One of the peskiest problems that Gov. Moore and the General Assembly face in trying to balance the state's budget is protecting the Blueprint for school improvement against being chipped away or delayed in its implementation plan by other urgent priorities. Full funding for a critical area, Community Schools with wraparound child and family support, has been delayed several times. And that effort is related to many other child-centered concerns, such as the embattled foster-care system and professional support for kids in school (all of which see below). It's easy to get distracted by national arguments and the shenanigans of Donald Trump (the Master of Distraction; bombs may be falling on Iran as you read this).

But the kids who are coming up now need more help -- from us -- than they are getting, and that is a due-bill that we will keep on paying at considerable interest.

It's News You Can Use.

HERE IN MARYLAND

Mo Co Schools, Parents Settle Lawsuit On LGBTQ2+ Content: Montgomery County schools and a group of parents who objected to their children receiving LGBTQ+-themed instruction without their consent have reached a settlement of the parents’ lawsuit that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The settlement includes a $1.5 million payment and new provisions alerting parents to content in course materials, to provide alternative instruction and to give parents an opportunity to opt their children out of the standard instruction. William Ford/Maryland Matters. >> The Montgomery County school board must notify families in advance when the schools plan to use one of the books at the heart of the case — or any similar book — in a lesson. The parents are also entitled to reasonable attorneys’ fees, the order states. Baltimore Banner. $

Bills Seek To Raise Number Of Licensed Psychologists In Schools: Lawmakers are considering companion bills in the House (HB 340) and Senate (SB 238) that would make Maryland part of a multistate compact with comparable licensing standards and reciprocal license agreements for school psychologists, in an attempt to fill the gap in school-based psychologists. Maryland Matters.

Deeper Dive into Foster Care Reveals Disturbing Statistics: Four foster children younger than 5 were sent to live in a hotel. In one month, children who were admitted to psychiatric hospitals ended up staying an average of 107 days after doctors said they were ready to leave. On average, three-fourths of foster children aren’t in a permanent placement after a year, and they tend to move to new ones every 161 days. That is some of the ground-level intel discerned about Maryland’s foster care system as it and other parts of state government go through an annual budget review process over Gov. Wes Moore’s $71 billion spending plan for fiscal 2027. Baltimore Sun.

Bills Would Add More Guidance To State's Handgun Roster Board: Two bills are set to be introduced in the Maryland legislature would revamp the way the state handgun roster board works, adding what advocates of the bills say are structure and guidance to the process of deciding which guns can be bought and sold in the state. A Second Amendment supporter, however, sharply criticized the bills as unnecessary. Baltimore Sun.

Deadline Looms For Senate To Pass Moore's Redistricting Measure: As pressure to redraw congressional district lines builds and the candidate filing deadline looms, State Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat, continues to rebuke the proposed maps that could eliminate the only Republican-majority district open the state to unknown legal scrutiny. Baltimore Sun. >> He won’t say it in so many words, but Ferguson indicates that legislation to redistrict Maryland’s congressional map mid-cycle might as well be dead, despite growing pressure from some state and national Democrats. “Given the timeline of where things stand, the window of opportunity had closed,” Ferguson told reporters during a Friday news conference. Maryland Matters. >> The apparent loss [on the redistricting effort], which Gov. Wes Moore vehemently does not concede, draws a sharp contrast between himself and another potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who swiftly persuaded his state’s legislators and voters to redraw five more Democratic-leaning seats in retaliation for Republican gerrymandering done at Trump’s behest in Texas. Washington Post.

Immigrant Advocates Say Ban On ICE Agreements Don't Go Far Enough: A ban on immigration enforcement agreements in Maryland that was signed into law this week ended years of struggle for immigrant advocates, but they were back in Annapolis Friday to say the struggle is not over when it comes to protecting immigrant communities. Specifically, they said, it is time to end all collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Maryland Matters.

Immigration Whirligig Swirls Abrego Garcia: Federal judge rules ICE can’t take Kilmar Abrego Garcia back into custody | News from the States

Maryland Politics Takes On A National Vibe: Last year, Maryland’s governor and state lawmakers wrangled over raising taxes, cutting spending and rolling back parts of the state’s public school improvement plan. Maryland politics in 2026 have had a decidedly more national vibe. Baltimore Banner. $

A Potomac Sewage Spill Fuels Fight Between Trump And Moore: Northern Virginians couldn’t have imagined the mess that would ensue when they flushed their toilets over a month ago: one of the largest sewage spills in American history and a bitter fight between the U.S. president and Maryland’s governor. Baltimore Banner $ >> Officials at DC Water, the independent District authority that owns the pipe, believe that workers had to disturb a large amount of rock when they laid this section of pipe more than 60 years ago, rocks they piled back on top of the completed pipe when they covered it with earth. Little did they know, workers in 2026 would be paying the price. When the pipe collapsed last month, many of those rocks tumbled inside. Maryland Matters. “A permanent fix is still months away,” headlines the Bay Journal in a detailed chapter-and-verse account of how the catastrophe occurred during a months-long, $475 million repair job on the Potomac Interceptor, the sewer line supposedly overseen by the EPA.

Some Maryland Businesses Line Up To Seek Tariff Reimbursement: When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down many of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs Friday, it opened the door for companies – including those in Maryland -- to seek substantial refunds from the federal government for trade levies already paid. Over 1,000 companies have lined up for reimbursement in recent months, including Harford County-based Chesapeake Spice Co. Baltimore Banner. $

Maryland Congresspeople To Boycott State Of The Union: Maryland Congresswoman April McClain Delaney and Sen. Chris Van Hollen are among a group of Democrat lawmakers who will boycott President Donald Trump's Feb. 24 State of the Union address and instead attend a "People's State of the Union" event on the National Mall. Hagerstown Herald Mail.

Annual Bird Flu In Eastern Shore Chicken Farms 'The New Normal:' The poultry industry can anticipate yearly outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza, known as bird flu, as pockets of the highly contagious respiratory virus keep showing up on chicken farms on the Eastern Shore and in other states each year. “Unfortunately, this is the new normal,” said Grayson Middleton of the Delmarva Chicken Association. Maryland Matters.

THE REGION AND THE OTHER 49

School choice programs grow in popularity — and cost -- States are scrambling to meet rising demand for newly expanded school choice initiatives, pouring more money into the programs as waiting lists — and budget concerns — grow. A further boost is expected next year, when the federal government rolls out a new policy allowing taxpayers to claim a tax credit for up to $1,700 in donations to nonprofits that award private school scholarships to K-12 students. Supporters tout such programs as a lifeline for parents desperate to get their kids out of failing public schools, while opponents have long warned that they drain resources from public education as students move from public schools to private ones. States Newsroom

HEALTH CARE: Bipartisan coalitions of lawmakers are backing bills to make it easier for foreign-trained doctors to get medical licenses in the United States. The bills, aimed at addressing a shortage of doctors in some areas, win support from conservative free-market groups, business associations and left-leaning immigration advocates. Most would require physicians to commit to work in underserved areas. (Pluribus News) (paywalled)

NEXT-DOOR REDISTRICTING: Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) has signed legislation redrawing the state’s congressional district map to give Democrats an edge in 10 of the state’s 11 districts. The bill, which pushes back candidate filing deadlines until May 25, would take effect if voters approve a constitutional amendment allowing the remap in an April 21 special election. (Virginia Public Media)

SOCIAL MEDIA: California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is backing a bill to require a minimum age for users of social media platforms. The bill, introduced by state assemblyman Josh Lowenthal (D), has bipartisan support. It would restrict social media usage for children under 16. (Sacramento Bee)

PROTECTING THE VOTE: Connecticut Democrats are backing legislation to ban federal law enforcement operations within 250 feet of a polling place or an elections counting site without judicial authorization. The bill’s chief sponsor said the aim is to prevent voter intimidation. (CT Insider)

GLOBAL, NATIONAL AND THE FEDS

Governors say Trump told them he won’t force immigration enforcement surges on states -- Moore: Governors ‘encouraged to hear’ president say takeaway from Minnesota was he only wants to go where he is welcomed; talks on other topics ‘productive’ WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump told governors Friday during a meeting at the White House he has no plans to surge federal immigration operations in states where it’s not wanted. New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul said during an afternoon press conference with several other governors that Trump was asked during the closed-door meeting about what lessons he learned from immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, where federal officers killed two U.S. citizens. “The president said, ‘We’ll only go where we’re wanted.’ “ Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, vice chair of the National Governors Association, said Democratic governors were able to express “how problematic” actions by immigration enforcement officials have been. “We were actually encouraged to hear the president say that one of the takeaways from Minnesota was that he only wants to go places that he is welcomed,” Moore said. Stateline Daily

Here is our weekly report on federal activities from People’s Action’s Megan E, their director of federal affairs. People’s Action is the national affiliate of Progressive Maryland.

Hello People's Action!

The Supreme Court struck down Trump’s tariffs on Friday as several conservative justice’s loyalty to neoliberalism is stronger than their loyalty to Trump (also the tariffs are illegal but that hasn’t stopped them from siding with Trump in other cases). Kavanagh, Alito and Thomas sided with Trump in a dissenting opinion. The tariff issue has sown divisions in the Trump coalition between the America first Trump loyalists and the neoliberal [“free market,” sort of…] wing of the party. That division is exacerbated by the fact that the tariffs are being used to partially offset the tax cuts for billionaires passed in H.R.1. Otherwise they will be adding even more money to the national debt which some Republicans and their voters are concerned about. Tariffs are essentially a regressive tax (working people pay a higher portion than rich people) on the American people and a tax on businesses (which tends to overburden smaller businesses) as they share the cost of the tariffs. 

The Court decided that the President does not have the power to create these tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump invoked. It does not address other authorities or if and how the U.S. must pay the businesses back $200 billion in collected tariffs. Trump is very upset and said he will use other laws to implement first a 10% tariff on every country; then Saturday he said it would be a 15% tariff. 

DHS is still in a “shutdown” but there is yet little impact from it. There is little progress in Congress on a compromise bill. From Politico: “The DHS shutdown appeared to get real over the weekend when the department said it would suspend TSA PreCheck and other airport security services, but then quickly reversed course ‘based off of conversations the secretary had with the White House and TSA,’ according to the Washington Post. Officials still plan to pause airport courtesy escorts for members of Congress as well as Global Entry.”

The State of the Union is scheduled for Tuesday evening. We have two leaders coming to DC to speak at the Families Over Billionaires counter programming State(s) of the Union: For the People, Not Billionaires, which People’s Action Institute is cosponsoring. Many Democrats are boycotting the State of the Union and will attend a rally at the Capitol instead. Here is the Youtube streaming link. It should be cross-posted on the People’s Action Institute Facebook page.

ACTIONS TO TAKE: ASKS: What You Can Do This Week

This Week! National Week of Action to Stop Funding ICE & Border Patrol! 

You can use this partner  TOOLKIT/ACTION GUIDE to find ways to plug in and take action in your community next week! Talking Points here

People’s Action supports the Patients Over Profits pledge led by National Nurses United. The pledge is for candidates and elected officials at all levels of government who pledge not to accept any contributions over $200 from the executives, lobbyists, or PACs affiliated with the hospital, insurance, and pharma corporations that have chosen to bankroll an effort to halt any attempts at health care reform. You can search what candidates and elected officials have taken the pledge. Please consider asking candidates and elected officials in your state to take the pledge. 

In solidarity, 

Megan

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