Economic Stability Study Group Submits Bill to Establish the Two Generation Family Economic Security Commission – HB136

Following the work of the Economic Stability Study Group over the interim, including a Western Maryland Listening Session attended by more than 150 community leaders, I am pleased to share that the Study Group has put forth legislation to establish the Two Generation Family Economic Security Commission. As Co-Chair of the Study Group, I am very proud of the progress we have made by working across party lines and all parts of our State.

I am a huge supporter of the Two Generation approach that places the family at the center of how public assistance is delivered. 2Gen does not involve creating a new government program, it links existing policies, systems and programs to serve parents and children together. With a family’s self-sufficiency as the goal, 2Gen focuses on education, workforce development, economic stability, high-quality childcare, health and wellbeing, and family engagement. Recent pilot programs in Western Maryland have shown that this approach works, and I am pleased that proposals to implement 2Gen statewide are moving forward. 

The bill is scheduled for a hearing in the House Appropriations Committee on March 3rd.

Right to Teach. Right to Learn.

In advance of today\’s Joint Hearings on the Kirwan Bill – SB1000 – I joined my House Republican colleagues last week to present a legislative package that addresses issues that the Kirwan Commission seems to have ignored, especially related to accountability, classroom environment and safety. 

Right to Teach Act: Allows teachers to determine whether students who have been removed from the classroom for disruptive behaviors can return after all typical intervention attempts fail.
Good Teacher Protection Act: Provides civil immunity for educators who intervene in fights or disruptions.  
Accountability in Education Act: Gives more authority to the new state inspector general for education to audit and investigate local school systems and establishes a hotline for teachers to report discipline issues they feel have not been handled well by administrators.
Right to Learn Act: Allows students in schools rated at one star in the state’s rating system to transfer to a public school with at least two stars or receive tuition assistance to enroll in a private school.

In addition to these bills, I am also supporting Governor Hogan\’s education package this session. 

Republican bills address classroom discipline, offer protection for teachers