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HB1171 • 2026

Howard County Board of Education - Student Member - Voting Ho. Co. 7-26

Howard County Board of Education - Student Member - Voting Ho. Co. 7-26

Education Elections Labor
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Howard County Delegation
Last action
2026-05-12
Official status
Approved by the Governor - Chapter 578
Effective date
2026-07-01

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation included claims about specific voting rights that were not detailed in the provided official bill summary or text.

Howard County Board of Education - Voting Rights for Student Member

This law changes what a student member on the Howard County Board of Education can vote on.

What This Bill Does

  • Removes restrictions that prevented the student member from voting on certain topics.
  • Allows the student member to now vote on matters related to appointments, salaries, and staff discipline.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The Howard County Board of Education
  • The student member of the board

Terms To Know

Student Member
A voting member on the Howard County Board of Education who is a high school student.
Collective Bargaining
Negotiations between employers and employees, usually through unions, to set working conditions and wages.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law does not specify how the student member will be chosen or what criteria they must meet.
  • It is unclear if this change will affect other similar boards in Maryland.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-12 Post Passage

    Approved by the Governor - Chapter 578

  2. 2026-04-09 Senate

    Favorable Report by Education, Energy, and the Environment

  3. 2026-03-31 Senate

    Hearing 4/07 at 1:00 p.m.

  4. 2026-03-30 House

    Returned Passed

  5. 2026-03-25 Senate

    Third Reading Passed (46-0)

  6. 2026-03-22 Senate

    Favorable Adopted

  7. 2026-03-22 Senate

    Second Reading Passed

  8. 2026-03-20 House

    Favorable Report by Ways and Means

  9. 2026-03-08 House

    Third Reading Passed (104-26)

  10. 2026-03-07 House

    Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed

  11. 2026-03-06 Senate

    Referred Education, Energy, and the Environment

  12. 2026-02-16 House

    Hearing 3/10 at 1:00 p.m.

  13. 2026-02-11 House

    First Reading Ways and Means

  14. Maryland General Assembly

    Text - First - Howard County Board of Education - Student Member - Voting Ho. Co. 7-26

  15. Maryland General Assembly

    Vote - House - Committee - Ways and Means

  16. Maryland General Assembly

    Text - Third - Howard County Board of Education - Student Member - Voting Ho. Co. 7-26

  17. Maryland General Assembly

    Vote - Senate - Committee - Education, Energy, and the Environment

  18. Maryland General Assembly

    Text - Chapter - Howard County Board of Education - Student Member - Voting Ho. Co. 7-26

Official Summary Text

Altering the matters on which the student member of the Howard County Board of Education may vote.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
*hb1171*

HOUSE BILL 1171
F3 6lr0957
CF 6lr0960
By: Howard County Delegation
Introduced and read first time: February 11, 2026
Assigned to: Ways and Means
Committee Report: Favorable
House action: Adopted
Read second time: March 7, 2026

CHAPTER ______

AN ACT concerning 1

Howard County Board of Education – Student Member – Voting 2

Ho. Co. 7–26 3

FOR the purpose of altering the matters on which the student member of the Howard 4
County Board of Education may vote; and generally relating to the student member 5
of the Howard County Board of Education. 6

BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 7
Article – Education 8
Section 3–701(a)(1) 9
Annotated Code of Maryland 10
(2025 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 11

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 12
Article – Education 13
Section 3–701(f)(7) 14
Annotated Code of Maryland 15
(2025 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 16

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 17
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 18

Article – Education 19

2 HOUSE BILL 1171

3–701. 1

(a) (1) The Howard County Board consists of: 2

(i) Seven elected members; and 3

(ii) One student member. 4

(f) (7) The student member shall vote on all matters except those relating to: 5

(i) [Geographical attendance areas under § 4–109 of this article; 6

(ii) Acquisition and disposition of real property and matters 7
pertaining to school construction under § 4–115 of this article; 8

(iii)] Employment of architects under § 4–117 of this article; 9

[(iv) Donations under § 4–118 of this article; 10

(v) Condemnation under § 4–119 of this article; 11

(vi) Consolidation of schools and transportation of students under § 12
4–120 of this article; 13

(vii)] (II) Appointment and salary of a county superintendent under 14
§§ 4–201 and 4–202 of this article; 15

[(viii)] (III) Employee discipline and other appeals under § 4–205(c) of 16
this article; 17

[(ix) Budgetary matters under Title 5 of this article; 18

(x)] (IV) Appointment and promotion of staff under § 6–201 of this 19
article; 20

[(xi)] (V) Discipline of certificated staff under § 6–202 of this article; 21

[(xii)] (VI) Collective bargaining for certificated employees under 22
Title 6, Subtitle 4 of this article; AND 23

[(xiii)] (VII) Collective bargaining for noncertificated employees under 24
Title 6, Subtitle 5 of this article[; and 25

(xiv) Student suspension and expulsion under § 7–305 of this article]. 26

HOUSE BILL 1171 3

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 1
1, 2026. 2

Approved:
________________________________________________________________________________
Governor.
________________________________________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Delegates.
________________________________________________________________________________
President of the Senate.