Board elects five‑member review board; Nikki Woodward and Josh Davidson join panel

The Maryland State Board of Education filled the five‑member review board at its Sept. 11 meeting, electing Nikki Woodward and Josh Davidson as the public‑school teacher members and confirming Debbie Gartland as the teacher‑education faculty member. Kelly Meadows will serve as the superintendent’s designee and Karen Yoho will serve as the local board of education representative.

Board staff explained the review board’s role: it is a five‑member subset that reviews appeals of licensure decisions made by MSDE’s Division of Educator Effectiveness. The review board hears evidence from the educator and MSDE staff and makes recommendations to the full board; those recommendations are then voted on by the full board. The review board serves one‑year terms and is convened only when an appeal falls within its jurisdiction.

Nominations were taken under Robert’s Rules of Order. For the two public‑school teacher seats the board used an electronic form to collect yes/no votes on each nominee. The recorded results read by staff were: Dr. Nikki Woodward — 16 yes, 2 no; Kimberly Moore — 6 yes, 12 no; Josh Davidson — 15 yes, 3 no. Because Woodward and Davidson received majorities they will fill the teacher seats. Debbie Gartland was the sole nominee for the faculty seat; she accepted the nomination and the board confirmed her by unanimous consent.

Board staff noted that the review board is rarely convened; in the prior decade the panel had met infrequently, but statutory requirements call for yearly selection so the panel is ready if appeals arise.

The review board’s duties are limited to appeals that concern licensure determinations that are not disciplinary denials, suspensions or revocations; the full board retains final decision‑making authority after receiving the review board’s recommendation.