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Board approves GED/HSE regulation updates; grants permission to publish administrator licensure rewrite
Summary
The board voted to permit adoption of proposed changes to COMAR on high-school equivalency (HSE) testing — including expanded language access and online testing — and approved permission to publish a complete rewrite of administrator licensure rules that removes a two-tier principal certification structure.
At the Feb. 20 meeting the Maryland State Board of Education approved two regulatory actions affecting credentialing and adult education.
First, the board voted to allow the Maryland Department of Labor to proceed with adopting amendments to COMAR 09.37.01 governing high-school equivalency testing (commonly called the GED). Maryland Labor staff told the board their draft would modernize test administration by permitting online testing, allow the full HSE battery to be taken in either English or Spanish (rather than requiring the reading/language module in English only), clarify that withdrawal documentation is required only for students under 18, and replace the term “GED test” with the neutral term “high school equivalency (HSE) test” to allow for future vendor flexibility. The motion to grant permission to adopt the amendments passed unanimously.
Second, the board granted permission to publish a full repeal and replacement of the administrator licensure regulation (proposed COMAR 13A.12.05.05). The rewrite reflects a statewide work group recommendation to eliminate the two-tier administrator license structure (Administrators I and II). Under the proposed regulation a single administrator license would permit assignment as a principal, assistant principal or instructional supervisor. The draft also clarifies minimum qualifications, outlines five pathways to licensure (including Maryland-approved preparation programs, out-of-state preparation, transcript analysis, supervised clinical practicum with a 240-hour minimum, and experienced-professional routes), and limits the state’s licensure assessment requirement to candidates prepared outside Maryland or via the transcript-analysis route. The Education Policy Committee had reviewed and recommended permission to publish; the board voted in favor.
Ending: Both regulatory steps move Maryland toward greater flexibility in testing language and modern administration of high school-equivalency credentials, and toward simplification of administrator licensure pathways; the administrator rule will be published for public comment per standard COMAR procedure.
