NEWS FROM PSSAM

BILL: HB 755 TITLE: County Boards of Education - Student Personal Electronic Device Use Policy - Establishment (Phones Away for the School Day Act) DATE: February 18, 2026 POSITION: Unfavorable COMMITTEE: House Ways & Means Committees CONTACT: Mary Pat Fannon, Executive Director, PSSAM The Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM), on behalf of all twenty-four public school superintendents, opposes House Bill 755. This bill requires each local board

BILL: HB 740 TITLE: Public Schools - School-Based Mental Health Services Full-Time Therapist DATE: February 18, 2026 POSITION: Unfavorable COMMITTEE: House Ways & Means and Health Committees CONTACT: Mary Pat Fannon, Executive Director, PSSAM The Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM), on behalf of all twenty-four public school superintendents, opposes HB 740. This bill requires that each public school employ a full-time therapist during instru

BILL: HB 704 TITLE: Community Eligibility Provision Expansion Program – Establishment DATE: February 17, 2026 POSITION: Favorable COMMITTEE: House Appropriations Committee CONTACT: Mary Pat Fannon, Executive Director, PSSAM The Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM), on behalf of all twenty-four Maryland local school superintendents, supports House Bill 704. This legislation establishes the Community Eligibility Provision Expansion Program in the S

BILL: HB 655 TITLE: Education - Student Behavior - Parent and Guardian Notice and Required Counseling (Parent and Guardian Accountability Act) DATE: February 18, 2026 POSITION: Unfavorable COMMITTEE: House Ways & Means Committee CONTACT: Mary Pat Fannon, Executive Director, PSSAM The Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM), on behalf of all twenty-four local school superintendents, opposes House Bill 655. This bill establishes that it is unlawful

BILL: HB 525 TITLE: County Boards of Education - Student Electronic Communication Device Use Policy - Establishment (Maryland Phone-Free Schools Act) DATE: February 18, 2026 POSITION: Unfavorable COMMITTEE: House Ways & Means Committee CONTACT: Mary Pat Fannon, Executive Director, PSSAM The Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM), on behalf of all twenty-four public school superintendents, opposes House Bill 525. This bill requires each local boar

BILL: HB 473 TITLE: Education - Collective Bargaining - Certificated Employees - Class Size DATE: February 17, 2026 POSITION: Unfavorable COMMITTEE: House Ways & Means Committee CONTACT: Mary Pat Fannon, Executive Director, PSSAM The Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM), on behalf of all twenty-four Maryland local school superintendents, opposes House Bill 473. House Bill 473 adds class size to permissible collective bargaining topics. These ag

BILL: HB 233 TITLE: Education - Public School Construction - Alterations DATE: February 17, 2026 POSITION: Support with Amendments COMMITTEE: House Ways & Means Committee CONTACT: Mary Pat Fannon, Executive Director, PSSAM The Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM), on behalf of all twenty-four public school superintendents, supports House Bill 233 with amendments . This bill proposes several changes to the public school construction program incl

BILL: HB 76 TITLE: Local School Systems - School Safety - Grant Allocations DATE: February 17, 2026 POSITION: Support COMMITTEE: House Ways & Means Committee CONTACT: Mary Pat Fannon, Executive Director, PSSAM The Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM), on behalf of all twenty-four public school superintendents, supports House Bill 76. This bill authorizes the reallocation of grants from the Safe Schools Fund to local school systems that have full

BILL: HB 355 TITLE: Education - Sexual Abuse and Assault Awareness and Prevention Program - Human and Sex Trafficking DATE: February 11, 2026 POSITION: Unfavorable COMMITTEE: House Ways & Means Committee CONTACT: Mary Pat Fannon, Executive Director, PSSAM The Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM), on behalf of all twenty-four local school superintendents opposes House Bill 355. This bill requires age-appropriate education program on the awarene

BILL: HB 326 TITLE: Education - Maryland Center for School Safety - Anonymous Reporting System DATE: February 11, 2026 POSITION: Support COMMITTEE: House Ways & Means Committee CONTACT: Mary Pat Fannon, Executive Director, PSSAM The Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM), on behalf of all twenty-four public school superintendents, supports House Bill 326. This bill requires the Maryland Center for School Safety (MCSS) to develop and administer an

BILL: HB 319 TITLE: County Boards of Education - Student Transportation - Sunset Repeal DATE: February 11, 2026 POSITION: Favorable COMMITTEE: House Ways & Means Committee CONTACT: Mary Pat Fannon, Executive Director, PSSAM The Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM), on behalf of all twenty-four public school superintendents, supports House Bill 319. This bill repeals the termination date of certain provisions of law that authorize a county board

BILL: HB 198 TITLE: School Systems - Reportable Offenses - Notification of Student as Suspect DATE: February 11, 2026 POSITION: Letter of Information COMMITTEE: House Ways & Means Committee CONTACT: Mary Pat Fannon, Executive Director, PSSAM The Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM), on behalf of all twenty-four public school superintendents, provides this Letter of Information regarding House Bill 198. This bill requires that a law enforcement a

Baltimore County School Press Release February 13, 2026 AASA, The School Superintendents Association, has named BCPS Superintendent Dr. Myriam Rogers as the winner of its prestigious annual Women in School Leadership Award . Dr. Rogers was one of two finalists for the award, which recognizes exceptional leadership of “active, front-line female leaders who are making a difference in the lives of students every day.” The award was announced today during the group’s national con

BILL: SB 103 TITLE: Public Middle, High, and Charter Schools - Start Time for Instruction DATE: February 04, 2026 POSITION: Oppose COMMITTEE: Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee CONTACT: Mary Pat Fannon, Executive Director, PSSAM The Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM), on behalf of all twenty-four local school superintendents, opposes Senate Bill 103. This bill requires, beginning with the 2028-2029 school year, all middle

BILL: SB 99 TITLE: Open Meetings Act - County Boards of Education - Enhanced Requirements (Local Boards of Education Transparency Act) DATE: February 04, 2026 POSITION: Support with Amendments COMMITTEE: Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee CONTACT: Mary Pat Fannon, Executive Director, PSSAM The Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM), on behalf of all twenty-four local school superintendents, supports Senate Bill 99 with amendme

BILL: SB 79 TITLE: County Boards of Education - Elementary and Middle Schools - Student Technology Use Policy DATE: February 04, 2026 POSITION: Oppose COMMITTEE: Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee CONTACT: Mary Pat Fannon, Executive Director, PSSAM The Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM), on behalf of all twenty-four local school superintendents opposes Senate Bill 79. This bill requires county boards of education to dev

BILL: SB 51 TITLE: Public Schools - Self-Contained Special Education Classrooms - Use of Video Recording Devices DATE: February 04, 2026 POSITION: Support with Amendments COMMITTEE: Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee CONTACT: Mary Pat Fannon, Executive Director, PSSAM The Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM), on behalf of all twenty-four local school superintendents, opposes Senate Bill 51. This bill requires each local board

BILL: SB 48 TITLE: Education - Public School Construction - Alterations DATE: February 03, 2026 POSITION: Support with Amendments COMMITTEE: Senate Budget and Taxation Committee CONTACT: Mary Pat Fannon, Executive Director, PSSAM The Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM), on behalf of all twenty-four public school superintendents, supports Senate Bill 48 with amendments . This bill proposes several changes to the public school construction progr

BILL: HB 189 TITLE: Public Middle, High, and Charter Schools - Start Time for Instruction DATE: February 05, 2026 POSITION: Oppose COMMITTEE: House Ways & Means Committee CONTACT: Mary Pat Fannon, Executive Director, PSSAM The Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM), on behalf of all twenty-four local school superintendents, opposes House Bill 189. This bill requires, beginning with the 2028-2029 school year, all middle schools in the State to beg

BILL: HB 163 TITLE: County Boards of Education - Student Technology Use Policy Requirements DATE: February 05, 2026 POSITION: Oppose COMMITTEE: House Ways & Means Committee CONTACT: Mary Pat Fannon, Executive Director, PSSAM The Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM), on behalf of all twenty-four local school superintendents opposes House Bill 163. This bill requires county boards of education to develop and adopt a policy that prohibits elemen