Chapter 09. Educational Programs in Nonpublic Schools

A bona fide church organization that chooses to operate a school as exempt from the requirement to hold a Certificate of Approval shall provide to the Department the following:

A bona fide church organization that chooses to apply for a Certificate of Approval from the State Board to operate a school shall apply for approval of the entire educational program of the school, including any consecutive sequence of nursery school, kindergarten, grades 1—12, or all of these.

A school or educational program that is governed and operated by the federal government or any State, county, or municipal agency or division of these;

A school or educational program that is governed and operated by a bona fide church organization that registers the operation of the school as exempt from the requirement to hold a Certificate of Approval;

Apprenticeship and on-the-job training programs that are subject to the approval of the Apprenticeship and Training Council;

Individuals or entities that offer or arrange for instruction solely for avocational purposes through courses in areas such as art, music, dance, drama, sports, crafts, or photography, if these courses are designed primarily for developing skills for personal enrichment, recreation, or other leisure pursuits;

Individuals or entities that offer or arrange for a supplemental educational program or tutoring in subjects usually taught in an elementary or secondary school to students concurrently enrolled in public or nonpublic schools;

Individuals or entities that supervise home instruction provided by the parent or guardian of a child;

Individuals or entities that operate a small center licensed by the Department;

Individuals or entities that operate a family day care home registered with the Department;

Individuals or entities that operate a Department licensed school age center that offers before school or after school child care, or both of these;

Individuals or entities that operate a Department licensed child care center except for such an individual or entity that chooses to operate an educational program in conjunction with the child care center;

Individuals or entities that offer a program for children younger than 3 years old; or

Individuals or entities that plan to offer special education.

“Annual report” means the report a legal authority of a school is required to file each year with the Department by which the chief officer of the legal authority certifies the status of the compliance of the school with the requirements of this chapter.

“Certificate of Approval” means the document issued by the State Board to the legal authority responsible for governing and operating a school if a school has met the requirements of this chapter.

“Child care center” means a facility that holds a current child care center license issued by the Department.

“Class” means a group of students scheduled to report regularly to a teacher at a particular time and place for the implementation of an educational program.

“Department” means the Maryland State Department of Education.

“Educational program” means an organized program of instruction in English, language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and, as applicable, courses for which secondary school credit is granted, and Montessori areas of instruction, provided by teachers to students enrolled in any consecutive sequence of kindergarten, or grades 1—12, or all of these.

“Elementary school” means an educational program for students in any grade or consecutive sequence of grades 1—8.

“Institution of higher education (IHE)” means a college or university that is accredited by an accrediting commission of one of the regional associations of colleges and schools.

“Kindergarten” means an educational program for students who meet the age of eligibility date for enrollment in kindergarten in compliance with Regulation .10C(3) of this chapter.

“Legal authority” means the nonpublic entity registered as active with the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation that is responsible for governing and operating a school.

“Montessori” means an educational program based on the educational philosophy of Dr. Maria Montessori that is validated by a Department-recognized Montessori validating organization that considers, at a minimum, the elements of teacher qualifications, written curriculum, instructional methods, and materials.

“School” means an educational program that is provided for an organized group of students, at least two of whom do not have the same parents or legal guardians and at least two of whom are not being instructed on a regular daily basis by the students' parents or legal guardians, that is governed and operated by a legal authority, excluding the federal government or any State, county, or municipal agency or division of these.

“School day” means the period of time when a school is regularly scheduled to be open for students who are required to be in attendance for an educational program.

“Secondary school” means an educational program for students in grade 9, 10, or 11, or in any consecutive sequence of grades 9—12.

“State Board” means the Maryland State Board of Education.

“Student” means an individual to whom a teacher provides instruction.

“Teacher” means an individual who provides instruction to students in a class in an educational program as defined in §B(6) of this regulation and who meets the requirements of Regulation .06B of this chapter.

Name of the school;

Location of the school;

The legal authority responsible for governing and operating the school; and

Classification of the educational program to include one or a consecutive sequence of the following:

Notify the Department in writing at least 60 days before the occurrence of any change or changes;

Furnish such information as the State Board considers necessary to approve the change or changes planned by the legal authority; and

Certify compliance with this chapter on forms provided by the Department.

The school demonstrates an area or areas of noncompliance;

The school has not filed its annual report with the Department;

The Department has received and is investigating a written complaint alleging that the school is in violation of one or more regulations under this chapter; or

The Department is implementing procedures and sanctions for noncompliance as specified in Regulation .12 of this chapter.

Ceases operating the educational program;

Is ordered by the State Board to cease operating the educational program and does not appeal that decision; or

Is ordered by the State Board to cease operating the educational program and that decision is upheld through the administrative review process.

Effective September 1, 2009, any new Montessori educational program shall submit a validating document from a Department-recognized Montessori validating organization.

Any Montessori educational program holding a Certificate of Approval issued prior to September 1, 2009 shall submit a validating document from a Department-recognized validating organization by July 1, 2015 in order to maintain the Montessori program recognition.

To verify compliance with this chapter for the purpose of initial issuance of a Certificate of Approval;

To investigate a written complaint alleging that the school is in violation of one or more regulations under this chapter;

To determine compliance with this chapter if the Department considers it necessary and appropriate by virtue of specific circumstances; and

To implement procedures and sanctions for noncompliance as specified in Regulation .12 of this chapter.

The regulation or regulations with which the school does not demonstrate compliance;

The fact or facts that demonstrate the school's noncompliance with each regulation;

The action or actions the school is required to take to demonstrate compliance with each regulation; and

The date by which the school is required to demonstrate compliance with each regulation.

The regulation or regulations with which the school continues to fail to demonstrate compliance;

The fact or facts that demonstrate the school's continuing noncompliance with each regulation;

The action or actions the school is required to take to demonstrate compliance with each regulation;

The date by which the school was required to demonstrate compliance as specified in the notice of noncompliance; and

A statement that continuing failure of the school to demonstrate compliance may result in the Department taking one or more of the following actions on or after a specified date:

A school shall have an administrative head at the school who is responsible for the day to day administration of the school.

An individual hired as the administrative head of a school on or after June 1, 2004 at a minimum shall meet the standards established in §B(2)(a) of this regulation.

A school shall have a written position description that states the duties and responsibilities of the administrative head of the school.

The administrative head of a school shall have sufficient time during each school day to carry out the duties and responsibilities stated in the written position description of the administrative head of the school.

A school shall have a teacher to implement the educational program in each class.

A teacher, regardless of whether the employment status of the teacher is full-time, part-time, paid, volunteer, or substitute, shall meet the requirements of this regulation.

A teacher who provides instruction in English language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and courses for which secondary school credit is granted, shall hold, at a minimum, one of the following credentials:

An individual who provides assistance to a teacher in a class is not required to meet the requirement of §B(2) of this regulation.

A school shall maintain a written statement of the qualifications of each teacher who implements the educational program.

A school shall give annually to the parents or legal guardians of prospective and enrolled students its written statement of the qualifications of each teacher who implements the educational program.

The educational program of a school shall operate consistently with its statement of purposes.

Based on the classification specified on the Certificate of Approval of a school, a school shall maintain at the school a written curriculum of its educational program for the following areas of instruction:

A school shall implement its written curriculum as specified in §A(2) of this regulation.

A school shall maintain at the school instructional materials and equipment required to implement the written curriculum of the school as specified in §A(2) of this regulation.

A school shall own the instructional materials and equipment required to implement the written curriculum of the school.

A school shall maintain at the school a library media collection to support and supplement the implementation of the written curriculum of the school as specified in §A(2) of this regulation.

A school shall own the library media collection required to support and supplement the implementation of the written curriculum of the school.

A school shall have a written statement of its ratio of students to teachers or its average class size for the implementation of its educational program.

A school shall give annually to parents or legal guardians of prospective and enrolled students the written statement of its ratio of students to teachers or average class size.

School's name;

School's location address;

School's telephone number;

Student's first, middle, and last names;

Student's month, day, and year of birth;

Student's home address;

Month, day, and year the student initially entered;

Grade upon enrollment;

Month, day, and year the student withdrew;

Student's performance information in each curricular area;

Code for the meaning of performance information; and

Number of days of attendance in each school year.

Beginning with the 2004—2005 school year and thereafter, a student entering grade 9 shall earn a minimum of 21 credits for secondary school graduation.

A school shall require 12 credits as follows:

A school shall require nine additional credits in accordance with its written policy regarding graduation requirements.

A secondary school shall have a written policy regarding the credits required for secondary school graduation.

A secondary school shall give annually to parents or legal guardians of prospective and enrolled students its written policy regarding the credits required for secondary school graduation.

A secondary school shall have a written statement that defines a unit of credit and any partial unit of credit granted by the school.

A secondary school shall give annually to parents or legal guardians of prospective and enrolled students its written statement that defines a unit of credit and any partial unit of credit granted by the school.

A secondary school shall be prepared to present as a separate document a transcript of the secondary school record of each student for each year of enrollment that includes the following:

A secondary school shall maintain permanently the original or a legible copy of the secondary school transcript of each student who has been enrolled in the school.

Before a secondary school ceases operation, the legal authority of the school shall file with the Department, in alphabetical order, the original or a legible copy of the secondary school transcript for each student who has been enrolled in the school.

A school shall have a written schedule that states the beginning and end of the school day and the specific time periods during the school day when the required areas of instruction are implemented.

A school shall give annually to parents or legal guardians of prospective and enrolled students the written schedule of its school day.

A school shall have a written calendar that states the specific days and the total number of days for the implementation of its educational program.

The calendar for a kindergarten, elementary school, or secondary school shall provide for at least 170 days for the implementation of the educational program.

When a student enrolls and annually thereafter, a school shall give its written school year calendar to parents or legal guardians of each student.

A school shall include 3 to 5 additional school days, based on local weather patterns, in its school year calendar to ensure that the 170-day school year requirement is met.

A school shall have a written policy regarding the criteria for admission to the school that at a minimum shall be consistent with §C(3) of this regulation, as applicable.

A school shall give to parents or legal guardians of prospective students its written policy regarding the criteria for admission to the school.

Kindergarten.

Before issuance of a Certificate of Approval, a legal authority shall submit written documentation to the Department on Department forms verifying that the location and facility where the educational program will be provided are in compliance with health, fire safety, and zoning regulations applicable to a nonpublic school;

A school shall maintain the most current documentation verifying that the location and facility where the educational program is provided are in compliance with health, fire safety, and zoning regulations applicable to a nonpublic school.

Announced and unannounced site visits;

Monitoring at the Department; or

Requests for documentation pertaining to requirements under this chapter.

A legal authority may request a hearing to challenge the notice of deficiencies if the legal authority files a written request with the State Board within 20 calendar days of receipt of the notice.

If a legal authority requests a hearing, the legal authority and the Department shall have an opportunity for oral argument before the State Board before a final decision is rendered. Oral argument before the State Board shall be limited to 15 minutes per side.

If the State Board reviews an appeal request, or hears oral argument, and finds that a genuine dispute of material fact exists, the State Board shall promptly refer the case to the Office of Administrative Hearings for proceedings in accordance with Regulation .12E of this chapter.

Following a hearing, if the State Board finds that the conditions or standards on which the Certificate of Approval was based are not met, the State Board may issue an order to the legal authority to cease operating the educational program.

If a legal authority does not request a hearing and fails to correct the specified deficiencies of the school within the period set by the State Board, the State Board may issue an order to the legal authority to cease operating the educational program.

The State Board shall revoke the Certificate of Approval of a nonpublic school that knowingly hires or retains an individual in violation of Education Article, §2-206.1, Annotated Code of Maryland.

Before revoking a school's Certificate of Approval, the State Board shall notify the legal authority of the school of the charges, and advise the legal authority of the right to request a hearing within 20 calendar days following receipt of the charges.

If the legal authority does not request a hearing, the State Board shall issue an order to the legal authority to cease operating the educational program.

If the legal authority requests a hearing before the State Board, the legal authority shall include the reasons for the request and any evidence that supports it.

The legal authority and the Department shall have an opportunity for oral argument before the State Board before a final decision is rendered. Oral argument before the State Board shall be limited to 15 minutes per side.

If the State Board reviews an appeal request, or hears oral argument, and finds that a genuine dispute of material fact exists, the State Board shall promptly refer the case to the Office of Administrative Hearings for proceedings in accordance with Regulation .12E of this chapter.

The hearing procedures for appeals referred by the State Board to the Office of Administrative Hearings are in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, State Government Article, §10-201 et seq., Annotated Code of Maryland, and with COMAR 28.02.

The Office of Administrative Hearings shall prepare an official case record as provided in COMAR 28.02.01.23.

The administrative law judge shall submit in writing to the State Board a proposed decision containing findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendations, and distribute a copy of the written proposed decision to the parties.

A party objecting to the administrative law judge's proposed decision may file exceptions with the State Board within 10 calendar days of receipt of the findings. A party may respond to the exceptions within 10 calendar days of receipt of the exceptions.

If exceptions are filed, all parties shall have an opportunity for oral argument before the State Board before a final decision is rendered. Oral argument before the State Board shall be limited to 15 minutes per side.