On March 15, 2023, Associate Policy Director Brianna January submitted testimony to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee in support of SB 881 - Child Care Providers and Employees - Bonuses - Alterations. This bill increases financial support in the form of certain bonuses for currently licensed child care providers in Maryland, and in doing so, also seeks to incentivize the establishment of new providers. At a time when the child care community is still reeling…

On March 15, 2023, Associate Policy Director Brianna January submitted testimony to the Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee in support of SB 938 - Primary and Secondary Education - School Safety and Student Well–Being - Examination of Policies. This bill increases the amount of annual funding distributed to schools for the purpose of further developing their safety and student wellness services, such as dispute prevention and remediation and School Resource Officers. In doing so, SB 938…

On March 14, 2023, Associate Policy Director Brianna January testified before the House Appropriations Committee in support of HB 1211 - Education - Compensatory Education - Maryland Neighborhood Tier System Calculation with amendments. This bill establishes a detailed tier system to better account for children's economic conditions when determining their eligibility for compensatory education funding. Counties support this legislation, and appreciate the extant difficulties in calculating compensatory education, as identified in the Kirwan Commission Report as well…