Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

HB 820
                       Department of Legislative Services
                              Maryland General Assembly
                                    2021 Session
                            FISCAL AND POLICY NOTE
                                   First Reader
House Bill 820                   (Delegate Rose)
Ways and Means
        County Boards of Education - Computer Science Courses - Reporting
                                 Requirements
This bill requires each local board of education, beginning in the 2023-2024 school year,
to submit an annual report on computer science courses to the General Assembly and the
State Board of Education. The report must include the number of computer science courses
offered in each public school in the county, along with other specified information and
disaggregated data. Each local board must post the prior fiscal year data (i.e., data required
to be included in the annual report) conspicuously on its website. The bill takes effect
July 1, 2021.
                                     Fiscal Summary
State Effect: None. The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) can provide
any requested technical assistance with existing resources.
Local Effect: Some local school systems may incur additional costs to meet specific data
gathering and reporting requirements of the bill. The bill may impose a mandate on a
unit of local government.
Small Business Effect: None.
                                          Analysis
Current Law:
Computer Science Courses
Chapter 358 of 2018 requires, beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, each public high
school to offer at least one high-quality computer science course that meets or exceeds the
curriculum standards and requirements established by the State Board of Education. Local
boards must also make efforts to (1) incorporate computer science in each public
elementary and middle school and (2) increase enrollment in middle and high school
computer science courses from the following categories:
      female students;
      students with disabilities; and
      students of ethnic, racial, and other demographic groups that are underrepresented
       in the field of computer science as identified by the U.S. Equal Employment
       Opportunity Commission.
Student Data Collection
Since 1968, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) has conducted the Civil Rights
Data Collection (CRDC) to collect data on key education and civil rights issues in our
nation’s public schools. CRDC collects a variety of information including student
enrollment and educational programs and services, most of which is disaggregated by
race/ethnicity, sex, limited English proficiency, and disability. CRDC is a longstanding and
important aspect of the USDE Office for Civil Rights overall strategy for administering
and enforcing the civil rights statutes for which it is responsible. Local educational agencies
(LEAs) report required data to USDE. Information collected by CRDC is also used by other
USDE offices as well as policymakers and researchers.
Furthermore, much of what is required in the legislation is currently collected in various
data collections managed by MSDE, including student-teacher-course-grade data
collection which entails data on specific courses, which teacher(s) teach a course, and
student grade level, gender, race, ethnicity, English learner status, special education status,
and eligibility for free and reduced-price meals.
Student Data Privacy
At the federal level, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the
Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act govern the privacy of student data when
HB 820/ Page 2
educational institutions engage cloud service providers. FERPA generally prohibits the
disclosure by schools that receive federal education funding of personally identifiable
information from a student’s education records, unless the educational institution has
obtained signed and dated written consent from a parent or eligible student or one of
FERPA’s exceptions applies.
Educational institutions are bound by FERPA to protect the privacy of student and family
information. In addition, MSDE follows guidelines specified by the Maryland Department
of Information Technology’s Information Security Policy.
Local Expenditures: Though local school systems currently must gather and report much
of the data required under the bill, at least some systems may incur some additional costs
to meet each specific data gathering and reporting requirement of the bill.
                               Additional Information
Prior Introductions: HB 1195 of 2020 received a hearing in the House Ways and Means
Committee, but no further action was taken. Its cross file, SB 894, received a hearing in
the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee, but no further action
was taken. HB 1224 of 2019 passed the House and received a hearing in the Senate
Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee, but no further action was taken.
Cross File: None.
Information Source(s): Maryland State Department of Education; Baltimore City Public
Schools; Montgomery County Public Schools; Prince George’s County Public Schools;
Department of Legislative Services
Fiscal Note History:     First Reader - February 11, 2021
md/rhh
Analysis by: Caroline L. Boice                        Direct Inquiries to:
                                                      (410) 946-5510
                                                      (301) 970-5510
HB 820/ Page 3
Statutes affected: 
Text - First - County Boards of Education - Computer Science Courses - Reporting Requirements: 4-111.4 Education, 4-111.5 Education
Text - Third - County Boards of Education - Specialty Courses - Reporting Requirements: 4-111.4 Education, 4-111.5 Education