A law establishing a statewide program that provides advocates to students and families facing educational inequity drew discussion in the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday. House Bill 188, sponsored by Rep. Sheraeāa Moore, D-Middletown, codifies the Equity Ombudsman program, which provides non-lawyer advocates to assist families.Ā āIn 2018 there was litigation against the state ā¦ brought by the NAACP and …
The most recent plan to attract teachers to Delaware schools was applauded in the Senate Education Committee Wednesday. House Bill 138, sponsored by Rep. Kim Williams, D-Marshallton and chair of the House Education Committee, addresses the ongoing national teacher shortage. The legislation establishes a new tool to recruit and retain educators through an apprenticeship pilot program.Ā This model will build …
Proposed laws shifting who deals with appeals to the stateās new paid leave program, which starts in 2026 drew little comment in Wednesdayās Senate Health and Social Services Committee meeting. Senate Bill 178, sponsored by Sen. Sarah McBride, D-Wilmington and committee chair, makes technical changes to private plans under the Family and Medical Leave Program. The new program requires Delaware …
The Senate passed bills Tuesday pertaining to confidentiality for abortion providers, minority party representation on an emergency health committee and payouts for employment discrimination. Senate Bill 158, sponsored by Sen. Kyle Evans Gay, D-Arden, focuses on confidentiality rights for medical providers.Ā The bill allows anyone who is a reproductive health care services provider or employee to apply for participation in …
It was a day of unanimous votes for the Delaware Senate Thursday, with 14 of the 15 itemsĀ passed without any ānoā votes. Sen. Darius Brown, D-Wilmington, was the only legislator to vote against House Substitute 1 for House Bill 34, a law that would require school boards from district and charter schools to hold public comment on each agenda …
Defying the demands of theĀ state teachers union, a committee formed to make recommendations on educator pay voted Monday to bring teacherās starting salary to $60,000 over four years rather than three.Ā The four-year plan will consist of a 2% salary increase and a flat dollar increase of $1,875 to the base salary for teachers, nurses and administrators each year …
A bill that would establish a 17-person task force to focus on mentoring and improving literacy rates for Delawareās youth unanimously passed the House Education Committee Wednesday.Ā āWe believe that the 18,222 children in charter schools across our state benefit not just from the educators in the building, but from the village that helps educate them,ā said Kendall Massett, executive …
Several members of the Joint Finance Committee asked the Department of Education officials on Wednesday when and if they would ever see a return on the stateās investment in public education. Student achievement metrics like standardized test scores have fallen off a cliff over the past decade and the state still faces a teacher shortage. Education Secretary Mark Holodick and …
A Senate committee hearing Tuesday heard the state Secretary of Education apologize about the way lead testing in schools was handled and that trained pros will handle testing instead of school staff. Through a federal grant, the Department of Education began a sampling initiative in October, 2020 to identify the levels of lead within drinking water at schools. āWhile well-intentioned, …
This story was originally published in July 2022. Rodel, a local nonprofit espousing better education in Delaware, calls the 151st General Assembly, which just ended, the āEducation General Assembly,ā in regard to the number of education bills that passed. āThereās more than 50 education bills this session and a 7% increase in the budget,ā saidĀ Madeleine Bayard,Ā senior vice president ofĀ Rodel.Ā āThey got …
