State board committee narrows draft legislative principles, will take them to AIB after edits

Rachel McCusker, the teacher member of the Maryland State Board of Education and chair of the Education Policy Committee, said the draft legislative principles are intended as broad guardrails to guide the board's positions during the upcoming legislative session.

The committee agreed on a process to finalize the principles and asked staff and members to keep language intentionally broad so the board is not constrained when responding to fast-moving bills. "We want them to be broad," McCusker said, adding that the principles should give staff and the board guidance from January through April.

Board member Sameer Paul, a recently appointed member and former Montgomery County teacher, welcomed the document's emphasis on collaboration. "I love the inclusion of collaboration with all the other stakeholders and locals and the state department and everyone as one of our core principles," Paul said, adding that the board can serve as a clearinghouse for education policy.

Dr. Malley McCarthy said she supports the broad formulation but pressed for clearer signaling that the board's priorities explicitly include historically underserved groups: students living in poverty, students with disabilities and English learners. "I am always going to be a champion for the underserved," she said, urging language that makes the board's focus on equity more visible.

Committee members discussed wording to preserve flexibility while calling out equity concerns; Chair McCusker recommended phrasing such as "including, but not limited to" when listing underserved groups so the list does not become exclusive. The committee agreed to form a small group to draft suggested language, with Mr. Paul leading the effort and circulating options by email.

The chair said she would give the go-ahead for committee representatives to present the principles to the Accountability and Implementation Board after the small group's revisions. The committee took an informal temperature check and, with no members opposed, authorized Dr. Michael and Mr. Crawford to bring the revised principles to the AIB at the end of the following week.

Next steps: Mr. Paul will draft and circulate suggested wording; the committee will continue to refine the legislative principles at its next full meeting, scheduled for Nov. 30.