Tea at Trianon: What Does Maryland Legislation Mean To YOUR Child?

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

What Does Maryland Legislation Mean To YOUR Child?

From Jan Greenhawk at The Easton Gazette:

As the Maryland General Assembly ended Monday, many of the bills passed dealt with education. Most people don't know which bills were passed, much less how these bills will impact them and their children.

House Bill 945/SB 771-Initial Teacher Certification: Almost everyone knows that Maryland is suffering a teacher shortage. In many jurisdictions, classes are crowded, teachers are teaching out of area, or classes are simply not offered or covered. This bill attempts to alleviate that problem by allowing more people to get certified. It will allow more people to move from another career into teaching. One of the problems of the bill is that it will also allow the State of Maryland to make certain changes to the skills needed to be a teacher. This might mean that your child's teacher will be trained in counseling but may not have basic academic skills.

2024 Regular Session - House Bill 945 Third Reader (maryland.gov)

House Bill 1493-Public and Nonpublic Schools – Child Sex Offenders – Prohibition on In–Person Attendance: This bill, passed last minute by the Maryland Legislature, will be a plus for any child in a public or private school. The text of the bill prohibits a child from in–person attendance at a public school or a nonpublic school that receives State funds if the child has been convicted or adjudicated delinquent of certain offenses; requiring each local school system to provide alternative educational options for children prohibited from in–person attendance in a certain manner; and generally relating to the prohibition of in–school attendance by children convicted or adjudicated delinquent of certain offenses. (Read more.)

And at the end of the Session:

Maryland House Bill 558 is dead. Again.

For people in education in Maryland, it may seem like deja vu. Last year at this time, education organizations were celebrating the block they put in front of a house bill that was the precursor to the above bill. It was a bill that would force local school systems to teach ALL sections of the State's Health and Sex Education Framework or be faced with a fine from the Maryland State Superintendent.

The effort is part of what got the State Superintendent at the time, Mohammed Choudhury, released from his duties.

Many school boards, the Maryland Association of Boards of Education, and even MSDE itself protested the bill, as the drastic overreach it was. So, the bill went down in flames.

Not one to be deterred, Vanessa Atterbeary of Howard County, who was the sponsor of last year's bill, brought an almost identical bill back this year. The only difference was this year, she wanted systems to disallow parental opt outs for the units on "Gender Identity and Sexual Preferences." These opt outs would keep a child from participating in these units. We reported on her effort here:

Maryland Once Again Votes Against Parental Rights; Arikan's Bill Provides Glimmer Of Hope - Easton Gazette

Atterbeary was denied once again Monday when the legislature voted HB 558 into oblivion. Maybe SHE should be told, like Republican Kathy Szeliga was regarding her "Save Girls Sports," bill, to "not bring that bill back again next year. "

Yes, that was mean girl Atterbeary who said that to Szeliga.

Karma exists. At least in this case. (Read more.)