HB 311

Public Schools - Individuals With Disabilities - Accessibility and Emergency Planning

Sponsor: Aaron M. Kaufman (District 18)Committee: Ways and MeansSubject: Primary and Secondary EducationStatus: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 666 (as of Sep 4, 2026)

What this bill does

Official synopsis

Requiring each local school system to identify, in its regular safety evaluation, issues of accessibility for individuals with disabilities; and requiring local school systems to include in a certain annual report instances in which a public school facility became inaccessible for a student with a disability in a manner that could impede evacuations or emergency response.

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Testimony (20)

MGA witness list

FAV 16FavorableFWA 3Favorable with amendmentsINFO 1Information only

Position	Witness	Organization	Testimony
FAV	Margolis, Leslielobbyist	Disability Rights Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	Shewbridge, Rylielobbyist	Fello	Written (PDF)
FAV	Miller Smith, Nora	League of Women Voters Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	Murphy, JD	MD Chesapeake Chapter of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP)	Position only
FAV	MDAD President, MDAD President	Maryland Association of the Deaf	Written (PDF)
FAV	London, Rachel	Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council	Written (PDF)
FAV	Cratsley, Laurel	Maryland State Department of Education	Written (PDF)
FAV	Othman, Ronza	National Federation of the Blind	Written (PDF)
FAV	Edwards-Luce, Aubrey	Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts	Position only
FAV	Kaplowitz, Richard KAP	Year	Written (PDF)
FAV	Delegate Kaufman, Delegate Kaufmanlegislator	Individual	Oral
FAV	Graham, Lizzy	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Kaufman, Aaron	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Kolp, Ande	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Krone, Christinelobbyist	Individual	Position only
FAV	Rice, Mat	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)
FWA	Hamosh, Ada	Johns Hopkins University	Written (PDF)
FWA	Carter, Alita-Geri	Qualequity Access	Written (PDF)
FWA	Scott, Lori	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)
INFO	Buckheit, Kimberly	Maryland Center for School Safety	Written (PDF)

Organizations on record

Disability Rights MarylandFAV 1

FelloFAV 1

Johns Hopkins UniversityFWA 1

League of Women Voters MarylandFAV 1

Maryland Association of the DeafFAV 1

Maryland Center for School SafetyINFO 1

Maryland Developmental Disabilities CouncilFAV 1

Maryland State Department of EducationFAV 1

MD Chesapeake Chapter of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP)FAV 1

National Federation of the BlindFAV 1

Qualequity AccessFWA 1

Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the CourtsFAV 1

YearFAV 1

Registered lobbyists who testified

FAVMargolis, LeslieDisability Rights MarylandRegistered for: Disability Rights Maryland

FAVShewbridge, RylieFelloRegistered for: Fello; City of Frederick; City of Westminster; Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund; League of Life & Health Insurers of Maryland, Inc.; Maryland Children's Alliance, Inc.…

FAVKrone, ChristineRegistered for: American Coatings Association; Baltimore Gas and Electric Company; City of Rockville; Coordinating Center for Home and Community Care, The, LLC (dba The Coordinating Center); Greater Washington Society for Clinical Social Work, Inc.; LifeSpan Network…