Washington County Public Schools staff presented a proposed legislative program for the 2026 Maryland General Assembly that emphasizes school funding equity, classroom order and discipline tools, rural facility modernization, and targeted support for safety and student behavior programs.

The superintendent’s team described core priorities developed with the district’s Legislative Response Team (LRT) — which includes the board president and two board members — and recommended the full board adopt a legislative program at its Oct. 21 business meeting. The team said district advocacy will be handled in‑house and that the board will meet the county delegation on Nov. 5 at Hagerstown Community College.

Key priorities presented included: advocating for alignment of state laws and frameworks with federal requirements to reduce compliance risk and funding loss; seeking increased state funding for districts with higher poverty and special education needs and to support Washington County’s universal pre‑K program; pushing for modernization of the state school construction funding model to account for aging rural facilities; and opposing new unfunded state mandates.

A new emphasis in the draft program calls for legislative measures to help "ensure order in the classroom and enhance discipline," staff said. The district seeks federal‑ and state‑aligned options to give teachers clearer progressive discipline tools and to fund alternative programs that provide behavioral and academic support for students whose needs disrupt classroom instruction. The team also proposed a local pilot for truancy reduction. Staff framed these measures as intended to protect instructional time while maintaining supports for affected students.

Board staff highlighted school safety funding and said Washington County currently funds the salaries and benefits for its school resource officers (SROs) out of the Board of Education budget; the district has 10 SROs and receives only partial state grant support, so the district is requesting more state assistance and flexibility for SRO salary support and safety staffing.

Staff acknowledged the board’s earlier discussion about local control and said language in the draft will be revised to avoid implying the board seeks to remove local authority; staff invited edits before the Oct. 21 adoption vote. The LRT and legal staff will monitor bill drafts during the session, and the board will designate a legislative representative prior to the General Assembly session, staff said.

The board and staff emphasized this is a proposal to guide district advocacy; the formal adoption is scheduled for the Oct. 21 business meeting and public engagement with the local delegation is planned in November.