Committee votes to republish student‑expression guidance after clarifying local appeals and discipline alignment

The Education Policy Committee voted to republish proposed student‑expression regulations after MSDE staff revised the draft to address stakeholder concerns about appeals and local procedure.

Mary Gable, MSDE’s assistant state superintendent for the Division of Student Support and Federal Programs, told the committee that four commenters — including the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE), the superintendents’ association, and local district officials — had raised concerns that prior language might allow appeals to bypass local review and go directly to the State Board. Gable said MSDE’s intention was not to "leapfrog" local processes and recommended removing two sections that created that confusion.

During deliberations, committee members sought legal clarification about whether a local document could create a distinct state‑level appeal. Dr. Michael (a nonvoting member who spoke during the legal explanation) said local documents cannot unilaterally create a new state appeal; decisions may still be appealed to the State Board under the standard for review (arbitrary, unreasonable or illegal) but that remedy is the high‑standard judicial‑style review the State Board already applies.

The committee adopted a friendly amendment to add language requiring each local document on student responsibilities and rights to include a statement regarding local‑board appeal procedures. Separately, the committee adopted an amendment from Mr. Barnes to Part C that ties any local prohibition on student expression to violations of district discipline policies and regulations under the same chapter.

With those amendments, the committee voted to republish COMAR 13A.08.01.10 and 10‑01 for additional public comment. The transcript shows the amended republish motion passed by voice vote.