schools

State lawmakers are considering a bipartisan package of bills aimed at making public schools better equipped to handle shootings.

On Thursday, the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee considered a bill establishing what the sponsor called a “last line of defense,” should a shooter get inside the building.

State elected officials are proposing competing tactics to keep Maryland’s public schools safe from a possible gunman.

Speaking with reporters after Thursday's floor session, Senate President Mike Miller said he met with senators that morning about creating a "comprehensive" package of bills aimed at protecting schools. He promised at least four bills, including some boosting school social workers and placing armed security guards at schools.

State lawmakers on Thursday announced a series of education grants and programs aimed at increased support for low-income students, career and technical education and improved teaching.

The legislation is the result of preliminary recommendations by a state commission chaired by former University System of Maryland Chancellor William “Brit” Kirwan, and is the first part of what could be wide-reaching changes to Maryland’s public schools.

As expected, Governor Larry Hogan signed an executive order today, requiring all Maryland public schools to open after Labor Day, beginning next year. But opponents questioned its legality, and the governor’s motives.

In making his announcement on the boardwalk at Ocean City, the governor said it will help the state’s economy, because families will be able to extend their summer vacations.

Fraser Smith and Bryan Sears, of the Daily Record, talk about the politics of Governor Larry Hogan's plans to fulfill a long-standing desire of Comptroller Peter Franchot.

  Maintenance inspections at public schools around the state tell local school authorities if there are issues affecting the health or safety of students and staff. But a state audit released Wednesday found that hundreds of these inspection reports hadn’t reached school officials more than a year after the inspections were completed.

While a Baltimore jury deadlocked over the fate of Officer William Porter last week, teachers in city schools used the case to teach social studies lessons. Now that court officials have scheduled a new trial for Porter, one of six city police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray, city teachers will continue to use what happens inside the courtroom as a learning tool for their students.

City teachers and students braced for a verdict in Porter’s trial last week, but it ended Wednesday with a hung jury and a mistrial. On Friday, in Brianna Carter’s first period, 10th grade social studies class at Digital Harbor High School the trial provided a chance to talk about central themes in her class, like due process and the Constitution.