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Policy committee recommends adoption of three multilingual regulations after positive public comment
Summary
The Education Policy Committee recommended that the full State Board adopt three COMAR regulations—Maryland Seal of Biliteracy (13A.03.07), language access (13A.01.10) and programs for multilingual learners (13A.05.07)—after MSDE reported uniformly positive public comments and clarified regulatory language and federal alignment.
The Education Policy Committee unanimously recommended the Maryland State Board of Education adopt three COMAR regulations dealing with multilingual learners and language access after MSDE staff reported positive public comments and clarified regulatory language.
"Our language suite of COMAR regulations received all positive comments during the public comment period," Theresa Timmons Pererog, director of multilingual education and world languages at MSDE, told the committee. She said stakeholders supported recognition of multilingual achievement through the Maryland Seal of Biliteracy, welcomed clearer regulatory language for programs for multilingual learners, and valued transparency in language-access timelines.
MSDE noted that the multilingual-learner definition used in 13A.03.07 aligns with federal terminology and that public feedback reinforced clarity and implementation guidance. The regulations cited were COMAR 13A.03.07 (Maryland Seal of Biliteracy), COMAR 13A.01.10 (language access), and COMAR 13A.05.07 (programs for multilingual learners). MSDE recommended the committee take the three regulations as a group for adoption, and the committee moved, seconded and voted to recommend adoption to the full board; the chair declared the vote unanimous.
Committee members noted that the positive public-comment record reflected strong stakeholder engagement and that prework and coordination across MSDE divisions helped produce clearer drafts. MSDE staff said the regulations are ready to proceed to the full board for adoption.
