General Assembly 2009 Summary of Bills and Budget
HB 792/SB 569 - Education - Collective Bargaining - Topics of Negotiation
Added a process for discipline and discharge for cause a mandatory subject of bargaining for education support personnel. MSEA supported and bill passed.
SBH 560/HB 122 - Calvert County - Education - School Personnel - Collective Bargaining Fees
Enables Calvert Education Association to bargain a fair share fee for certificated employees. MSEA supported and bill passed.
HB 660 - Education - Suspension and Expulsion Procedures - Attendance-Related Offenses
Prohibits the suspension and expulsion of students for offenses that are solely related to attendance, except for students already on in-school suspension. MSEA supported and bill passed.
SB 234/HB 184 - Education - Maryland's Preschool for All Business Plan - Final Report
Requires MSDE to develop a business plan that would provide pre-school programs for all students in every county as soon as resources are available. MSEA supported and bill passed.
HB 379/SB 990 - Education - Reporting Requirement - Class Size
Requires MSDE to report by the 2012 academic year the number of students who regularly participate in a classroom teacher's class as of September 30 of each year. MSEA supported and bill passed.
HB 587 - Education - Teacher Identification Number
Authorizes MSDE to assign a unique identification number to each teacher employed in the public schools in the State and limits the use of the teacher identification number to specified educational purposes and not evaluative purposes. MSEA supported and bill passed.
SB 673 - Fairness in Negotiations Act
As amended, established a labor relations board to serve as a neutral party to resolve labor disputes between K-12 public school employers and employees and issue a decision that is reviewable by the circuit court. MSEA supported and bill passed the Senate only.
SB 715/HB 1259 - B.O.A.S.T.
Providing a tax credit against the State income tax for contributions made to an eligible educational scholarship organization or an eligible innovative educational organization. MSEA opposed and bill failed to get a vote in committees.
HB 525/SB 648/HB 1046/SB 710 - State Retirement and Pension System - Local Employer Contributions - Educators and Educational Staff
Bills require county government to pay a portion of the employer pension contribution for members of the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) or Teachers' Pension System (TPS) who are employed by the county. Currently the county government does not make a contribution. MSEA opposed and bills failed to get a vote in committees.
HB 101 - Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act, Senator Kittleman amendment
Beginning July 1, 2011, a portion of the State payment of the school employees pension and retirement cost would be shifted to the counties, with an initial expenditure impact to local school budgets of $329 million for the school year beginning in the fall of 2011. MSEA opposed and amendment failed.
7 Senators supported the amendment Brinkley (R), Brochin (D), Greenip (R), Harris (R), Kittleman (R), Pipkin (R), and Stoltzfus (R).
State Budget Summary
State education aid will be $5.5 billion, an increase of $131.7 million, or 2.5%.
Includes more than $250 million for public school construction.
Utilizing education aid allocated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, all the Bridge to Excellence or Thornton formulas are fully funded.
This includes 100% funding for the Geographic Cost of Education Index to address cost differences among school systems.
In addition, there is $193 million in the ARRA of 2009 funds that will flow through the State budget to local school systems.
Extends the deadline to May 1st for counties to apply to the State Board of Education for a fiscal 2010 temporary or partial waiver from maintenance of effort requirements for funding public education. Counties are authorized to modify or withdraw and replace an application submitted before April 1, 2009; modifies the Education Article to require that, for any county which receives a waiver, maintenance of effort calculations for the next fiscal year would be based on the greater of the two prior years.
$5.3 million cut in funding and modification to the Quality Teacher Incentive Program which includes stipends and bonuses for (1) National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certificate holders, (2) signing bonuses, (3) teachers in schools in corrective action, restructuring, or a challenge school. The changes effective July 1, 2009 are:
- Elimination of the signing bonuses
- Reduction of the state stipend from $2,000 to $1,500 for teachers who teach in schools identified as having comprehensive needs
- Two modifications of the Nationally Certified state stipend (a) to provide a maximum of $2,000 if teaching in a school identified as having comprehensive needs, (b) to provide a maximum of $1,000 if teaching in a school NOT identified as having comprehensive needs.
