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Maryland State Department of Education

Public Comments at State Board Meetings

In-Person and Virtual Public Comment Guidelines and Procedures

Members of the public are encouraged to submit comments and feedback to the State Board of Education to share their views on issues pertaining to matters under the Board’s authority, including the administration of the public school systems of the State. The process for signing up and providing public testimony is outlined below. If you have any questions about this process, please submit them to [email protected].

All speakers shall conduct themselves in a respectful, civil manner. Although State Board members do not respond to the comments during the public comment segment of the Board meeting, they do listen and may take follow-up action within the scope of the Board’s authority and jurisdiction. The State Board will not allow signs or posters to be displayed during the State Board meeting.

To request accommodations due to a disability or language interpretation services, please contact [email protected] no later than 24 hours in advance.

Process for Public Comment

  1. Registration for public comment will open via an online form that can be found on the State Board website at 8 am, eight (8) days before the regular Board meeting, and will close at 11:59 pm, three (3) days before the meeting.
  2. The State Board will hold a morning and an afternoon public comment. The Board will welcome up to ten (10) speakers in the morning and five (5) speakers in the afternoon for a maximum of 45 minutes of public comment. During registration, speakers will select their preferred timing window for the morning or afternoon. Due to demand, no timing window is guaranteed for those who sign up.
  3. The State Board may maintain a waitlist for those who sign up after the public comment period is full. There is no guarantee that those on the wait list will have an opportunity to speak.
  4. The State Board may adjust the public comment period and registration windows for its regular meetings as it deems necessary, at the discretion of the State Board President.
  5. To promote a diversity of perspectives during the public comment period, and at the discretion of the State Board President, the State Board may limit the number of speakers from a single organization addressing the same topic if there is a waitlist of others who wish to speak.
  6. Comments are limited to three (3) minutes per speaker. Time will be monitored by staff through the use of a timer. When that time expires, the speaker is permitted to complete a sentence but should make no further remarks.
  7. Public comment submissions may not be related to personnel matters or issues pending in appeals to a local board or to the State Board.
  8. Members of the public may submit their comments in writing to the State Board at [email protected] for distribution to all members. Written comments received by the State Board are not made public and are shared only with the members of the State Board.

Public Comment

Related Student and Family Support Resources

Access MSDE resources for student safety and well-being and contact directories for school system partners.