EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
*sb0293*
SENATE BILL 293
F1 5lr1921
CF HB 324
By: Senator Feldman Senators Feldman, Attar, Augustine, and Brooks
Introduced and read first time: January 10, 2025
Assigned to: Education, Energy, and the Environment
Committee Report: Favorable with amendments
Senate action: Adopted
Read second time: February 2, 2025
CHAPTER ______
AN ACT concerning 1
County Boards of Education – Antibias Training for Members – Requirement 2
(County Board Member Antibias Training Act) 3
FOR the purpose of requiring each member of a county board of education to complete 4
certain antibias training at least once during the member’s term; and generally 5
relating to antibias training for members of county boards of education. 6
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 7
Article – Education 8
Section 6–129 9
Annotated Code of Maryland 10
(2022 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 11
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 12
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 13
Article – Education 14
6–129. 15
(a) (1) The Department shall develop guidelines for an antibias training 16
program for school employees. 17
(2) The guidelines developed under this subsection shall: 18
2 SENATE BILL 293
(i) Be inclusive; 1
(ii) Incorporate lessons in cultural awareness; 2
(iii) Aim to reduce implicit bias; 3
(iv) Be culturally responsive to the needs of educators and students; 4
(v) Raise awareness of biases, prejudices, intolerances, and 5
discrimination faced by African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans and 6
Pacific Islanders, Hispanic Americans, and other historically marginalized racial and 7
ethnic minorities; 8
(vi) Combat prejudices faced by historically marginalized religious 9
minorities, including antisemitism and Islamophobia; 10
(vii) Seek to achieve schools that are more inclusive and tolerant of 11
students, faculty, and staff regardless of an individual’s race, national origin, marital 12
status, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, ancestry, physical attributes, 13
socioeconomic status, familial status, or disability; and 14
(viii) Be evidence–based. 15
(3) In developing the guidelines, the Department shall incorporate lessons 16
learned from real life incidents of discriminatory bullying, harassment, or intimidation 17
reported in accordance with § 7–424 of this article. 18
(4) The Department periodically shall update the guidelines required 19
under this subsection. 20
(b) (1) Each county board shall, in consultation with teachers and other public 21
school employees, develop an antibias training based on the guidelines developed under 22
subsection (a) of this section. 23
(2) If the county board has an antibias training in place before the 24
Department issues its guidelines, the county board shall, in consultation with teachers and 25
other public school employees, update its training to incorporate the practices identified in 26
the guidelines. 27
(c) (1) Every other year, each county board shall train each public school 28
employee whose job duties include frequent interaction with students using its antibias 29
training. 30
(2) Antibias training shall be job –embedded, paid professional 31
development training that is provided during nonteaching time. 32
(3) To the extent practicable, the training shall: 33 SENATE BILL 293 3
(i) Be offered in a peer–to–peer setting; 1
(ii) Take a half day or less to complete; and 2
(iii) Incorporate lessons learned from incidents of bullying, 3
harassment, or intimidation in the county, reported in accordance with § 7–424 of this 4
article. 5
(D) (1) AT LEAST ONCE DURING THE MEMBER ’S TERM, EACH MEMBER OF 6
A COUNTY BOARD SHALL COMPLETE THE ANTIBIA S TRAINING DEVELOPED UNDER 7
SUBSECTION (B) OF THIS SECTION. 8
(2) THE TRAINING SHALL BE CONDUCTED SEPARATELY FROM THE 9
PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLOY EE TRAINING REQUIRED UNDER SUBSECTION (C) OF THIS 10
SECTION. 11
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 12
1, 2025. 13
Approved:
________________________________________________________________________________
Governor.
________________________________________________________________________________
President of the Senate.
________________________________________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Delegates.