For Maryland students, March and April have been occupied by college decisions, a statewide shift to hybrid learning, and routine preparation for finals and summer activities. Meanwhile, elected officials in the Maryland General Assembly heard testimony for, debated over, and rallied around thousands of pieces of legislation, insulated from the grander constituency, but discussing bills remarkably proximate to our lives.
Following a legislative session cut short due to the pandemic, the 2021 MGA was lengthy and high-stakes. Officials have called it historical, and its successes in areas like police accountability and prison reform have received national commendation. Amidst the 60+ bills passed by the Assembly this year are significant pieces of legislation that impact Maryland youth, our health, and our education. Read on for a breakdown of five.
HB 1300 - Blueprint for Maryland’s Future
The Blueprint tenders an extensive re-engineering of the state’s education budget to assuage long-standing inequities, and was drafted by the Kirwan Commission - a task force that seeks to improve statewide education. The bill centralizes funding in the most populous - and often poorest - counties, provides supplemental college and career support for low-income and disabled students, and minimizes the restrictive credentials that too frequently preclude low-income families from placing their children in child care.
The Blueprint espouses a minimum salary for all teachers, and creates a Teacher Quality and Diversity Program to allay the racial imbalances within our schools and ensure teachers’ identities proportionately reflect their students’. Finally, it expands Career and Technology Education (CTE) programs statewide and mandates career counseling for both middle and high school students, placing an emphasis on the post-secondary prosperity of the MD student populace.
SB 494 - Ending Life Without Parole for Juveniles
This bill proposes significant criminal justice reforms, primarily for minors who have been convicted and incarcerated. It bans courts from giving life sentences without the possibility of parole or release to adults who are being punished for crimes they committed as minors. In the case that courts are less willing to comply with this rule, the bill allows individuals to move to reduce their sentencing for crimes they committed as youth. It also explicitly states the importance of considering age, mental condition, and any familial challenges or childhood trauma inflicted upon a convict while establishing their sentence. As criticisms flood in about unjust and inhumane punishment for criminals nationwide, this legislation foreshadows progress in MD.
SB 0001 - HBCU Funding
This legislation places pressure on the state government to support Maryland’s four Historically Black Colleges and Universities. It calls on the Governor to allocate $577 million to HBCUs for the next 10 fiscal years and establish a state Reserve Fund specifically for these institutions. The goal of this bill is to ensure that academic programs, scholarships and financial aid, and faculty development at HBCUs is equal to that of other public institutions in Maryland, both ensuring educational equity and conveying the importance of HBCUs and their Black students, faculty, and alumni to the state’s culture and success.
SB 0127 - Restricts the Use of Criminal History in College Admissions
This bill implicitly devalues a prospective college or university student’s criminal record as a factor in their admissions decision. It prohibits institutions from using criminal history from a third party source to deny a person admission and makes it more difficult to restrict housing based on a student’s past convictions. With an inextricable link found between academic success, socioeconomic status, and the likelihood to be convicted of a crime, this legislation, by nature, implores higher educational institutions to recognize the complexities of this relationship and consider it as it pertains to their applicant pools.
SB 0041 - Mental Health Age of Consent
SB41 lowers the minimum age from 16 to 12 required to consent to mental health care and consultation. It also loosens requirements that the parent of a minor receiving mental or emotional health services know every detail of their child’s condition, giving more discretion to the doctor treating the minor. As mental health among teens and children suffers severely during the pandemic, this bill grants younger Marylanders the autonomy and power necessary to receive personal, private, and effective mental health services.