Fighting for Students with Special Needs

Ensuring that every student receives a quality education is one of my top priorities.  To further this goal, I have introduced House Bill 1189 that will ensure that students with disabilities receive an individualized education plan (IEP) that is adequate and promotes learning and skills development.  H.B. 1189 would place the burden of proof on schools districts in special education due process hearings.  Under current law, students and parents bear the burden of proving that the IEP developed by the school district is inadequate.  It is patently unfair to ask parents to bear the burden of proof through an unfamiliar legal process, when many parents cannot afford an attorney, against an entire school district and its lawyers who are experts on the subject.   This is especially true for Maryland's most financially vulnerable students and their parents.  Please join me and the Maryland Coalition for Special Education Rights and Burden of Proof in asking members of the legislature to support HB 1189 and the companion Senate Bill 779.  Please email or write your senators and delegates today and ask them to support these bills.  READ MORE.

Tipped Workers Need a Raise Too

Although I am pleased that legislation to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 has passed the Maryland House of Delegates, I am very disturbed that provisions were removed from the bill that would have increased the minimum wage for tipped workers.  The bill that passed the House of Delegates freezes tipped workers' base wages at $3.63 per hour.  This means that the minimum wage would increase for all workers except those that work for tips. Under the current bill thousands of bartenders, waiters and other service industry employees would be deprived of the benefits of a minimum wage increase.  We cannot raise the wage for some and freeze it for others.  This is why I have partnered with Congresswoman Donna Edwards, Raise Maryland, UFCW Local 400 and other groups to lobby the Maryland Senate to increase the base pay for tipped workers to 70 percent of the minimum wage.  I encourage you to call, email and write your state senators and ask them to restore the minimum wage increase for Maryland's tipped workers.

Public Safety Diversity Act

I am pleased to announce that House Bill 1349, the Public Safety Diversity Act of 2014 has passed the Maryland House of Delegates.  I sponsored House Bill 1349 to increase diversity among the Maryland State Police.  In recent years, Maryland has lost 37% of its African-American state troopers.  Of the 1,453 officers employed by the Maryland State Police, only 198 are black and 29 are Hispanic.  House Bill 1349 will require the State Police, when it advertises for or recruits new employees, to include advertising that is targeted toward individuals from underrepresented communities. This bill is a top priority of the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus because it will facilitate increased diversity among the ranks of the State Police.

Protecting Victims of Rape and Sexual Assault

Today, I testified in support of my legislation House Bill 1528, which will allow evidence of a defendant's past acts of sexual misconduct to be admitted in a criminal trial where a defendant is charged with sexual assault.  Under current law, prosecutors are prohibited from mentioning a defendant's previous convictions or accusations of sexual assault.  House Bill 1528 is designed to support victims of sexual assault by allowing evidence of prior sexual misconduct to be heard by the judge and jury.  It is wrong to allow a victim's sexual history to be part of a sexual assault trial while excluding a perpetrator's history of sexual violence.  House Bill 1528 will modernize Maryland criminal law and make it consistent with federal, California and Louisiana laws that allow evidence of a defendant's prior sexual assaults to be admitted into evidence.  READ MORE.