WILLIAM DONALD SCHAEFER, Governor                     H.B. 1593

Speaker of the House of Delegates

State House

Annapolis, Maryland 21401

Dear Mr. Speaker:

In accordance with Article II, Section 17 of the Maryland Constitution, I have today
vetoed House Bill 1593.

House Bill 1593 would require the State Superintendent of Schools to provide county
governments with an opportunity to give their assessment of a local school board's
improvement plan prior to making a recommendation to the State Board to reconstitute
a failing school.

This legislation provides county governments with opportunities to comment on the
school system's improvement plan beyond that already established and expressly provides
that comments shall be prior to the Superintendent's recommendation to the State Board.
I believe that this bill creates another legislatively mandated hurdle in a carefully
designed process to improve our public schools. It will only serve to impede critical efforts
in promoting school performance, including intervention in and reconstitution of schools
which consistently fail to improve.

I also believe that current regulations and guidelines provide ample opportunity for
interaction and comment during the school improvement planning process. State Board
regulations provide the local county governing body the opportunity to comment on a
proposal for reconstitution to the State Board. Since the State Board is the body
authorized to require reconstitution, it is the appropriate body to receive comment.

In addition, the Report of the Governor's Commission on School Funding of January
1994 among its recommendations (#9 on page 13) states: "Planning efforts to improve
performance in schools eligible for reconstitution should be undertaken collaboratively,
with involvement from the state, school system, local government, school staff,
administration, parents, students, and other community representatives."

Finally, by January 15 of each year, the State Superintendent is already required to notify
local systems including local governments, of names of schools that may be subject to a
recommendation for reconstitution. By April 1, the local board must submit a school
improvement plan, based on input from all local entities. Under current practice, local
jurisdictions interact with the Department of Education in developing plans during this
period.

For these reasons, I have vetoed House Bill 1593.

Sincerely,

William Donald Schaefer

Governor

House Bill No. 1593

AN ACT concerning

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