Around Maryland

As Maryland finalizes its school star ratings this month, education leaders are forecasting a majority of the state’s public schools have held steady even as a quarter of them lost a star in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. State board of education members on Tuesday reviewed preliminary results for the state’s school rating system, known as the Maryland Report Card, offering a new glimpse at the pandemic’s lingering impact on public education during the 2021-

A ruling from the Supreme Court against the White House’s student debt relief program could impact more than 800,000 Maryland student loan borrowers who are currently eligible for relief according to data from the federal Department of Education. So far, about 320,000 Maryland borrowers have had their loans forgiveness applications approved by the Education Department. Maryland ranks second in the nation for average student loan debt burden, according to data from the Education Data Initiative, a nonprofit research group that examines data from the federal government.

Maryland will pay $7 million to settle the pending state Supreme Court appeal of a man who was savagely beaten while in state custody and whose jury award of $25 million had been slashed to $200,000 under the Maryland Tort Claims Act. The Board of Public Works on Wednesday unanimously approved the settlement with Daquan Wallace before the high court could hear arguments that MTCA’s damages cap violates the state constitution’s guarantee of a just legal remedy for the 2014 beating he suffered at the Baltimore Detention Center.

Opened in fall 2022, the 70,000-square-foot Thurgood Marshall Hall dramatically enhanced the student experience with its multifunctional and high-tech spaces. (File photo) The University of Maryland on Wednesday celebrated the naming of Thurgood Marshall Hall, home of its school of public policy, with an event that brought together faculty, staff, students and alums, Gov. Wes Moore and the son of Thurgood Marshall, Thurgood Marshall Jr.

Bessie Bordenave said she cried in September when her beloved Harriet Tubman High School was reopened as a cultural center. “I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, I can’t believe this is happening.’ Just thinking about it makes me emotional. I think about how great it turned out to be,” she said. “The children from the various schools come and get a taste of what it was like going to the school back then. … I think the children do need to know.”

A General Assembly bill that could transform how the Baltimore area’s water and wastewater infrastructure is operated will get its first hearing Wednesday. A few local politicians and water advocates are raising questions about the proposal, which would set up a task force charged with determining the best governance for the systems, which are largely owned by Baltimore City but also serve Baltimore County and others in the region.

Deputies in Frederick County, Maryland, will be wearing body cameras starting Tuesday as part of their duty uniform. Deputies will be outfitted with Axon body cameras, and the rollout to 180 officers will be phased in over the next 60 days, said Frederick County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Richard Balsley, in a Facebook post.