ESP Lobby Night to Push for Laws to Improve Safety, Salaries, and Voice
And other legislative updates in this week’s Up the Street
THIS WEEK IN ANNAPOLIS
Education Support Professional Lobby Night Set to Advocate for ESP Safety, Salaries, Seat on State Board
On Monday education support professionals (ESPs) from across the state will attend MSEA’s annual ESP lobby night so education support professionals can personally engage with lawmakers on the need to improve school safety, secure living wages, and increase ESPs’ voice in their profession. MSEA lobby nights provide lawmakers with personal insights into educators’ and students’ experiences, and the personal stories influence decisions to meet student and educator needs.
This year of particular relevance to ESPs is the Davis Martinez Public Employee Safety and Health Act, Senate Bill 26/House Bill 176. It would enact commonsense steps to help educators feel safe in their own classrooms, cafeterias, and school buses. The legislation would establish a unit in the Division of Labor and Industry to address violence and threats in all public workplaces, including schools. This would not only improve educator safety, but also safety for students and the ability to retain educators. The Public Employee Safety and Health Act would establish urgently needed protections for the safety of public employees, including Maryland’s educators, by creating workplace violence prevention programs, requiring accurate injury records, and requiring transparency with staff about safety incidents.
Senator Ben Kramer (D-Montgomery) is the sponsor of SB26, and Delegate Jared Solomon (D-Montgomery) is the sponsor of HB176. The Senate Finance Committee and the House Appropriations Committee are considering the legislation.
Another of MSEA’s priorities this year is the push to have ESPs represented on the State Board of Education (SBOE). Just as MSEA fought successfully for an active teacher to sit on the SBOE, an ESP should be at the table deciding the policies and conditions that directly impact their work. Senate Bill 712 has been introduced by Senator Ben Brooks (D-Baltimore County) and Delegate Eric Ebersole (D-Baltimore County) sponsors the crossfile, House Bill 923.
With MSDE’s recent survey of ESPs finding that nearly 80% of ESPs need a second job to make ends meet, there is more that must be done to ensure that one job is enough for all ESPs in Maryland. Senate Bill 892, sponsored by Senator Craig Zucker, and House Bill 1369, sponsored by Delegate Greg Wims, would establish a minimum wage of $25 an hour for ESPs to make real progress towards ensuring that all ESPs have a living wage.
There is still time to join the ESPs at lobby night on Monday to make sure legislators understand ESP issues and ESP voices are heard: Register here.
State of the State Highlights Revenue Growth to Support K-12 Education and Public Services
In his State of the State address on Wednesday Gov. Moore declared his intention to grow the state economy as part of a long-range solution to revenue raising and closing budget deficits, and he emphasized that success will depend on a world-class K-12 public education system. Facing a projected $3 billion deficit, Moore made the case for a combination of fiscal responsibility and a reform of the tax code to more fairly distribute the costs of public services and provide tax relief for middle and working class families. He reiterated his conviction that the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is “one of the most ambitious and important pieces of education reform in American history.” While MSEA supports the fair tax reforms included in the governor’s budget, we will continue to advocate for improvements to the cuts to expected funding increases to students in poverty, multilingual learners, and community schools in particular that were also included in the governor’s budget and that would make it harder to achieve the promise of the Blueprint for all students.
Day of Action, Testimony Will Press to Increase Support for Preventing School Funding Cuts
On February 19 MSEA will testify in a Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee joint hearing for the governor’s Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act, which makes adjustments to the Blueprint and expands and introduces programs to address persistent educator shortages. As proposed it would enact a two-year freeze to scheduled Blueprint funding increases that support further expansion of the proven and successful community schools model as well as outsized impacts on students who come from backgrounds of poverty and multilingual learners due to how the proposed four-year delay in collaborative time is structured.
Community schools are essential for addressing academic, health, and social-emotional needs, making their support critical. Delays to their funding would compound the harm to students in concentrated poverty, especially alongside the double cuts to expected funding increases for these students from the delay in collaborative time. Click here to watch MSEA President Paul Lemle’s recent explainer video that details how the budget’s proposed delay in collaborative time implementation has an outsized detrimental impact on the at-promise student groups who should be receiving more support.
Advocacy will be critical to protect funding that was scheduled to support our students and schools. It only takes a minute to email your legislators and Gov. Moore; tell them to work to prevent deep cuts to our schools and to support the governor’s fair tax reform plan, which will raise much-needed revenue. MSEA’s Fund Maryland’s Future Day of Action in Annapolis on February 24 is an additional opportunity for educators to raise their voices advocating for responsible budget choices that support our students and sustainable funding for our schools. Click here for more details and to RSVP.
Advocacy for Improved Community College Funding
Community college funding is one of the areas for improvement that educators have identified and are advocating around in the budget. At a hearing of the Education Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday, Wor-Wic Community College Professor Kevin Justice made a strong case for the importance of community college funding. Maryland’s community colleges “are our most efficient pipeline for creating job-ready professionals in high-demand fields,” he noted. “The return on this investment is clear. For every dollar we invest in community colleges, we see approximately three dollars returned to our state economy through increased tax revenue and reduced social service costs. More importantly, we create pathways to middle-class jobs for our citizens while meeting critical workforce needs.”
Protecting Sensitive Locations Act to Keep Raids out of School, Medical Sites, Houses of Worship
The House Judiciary Committee is considering the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, House Bill 1006, that MSEA supports in response to the Trump Administration’s decision to lift the prohibition against conducting immigration raids on schools, medical facilities, houses of worship, and other sensitive locations. The legislation would restrict federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities at these places.
Sponsored by Delegate Jheanelle Wilkins (D-Montgomery) and Judicial Proceedings Committee Chair Senator Will Smith (D-Montgomery), HB1006 affirms Maryland’s commitment to dignity, safety, and community by ensuring that all people, regardless of immigration status, can access healthcare, education, and critical resources without fear or intimidation.
This legislation would take one step to calm the fears and anxieties of students and their families. All students should feel protected in their schools, and all families must feel safe engaging in their children’s education. “No matter where we come from, what language we speak, we all share the same hopes—to work hard, care for our families, and build a better future for our children,” MSEA Paul Lemle said at a rally last week supporting the legislation.
NEWS AND NOTES
Carl Jackson Fills Baltimore County Senate Seat; Behler Fills Anne Arundel House Seat
On Wednesday, Baltimore County’s Carl Jackson (D) was sworn in to the Senate following former Senator Kathy Klausmeier’s departure to become Baltimore County executive last month. Jackson’s seat in the House of Delegates will now need to be filled. Dylan Behler (D) was sworn in Thursday to fill the Anne Arundel House seat left open when Shaneka Henson (D) was appointed to the Senate.
Contract Awarded to Assess State’s Success Implementing Blueprint
The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB) last week approved a contract for $766,790 with NORC at the University of Chicago to conduct an interim evaluation on the overall Blueprint plan. A report to the AIB is due by December 1, 2026. The AIB will submit a report to the governor and General Assembly by January 15, 2027.
NEA, Senator Van Hollen Fight Trump’s Frenzied Assaults on Education, Citizenship
The National Education Association (NEA) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) stood with Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen (D) and other union leaders this week challenging President Trump’s destructive plans to wipe out the Department of Education, funnel public funds from public schools to benefit private schools, divert funds from students in backgrounds of poverty and with special needs, and to further marginalize LGBTQ students through discriminatory policies.
“Students across the country benefit from programs run by the Department of Education, especially lower-income students in rural, suburban, and urban communities, students who qualify for federal grants or loans to receive career training or attend 2- and 4-year colleges, and students with disabilities,” said NEA President Becky Pringle.