said they would support the move Maryland made several years ago. They were at a forum on issues affecting Marylanders with disabilities. Rachel Baye/WYPR-FM.

COMMENT: Lawmakers must revise anti-fraud bill: Earlier this year, a Maryland woman was scammed out of $18,000. A spoofed call impersonating a US customs officer led to her depositing the money into a Bitcoin ATM. Statewide, Marylanders lost more than $160 million to crime last year. As a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, my office frequently receives calls from constituents who have fallen victim to fraud and scams. While we have focused on consumer education and ensuring Marylanders know how to protect themselves, much more can be done. Del. Jeffrie Long/MarylandReporter.com.

TRANSGENDER RIGHTS AND SCHOOL CULTURE IN MARYLAND: The culture war over transgender rights that is erupting across the country is also playing out in Maryland school districts. School boards setting policy for these districts face a dilemma: Do they prioritize a student’s autonomy over their identity or the parents’ right to know who the child really is? In deep-blue Maryland, 32 of 74 school board candidates who responded to a Local News Network poll said these policies go a step too far. Nineteen of those candidates are running for board seats in the 10 Maryland counties where there are branches of Moms for Liberty, a conservative group that advocates for parents’ rights. Ela Jalil and Devin Etta from Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.com.

HARFORD councilor charged with stealing from Union: A Harford County councilman was indicted Tuesday on charges of stealing funds from the electrical workers union he led for more than half a century, according to court records. City Councilman Dion F. Guthrie, 86, a Democrat who is in his second term representing the Joppa area on the City Council, was charged in Baltimore County by prosecutors with one count of theft between $1,500 and $25,000. Justin Fenton and Dylan Segelbaum/The Baltimore Banner.

• Guthrie says the charges are politically motivated. Still, he also said he has made amends for the alleged crime and expects a suspended sentence before a verdict is reached at a hearing that has yet to be scheduled. Bryan Sears/Maryland Matters.