In the last meeting of the Maryland State Board of Education, the State Board of Education approved Maryland’s Early Childhood Family Engagement Framework, approved amendments to COMAR 09.37.01 Alternate Ways to Earn a High School Diploma, and voted to withdraw and repropose amendments to COMAR 13A.08.01 General Regulations (school discipline regulations).

The Board reviewed a progress report on Maryland Early Childhood Race to the Top Grant and approved the new Family Engagement Framework.

The Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation presented an update on implementing Maryland’s GED testing delivery system and proposed changes in accordance with the new testing system.

With regard to the disciplinary regulations, language requiring notice to state superintendents and language defining the requirements for returning students following disciplinary action to their “regular academic program” was inadvertently left out of the amendments to the school discipline regulations that were published on October 4. The Maryland Association of Boards of Education pointed out the oversight.  As reported in the Washington Post, Maryland education officials expect to republish on Dec. 10 proposed student discipline regulations designed to shift approaches to student punishment and reduce out-of-school suspensions.

Read all of the meeting materials, including links to reports and data here.