Police, lawmaker differ over school officer restrictions
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By Patrick Hauf
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Feb. 10, 2021) School resource officers in Maryland may soon only enter schools mainly during an emergency a plan the bill sponsor says will help minority students feel more comfortable, but police say presents safety concerns.
SB0245, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Ellis, D-Charles, establishes numerous restrictions on school resource officers in what he told Capital News Service is a plan to ensure students, especially those of color, feel more comfortable at school.
School resource officers are career law enforcement officers assigned to specific schools for protection and community-oriented policing, according to the National Association of School Resource Officers. (www.nasro.org/faq/)
Maryland bill would allow therapy dogs in schools
By TOM HINDLE
COLLEGE PARK, Md. A bill in the Maryland state legislature would require public schools to allow the use of therapy dogs across the state.
There’s currently no Maryland-wide policy for these dogs.
Under the law filed in the House as HB713, and in the senate as SB419 certified canines would be permitted entry to offer emotional and scholastic support for students.
How exactly that should happen would be left up to each county board of education.
Sponsor Sen. Ben Kramer, D-Montgomery, told Capital News Service that having a dog nearby would be an ideal way for students to power down and relax in learning environments and that the animals’ unconditional love is invaluable for children.
Gambling could become a mandatory class in Maryland high schools
Gambling could become a mandatory class in Maryland high schools
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If Maryland Senator Bryan Simonaire gets his way, high schoolers in the state will learn all that’s needed to know about gambling. However, he isn’t trying to create an entire generation of gamblers. Instead, he wants today’s youth to learn about the hazards and problems of gambling and has introduced a bill that would require state schools to add problem gambling to their curriculum. If it’s approved, the new course material would be added to the 2022 school year, but a similar bill introduced last year didn’t go the distance.
Maryland high schools may soon be required to adopt a curriculum on gambling addiction, depending on the fate of one bill in the state legislature.
SB0243, sponsored by Sen. Bryan Simonaire, R-Anne Arundel, directs the Maryland State Department of Education to develop a program for local schools to teach high school students the dangers of gambling.
Local school districts would have the option to use an existing gambling curriculum or to establish a new curriculum, according to Simonaire.
“From a governmental policy standpoint, the state receives money from gambling revenues that can be used to help other priorities in our state, but also adversely enables many citizens to become gambling addicts, which creates other issues for the state,” he told Capital News Service.