State bill would require school board members to have anti-bias training

Yahoo

30-01-2025

A state bill that would require all county Board of Education members in the state to undergo anti-bias training every two years had a hearing in Annapolis on Wednesday.
All public school employees in the state are required to undergo anti-bias training through legislation passed last session. Board of education members were excluded from the definition of 'public school employees.'
State Del. Marc Korman (D-16) presented the House Bill 324 on Wednesday at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing. Korman and Del. Vanessa Atterbeary (D-13), the chair of the committee, co-sponsored the bill.
Korman said on Wednesday that the legislation was 'a simple bill.'
'So, this bill just closes that loophole, frankly, and requires the school board members to go through the same type of training as we've already told our tens of thousands of school employees to go through,' he said.
The bill directs the Maryland State Department of Education to develop guidelines for anti-bias training for board members. Some guidelines include being inclusive, incorporating lessons in cultural awareness and aiming to reduce implicit bias.
The bill also specifies that the training would work to make schools more inclusive regardless of students and staff members' 'race, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, ancestry, physical attributes, socioeconomic status, familial status, or disability.'
Josh Bokee, a former alderman for the city of Frederick who ran unsuccessfully for the Frederick County Board of Education in 2024, testified on Wednesday in favor of the bill.
He emphasized, as a resident and as a parent of a student in the school system, 'how important it is that our board members of education receive the same anti-bias training that is consistent with the public school employees.'
Bokee said the bill would be a logical next step, and he hopes 'board members are upholding professional standards, inclusivity and set up an environment where all students can be welcome and included in the school system.'
LOCAL VIEWS
The Frederick County Board of Education is currently not required to undergo any formal anti-bias training, according to board member Karen Yoho.
She said on Wednesday that the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE), a nonprofit organization that supports school boards statewide, would not support the bill.
Yoho said the organization is not usually in favor of statewide mandates because they are 'typically unfunded, so it comes with time and money.'
She said that she personally 'wouldn't mind' if the bill became law, but she has not 'felt the need for anti-bias training on our board.'
'That can always change, and then we would discuss it as a board and address it,' Yoho said. 'At this point, I haven't heard anybody talking about bringing something like that up.'
She added that the Frederick County school board members attend a retreat every year in which they reflect and review their effectiveness over the last year.
Vice President Dean Rose said on Wednesday that he 'would support it at first blush.'
'I certainly personally would not be against it, and I don't see any reason not to have it,' he said.
Board member Janie Inglis Monier said on Wednesday that 'on the face of it, it doesn't sound like there should be an issue.'
She said because of her background in anthropology and social sciences, anti-bias training is familiar. Monier also attended a new board member training hosted by MABE earlier this month.
'Anything that is going to help me be a better board member, I want to be available for that,' she said.
Board member Colt Black said on Wednesday that he 'doesn't necessarily think that additional trainings are needed.'
'We don't put other elected officials through these types of training, and I don't believe that we need to be doing that with board of education members,' he said.
Board member Jaime Brennan said she had not read the bill as of Wednesday afternoon and could not comment.
School board President Rae Gallagher and member Nancy Allen were not available for comment by phone on Wednesday.
State Del. Kris Fair (D-3A), the executive director of the Frederick Center, an LGBTQ+ resource center in Frederick, said on Wednesday that anti-bias trainings are 'very illuminating' and 'it serves a great purpose for our communities and our schools.'
'Anti-bias trainings are critical so that we, as a school system, recognize the biases that it may have, and then learn how to operate within that structure and that reality,' he said.
State Del. Jesse Pippy (R-4) said on Wednesday that he is not generally opposed to additional training to 'help public servants be more effective and more tolerant and open to the general public.'
'However, I don't know if it's a good idea that the legislature continues to try to circumvent local control, locally elected boards, and how they operate within their respective counties,' he said. 'This is something they can implement themselves.'