Maryland
Heather Mizeur comes up short in Md. congressional race
Republican Congressman Andy Harris won re-election
STEVENSVILLE, Md. — Democratic Heather Mizeur on Tuesday came up short in her bid to unseat Republican Congressman Andy Harris in Maryland’s 1st congressional district.
Mizeur trails Harris by a 37.43-60 percent margin with 305 of 310 Election Day precincts in the district — which encompasses the entire Eastern Shore and portions of Baltimore, Carroll and Harford Counties — reporting their results.
Mizeur is a former Takoma Park City Councilwoman before she served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2007-2015. Mizeur ran for governor in 2014.
Mizeur, who lives on the Eastern Shore with her wife, would have been the first lesbian member of Congress from Maryland if she defeated Harris.
The former Maryland lawmaker throughout her campaign criticized Harris over his decision to dispute the 2020 presidential election results. Harris during a debate against Mizeur that took place last month at Cecil College in Cecil County attacked transgender people.
“We gave Andy Harris the challenge of his lifetime in this race,” Mizeur told her supporters at the Farmhouse on Kent Island.
Harris on Tuesday watched the election results come in at a Salisbury restaurant.
“It is an incredible honor and privilege to once again be chosen by the people of the 1st Congressional District to serve as their voice in Congress,” said Harris in a statement. “As the son of immigrants who fled communism, I am reassured by the results — that despite the harmful last two years, the American dream is still alive and well. I look forward to our efforts in the Republican majority to cut spending, reduce inflation, rein in our Southern border, restore law and order, and serve as a check on the rogue and out-of-touch Biden administration.”
Maryland
Anne Arundel schools updates gender identity regulation following Trump administration threats
District facing federal lawsuit, White House threats over guidelines
By JESSICA CALEFATI | Under pressure from the Trump-Vance administration, Anne Arundel County Public Schools Supt. Mark Bedell announced Wednesday the district had updated a regulation intended to protect transgender students’ right to be called by their chosen name.
The revised language makes clear that district rules on gender identity do not block parents’ rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act as the federal government alleged last month, and that a student’s gender identity will not be treated as confidential medical information.
“No policy, guideline, or practice may limit or otherwise interfere with parental rights under FERPA,” Bedell wrote in a Wednesday letter to the community. “This includes any information maintained in education records that relates to gender identity, transgender status, sexual orientation, preferred name, or preferred pronouns.”
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Maryland
Advocates for trans students urge Md. to fight White House threats
Four school districts under federal investigation
By JESSICA CALEFATI | Allies of transgender children are urging state education officials to fight back against the Trump-Vance administration, which has threatened to punish a growing number of Maryland school districts over local policies that affirm students’ gender identities.
The advocates testified Tuesday morning before the Maryland State Board of Education — one day after the U.S. Education and Justice departments alleged that Anne Arundel County’s school system violated federal student privacy law by withholding a student’s gender identity from their parents. A spokesperson for the district said Monday legal counsel had not yet reviewed the claims and that the district had no further comment.
School districts in Prince George’s, Montgomery, and Frederick Counties were already under investigation for allegedly violating Title IX, the civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination. The federal government last month threatened to revoke funding from the districts because they allow trans students to use restrooms and locker rooms that align with their identities.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Maryland
White House threatens Anne Arundel schools over gender identity policy
District faces possible legal action or loss of federal funding
By JESSICA CALEFATI | The Trump-Vance administration on Monday threatened to punish Anne Arundel County’s school system with legal action or the loss of federal funding for allegedly withholding information about a student’s gender identity and transition from the child’s parents.
The U.S. Education and Justice Departments together determined that the suburban Maryland district treats students’ gender identities as confidential medical information that cannot be shared with parents, in violation of federal student privacy law, according to a news release. A federal lawsuit filed against the district earlier this month made similar claims.
“As a mother and a grandmother, it is unconscionable that any school district would hide the most sensitive information about children in their care from their own parents,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement. “This is not only an affront to basic moral principles, but also to parents’ rights under federal law.”
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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