In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated. “Board” has the meaning stated in § 9–501 of this title. “Facility” means a building or buildings and related physical infrastructure at a geographically distinct location at which the Department operates a program. “Memorandum of understanding” means the memorandum of understanding between the Board and the Department required under § 9–502 of this title. “Residential facility” has the meaning stated in § 9–501 of this title. “Superintendent” means the Juvenile Services Education Program Superintendent.

There is a Juvenile Services Education Program within the Department.

Beginning July 1, 2022, the Department and the Board, subject to the memorandum of understanding, jointly shall have the authority and responsibility for implementing the juvenile services educational programs in the State. The Superintendent shall provide and oversee educational services to all juveniles in a residential facility. The Superintendent shall implement for each residential facility an educational program as approved by the Board that: meets the special needs and circumstances of the juveniles in the residential facility; and is accredited by an approved accrediting agency. The Department, subject to the memorandum of understanding, shall employ any staff necessary to carry out the Juvenile Services Education Program as provided in the State budget. Educational staff in the Department shall be subject to the career ladder and salary provisions under Title 6, Subtitle 10 of the Education Article. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, each teacher in the Juvenile Services Education Program who is employed by the Department is in the professional service in the State Personnel Management System. The Department shall adopt regulations to carry out the requirements of this section. The Board may authorize the Department to contract with a nonprofit private party or a county board of education to provide educational services for juveniles in a residential facility. For fiscal year 2023 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Governor shall include in the annual budget bill an appropriation in an amount sufficient to meet the requirements of this subtitle.

The Department shall notify a juvenile in custody of the juvenile’s educational rights. A juvenile in the custody of the Department who is enrolled in a public school at the time the juvenile is taken into custody may not be disenrolled from that school until after disposition of the juvenile’s case. The public school in which a juvenile under paragraph (2) of this subsection is enrolled shall provide the Department with the educational materials necessary for the juvenile to remain current with the juvenile’s educational program at the school in which the juvenile is enrolled. In consultation with the Board and county boards of education, the Superintendent with the aid of the Department shall develop and implement a procedure to transfer a copy of a juvenile’s educational records from the school in which the juvenile is enrolled to a residential facility in which the juvenile is placed. The educational records transferred in accordance with this paragraph shall include a copy of: an individualized education program; a 504 plan; records from an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program; and any other relevant documents and information. The Superintendent with the aid of the Department, in consultation with county boards of education, shall develop and implement a procedure for the re–enrollment of a juvenile in a residential facility before the juvenile is released from the custody of the Department. The Superintendent shall develop an educational plan for each school–age juvenile in the custody of the Department for more than 4 weeks that: is designed to meet the juvenile’s individual needs; and ensures that, to the extent practicable, the juvenile is able to seamlessly reintegrate into the juvenile’s home school. The Superintendent shall offer a minimum of 2.5 hours of a postsecondary education program per weekday to juveniles in the custody of the Department who have: graduated from high school; or obtained a high school diploma by examination in accordance with § 11–808 of the Labor and Employment Article. The Board may authorize the Department to contract with a nonprofit private party, community college, or any other institution of postsecondary education in the State to provide the services required by this subsection. Each county board of education may waive all high school graduation requirements, including required coursework, for a juvenile who is committed to the custody of the Department and is subsequently transferred to the local school system while in grade 11 or 12.

In this section, “basic daily cost” means the average amount spent by a county board of education from county and State funds for the public education of a nondisabled child divided by the number of actual school days required for a public school under § 7–103 of the Education Article. A county board of education shall reimburse the Department for the basic daily cost for each child who was domiciled in the county prior to placement with the Department if the child: is in a facility or residential facility; is in the custody of the Department for 15 consecutive days or more; does not meet the criteria for shared State and local payment of educational costs as provided in §§ 8–406 and 8–415 of the Education Article; and was included in the full–time equivalent enrollment of the county as calculated under § 5–201 of the Education Article.

On or before December 1, 2022, and each December 1 thereafter, the Superintendent with the aid of the Department shall submit a report to the Governor and, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, the General Assembly on the aggregate educational outcomes of the programs required by this subtitle at each residential facility. The Superintendent’s report shall include: student outcomes; external organizational partnerships; and transitions between enrollment in public school and the custody of the Department. The Superintendent shall report the information required under paragraph (2) of this subsection in the aggregate and disaggregated by: race; ethnicity; gender; English proficiency status; disability status; and familial income. The Board shall be subject to: investigation by the Maryland Office of the Inspector General for Education; and oversight and monitoring by the State Department of Education and State Board of Education.

On or before January 1, 2024, the Department shall contract with a public or private entity to conduct an empirical evaluation of the Board’s, the Superintendent’s, and the Department’s policies and practices regarding the educational services provided to juveniles in residential facilities. In conducting the study required under this subsection, the entity with which the Department contracts shall review the effectiveness of the Board’s, the Superintendent’s, and the Department’s current policies and practices, including: student educational outcomes; whether the educational plans required under § 9–604(c) of this subtitle are meeting juvenile needs; student disciplinary outcomes; how efficiently students transition between enrollment in public school and the custody of the Department, including: how well educational records are transferred between the Department and county boards; how efficiently juveniles are re–enrolled in public school after being released from the custody of the Department; and how well the education the juvenile receives while under the custody of the Department matches with the education received in the juvenile’s public school; the quality of the curriculum; how conducive the educational setting is to learning; and access to mental health services. The entity with which the Department contracts shall, after completing its review, develop recommendations to improve the education delivered under this subtitle. On or before October 1, 2026, the entity with which the Department contracts shall report its findings and recommendations to the Department, the Governor, and, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, the General Assembly.

In this section, “Office” has the meaning stated in § 8–401 of the State Government Article. The Office shall conduct an evaluation of the Board and the Superintendent, in accordance with § 8–404 of the State Government Article, on or before: July 1, 2027; and July 1, 2030.

In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. “Local public school employer” means a county board of education or the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners. “Locally employed educational professional” means an individual who is employed by: a local public school employer in a position for which professional standards are established by the State Board of Education and the Professional Standards and Teacher Education Board; or a county public library system in the position of librarian or public library associate. A locally employed educational professional who transfers to the Juvenile Services Education Program shall be given credit as a State employee for the individual’s years of service as a locally employed educational professional for the purpose of establishing the individual’s leave accrual rates. Subject to subparagraph (ii)1 of this paragraph, a locally employed educational professional who transfers directly from a position with a local public school employer to the Juvenile Services Education Program with no period of intervening employment and no lapse in employment greater than 90 days shall receive accumulated leave in the amount verified by the individual’s local public school employer as the individual’s accumulated leave balances at the time the individual left the local public school employer and for which the individual was not otherwise compensated. A locally employed educational professional who transfers to the Juvenile Services Education Program in accordance with subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall be: entitled to transfer all leave balances, even if the balances exceed the amount of leave an employee of the Juvenile Services Education Program is authorized to retain; and subject to the leave accumulation and carry over requirements that otherwise apply to State employees when the individual begins employment in the Juvenile Services Education Program.