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HB 694

RELATING TO A CHILD TAX CREDIT.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Terez Amato and 9 co-sponsors

Requires Maryland counties to report inaccessible main school entrances, submit emergency plans to MSDE, and include accessibility in safety evaluations with state oversight.

Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
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Bill Summary · HB 694

Summary — HB 694: Public Schools — Individuals With Disabilities — Main Entrance Accessibility and Emergency Planning

Status: Enacted (signed by Governor 6/20/2025) — Effective date reported as 9/1/2025 (bill text originally referenced July 1, 2025).
Subject area: K–12 school building accessibility, emergency planning, reporting and oversight

Purpose
- Strengthen identification, reporting, and oversight of building accessibility (particularly main entrances) and emergency-planning accommodations for students, staff, and visitors with disabilities in Maryland public schools.
- Improve data and state oversight so accessibility gaps that could impede evacuation or emergency response are identified and corrected.

Key provisions
- County board reporting and public posting (new Section 7–136)
- On or before September 1, 2025, and each September 1 thereafter, each county board must publish on its website and report to the General Assembly the number of main entrances to public school buildings in the county that are not accessible to individuals with disabilities and not in compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

  • Local school system emergency-plan submission and State review (amendment to § 7–435)

    • On or before September 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, each local school system must send a copy of its local emergency plan to the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE).
    • On or before December 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, MSDE must (1) analyze the emergency plans received and (2) report to the General Assembly on whether each local school system is in compliance with MSDE’s Emergency Planning Guidelines (updated to accommodate individuals with disabilities under prior law).

  • Safety evaluations to include accessibility (amendment to § 7–1510)

    • As part of the regular safety evaluations each local school system already conducts, evaluations must identify and, if necessary, develop solutions for issues of accessibility for individuals with disabilities (in addition to physical safety/security).
    • Annual reporting to the Maryland Center for School Safety (MCSS, the “Center”) must now include instances in which a public school facility became inaccessible for a student with a disability in a manner that could impede evacuation or emergency response.

  • Existing IEP/504 and emergency-plan obligations retained

    • The bill does not change federal or State ADA requirements or existing mandates that Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 plans address evacuation accommodations when needed. It augments evaluation and reporting processes.

Who is affected
- County boards of education — required to inventory and publish counts of inaccessible main entrances.
- Local school systems and school administrators — must (a) include accessibility in safety evaluations, (b) submit emergency plans annually to MSDE, and (c) include specified accessibility incident data in MCSS reports.
- MSDE and MCSS — tasked with analysis and annual reporting to the General Assembly and reviewing emergency plans.
- Students, families, and school staff — intended beneficiaries through increased identification and corrective planning for accessibility and emergency accommodations.

Implementation & fiscal impact
- Deadlines: first public posting/reporting and plan submissions due Sept 1, 2025 (and annually thereafter); MSDE reporting due Dec 1, 2025 (and annually thereafter).
- Fiscal note summary: MCSS and MSDE can likely meet new duties with existing resources; local school systems can incorporate the extra reporting into current processes. The bill itself does not change ADA compliance obligations and is not expected to generate significant new state or local costs (no new revenue impact).

Limitations/notes
- The law increases identification, reporting, and oversight — it does not itself mandate capital improvements or create a new funding stream for bringing noncompliant entrances into ADA conformity. Any remediation costs arising from identified deficiencies would be addressed under existing capital/facility rules and funding mechanisms.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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