2012 Legal Updates | Hand In Hand Home School

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2012 Legal Updates

The information on these pages is provided for informational purposes only. It is not to be construed as legal advice or counsel.

HOMESCHOOL RELATED LEGISLATION

2012: HB 373 and SB 362 - Education - Age for Compulsory Public School Attendance - Exemptions
UPDATE: The full Senate voted 30-16 to pass this bill. The House Committee has not yet issued its report.

Alters the age from 16 to 17 year old at which certain children are required to attend a public school regularly during the entire school year. While the bill specifically excludes homeschool children from being required to attend public school, it will have the effect of requiring families to continue to review through their county liaison or umbrella group until their child turns 18.

Get the latest Community Action update on HB 373 and SB 362 from Hand In Hand.
Get the latest update on SB 362 from the General Assembly.
Get the latest update on HB 373 from the General Assembly.

Status: SENATE passed this bill and awaits the House action. HOUSE Hearing 2/16 at 1:00pm with the Ways and Means Committee.

What You Can Do: URGENT NEED: Write, e-mail, or call your local elected official to let them know that raising the compulsory school age is a bad idea. Keeping older teens in the public school system, who do not want to be there, only increases disciplinary and safety issues for the students who want to learn and achieve. In addition, this bill poses an unnecessary burden on homeschool families who will now be required to continue reviewing their homeschool children until age 18.

2012: HB 980 - County Boards of Education - Children in Home Instruction Programs
UPDATE: DEFEATED! Delegate Alston withdrew this bill from the 2012 legislative session.

This bill would provide redefine "full-time equivalent enrollment" to include certain children participating in a home instruction program. Families that agree to state mandated testing would then be eligible for no more than 25% of the per pupil funding the county would receive for the homeschooled child.

Get the latest Community Action update on HB 980 from Hand In Hand.
Get the latest update on HB 980 from the General Assembly.

Status: CANCELED: Hearing on 3/15 at 1:00pm with the House Ways and Means Committee.

What You Can Do: Great job, Maryland homeschool families! Your phone calls and e-mails helped to defeat this unnecessary bill.

2012: HB 1049 - Elementary and Secondary Education - County-Supervised Home Instruction - High School Diploma
UPDATE: DEFEATED! Delegate Alston withdrew this bill from the 2012 legislative session.

This bill would authorize county school boards to issue a high school diploma under specified circumstances to homeschool children who review through the county and meet specified graduation requirements created by each county and specific to homeschool children.

Get the latest Community Action update on HB 1049 from Hand In Hand.
Get the latest update on HB 1049 from the General Assembly.

Status: CANCELED: Hearing on 3/15 at 1:00pm with the House Ways and Means Committee.

What You Can Do: Great job, Maryland homeschool families! Your phone calls and e-mails helped to defeat this unnecessary bill.

Bring your homeschool study of government alive. Find a listing of bills your kids can follow in 2012 and watch the political process in action.

GENERAL EDUCATION RELATED LEGISLATION

2012: SB 689 - Education - Maryland Advisory Council for Virtual Learning - Establishment
UPDATE: Senate Committee approved this bill with the amendment recommended by Maryland Hand In Hand Homeschool, requesting a change in the Council's membership. The House Committee has not issued a report, yet.

Establishes the Maryland Advisory Council for Virtual Learning within the Department of Education to determine the best way the state can move forward with creating Virtual Schools as an alternate form of public school choice.

Get the latest update on SB 689 from the General Assembly.

Facts: In 2010, Maryland passed a law allowing for the creation of virtual schools as a public school choice. Homeschool families who choose a virtual school curriculum for their children would have the opportunity to leave homeschooling and enroll their child in a school district run virtual school. The benefit would be the free education the family would receive. The drawback includes the fact that the children would be subject to state testing and other requirements. NOTE: The 2010 law in no way affects homeschoolers who wish to continue to use cyberschool curriculum at their own expense.

This current bill calls for the creation of a state-level Advisory Council that would facilitate the start-up of local virtual schools.

Status: The bill returns to the full Senate for debate and a vote. The House Ways and Means Committee heard this cross-filed bill on March 8.

What You Can Do: Write, e-mail, or call the various committee members to encourage them to amend the bill by altering the composition of the Advisory Council. Currently, the proposed 15-member Council calls for one (1) PTA parent member and two (2) Virtual School vendor providers. The Council would be better served if at least one (1) at-large parent member was included and at least one (1) college professor whose background is in Instructional System Design was included. In addition, the Virtual School vendor positions should be eliminated, as that would be a conflict of interest to have a business partner on the Council who would be competing for the business contracts to eventually provide the school curriculum.

2012: HB 1408 - Education - Religious Bills of Rights - Individuals Connected to Public Schools
UPDATE: No House Committee hearing date has been set.

Requires the State Board of Education to establish religious bills of rights for public school teachers and students on or before September 1, 2012. The Bill of Rights would, in part, allow teachers to "legally abstain" from teaching county-mandated curricular material that violates their religious beliefs. In addition, teachers would have the right to teach a religious topic, at their discretion, for "other educational purposes".

Get the latest update on HB 1408 from the General Assembly.

Facts: While religious freedom is an important Constitutional right, this bill creates a situation that ultimately impinge on public school students' right to learn a free and appropriate education. By granting teachers the opportunity to abstain with impunity from teaching county-approved curricular material, Maryland students will placed at an academic disadvantage. Looking at biology as an example, this bill could make it possible for a teacher to not teach evolution, thereby setting those classroom students up to fail their state required High School Assessment exam or from achieving a high score on the Advanced Placement exam.

Status: Assigned to the House Rules and Executive Nominations Committee.

What You Can Do: Write, e-mail, or call your local elected official and ask them to vote against this bill.

2012: HB 38 - Sales and Use Tax - Exemption - University and College Textbooks
UPDATE: No update from the House Committee, yet.

This bill would provide sales tax exemption for all college textbooks purchased by part- and full-time college students who have a college issued identification card.

Get the latest update on HB 38 from the General Assembly.

Facts: With the average textbook costing $100, full-time college students easily pay $25-60 in sales tax each semester when they purchase their books in state. This bill provides college students and families, including homeschoolers who attend college part-time as part of their high school courseload, with a small tax relief. This bill also encourages local buying by making brick and mortar bookstores competitive with online retailers who don't charge sales tax.

Status: Hearing 1/25 at 11:00 a.m. in the House Ways and Means Committee.

What You Can Do: Stay tuned for updates on how you can express your support for or against this bill.

2012: SB 17 - Sales and Use Tax - Tax-Free Week - School Supplies and Personal Computers
UPDATE: Senate Committee gave this bill an UNFAVORABLE report on Feb 9.

This bill extends items eligible for exemption during Maryland's tax-free period for back-to-school shopping during the 7-day period from the second Sunday in August through the following Saturday. School supplies and personal computers designated for schoolwork would now be eligible for tax-free purchases.

Get the latest update on SB 17 from the General Assembly.

Facts: The bill does not currently require any type of identification from the purchaser to verify that item will be used for schoolwork. In its current form, the bill includes homeschool families as benefiting from the tax exemption.

Status: Hearing 2/1 at 3:00 p.m. with the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee.

What You Can Do: No action required, as the Committee's report effectively kills this bill.

2012: HB 370 - Public Schools - Physical Examinations - Calculation of Body Mass Index
UPDATE: The Committee gave this bill an UNFAVORABLE report of Feb 20. The bill has been withdrawn.

This bill requires all children entering the public school system to submit a calculation of the child's body mass index as part of their required physical examination.

Get the latest update on HB 370 from the General Assembly.

Facts: The bill has no implication for homeschool families, unless they are considering enrolling their child into public school.

Status: Hearing 2/16 at 1:00 p.m. with the House Ways and Means Committee.

What You Can Do: No action required, as this bill has been withdrawn from the 2012 session.

Hand In Hand recognizes that some homeschool families have children enrolled in traditional school settings, as well as those who are being educated at home. In addition, we understand that some families anticipate their homeschool children entering public school at some point in future - whether it's due to economic reasons or the choice to take advantage of academic or sports related opportunities. As a courtesy to these families, we include certain legislative updates regarding public school issues.

The information on these pages is provided for informational purposes only. It is not to be construed as legal advice or counsel.