Committee recommends publishing amendments to COMAR rule on substitute disqualification

At a meeting of the Education Policy Committee of the Maryland State Board of Education, members voted unanimously to recommend permission to publish amendments to COMAR 13.08.07.12, the regulation that establishes criteria for disqualifying individuals from serving as substitutes in Maryland public schools. Kelly Meadows, assistant superintendent for educator effectiveness, presented the proposed permission-to-publish.

Meadows said the regulation is not new and was first approved in 2018, but staff proposed edits to align substitute disqualification causes with the licensure actions that were revised in 2024. "This regulation establishes the criteria for disqualifying individuals to serve as substitutes in Maryland," Meadows said. She told the committee the amendment mirrors the causes in the new licensure regulations and adds a small number of specific items.

The proposed edits include a new reference to a third- or fourth-degree offense as an additional disqualifying criterion (the regulation text shown in the presentation was not fully specified in the transcript). Meadows also said the draft separates causes tied to a resignation after notice of allegations from causes tied to a termination; the termination-related cause requires substantiation in the proposed language.

Board member Paul moved to recommend permission to publish the amendment; Dr. Lewis seconded the motion. The committee chair called the vote; the committee recorded the action as unanimous in favor of recommending publication to the full State Board of Education.

Because this item was a permission-to-publish action, the committee's recommendation sends the draft regulation out for the formal public notice and comment process required under Maryland administrative procedure before the board takes a final adoption vote.

Next steps noted by staff were to publish the draft for comment following the committee recommendation and then return to the full board at its next meeting with any public comment and staff recommendations.

Ending details: The committee took the vote during the meeting's opening segment; no additional discussion or dissent was recorded on the motion to recommend permission to publish.