MD SB863

Beginning in the 2027-2028 school year, Prince George's County must budget full-time salary and benefits, including health insurance, for all one-to-one student aides under the same terms as other school system employees.

The County Superintendent must provide quarterly updates to the Board of Education and State Department of Education for at least 24 months, reporting on students requiring one-to-one aides, compensatory services owed and completed, IEP service minutes delivered, and aide vacancy/turnover rates.

The State Department of Education must hire a third-party auditor to conduct a comprehensive audit of Prince George's County special education services for fiscal years 2021-2025, examining IDEA compliance, complaints, staffing, finance, and student outcomes.

The auditor must deliver a baseline report within 90 days, a final comprehensive report within 180 days, and a corrective action plan within 30 days after that, including staffing plans, parent engagement strategies, and technology solutions such as centralized tracking dashboards and multilingual parent portals.

The act is an emergency measure that takes effect immediately upon enactment and automatically expires after 3 years.