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Here are some tips from Caylin Young, Public Policy Counsel at ACLU of Maryland:Keep your comment brief, efficient, and on topic.Introduce yourself and give your affiliation, such as student, parent, community advocate. Tell the Commission which county you are from and the name of your school (if applicable).Identify 3 main points maximum for your comment. You can break down each point, but stick to 3 main ones.Structure your comment by telling the Commission what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them.Tell a personal story that is relevant to the specific point you are trying to address. A personal story will maximize your effectiveness.Thank the Commission and provide your contact information along with a few printed copies of your written testimony.Submit an electronic copy of your comment in advance of the hearing.Double-check details for submitting your public comment to make sure you have checked off everything on the list of instructions.Practice, practice, practice! Practicing saying your comment will not only build confidence, but will help you keep it within the allotted timeframe (3 minutes!). They may cut you off if you go over.Relax and don’t forget to breathe!Time to flex your advocacy muscles! Thank you for making your voice heard.Stay updated on the Kirwan Commission, get action alerts, and other critical education news. Sign up to get our Education Advocate newsletter in your inbox.

TAKE ACTIONClosing racial gaps is urgent, and race equity must be a key priority in our discussions about changes to Maryland’s education system. Take action: Tell the “Kirwan” Commission you support strong and effective recommendations to further race equity. 

Our schools have been severely underfunded for decades. Maryland’s public school children have the Constitutional right to an equitable opportunity to attend healthy and safe schools that provide high quality education. One step toward delivering on that right is to increase funding for education.

William E. (Brit) Kirwan, Ph.D.Appointed by: Senate President Thomas Miller, Jr.Commission Chair (chosen by Governor, Senate President & House Speaker); Dr. Kirwan is the Chancellor Emeritus of the University System of Maryland.  David M. Steiner, Ph.D.Appointed by: GovernorDr. Steiner is Director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy and Professor of Education at Johns Hopkins University.  Scott DorseyAppointed by: GovernorMr. Dorsey is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer at Merritt Properties, LLC.  Senator Nancy J. KingAppointed by: Senate President Thomas Miller, Jr.Nancy King is a Democratic State Senator representing District 39 in Montgomery County. She serves at the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Children, Youth and Families.  Richard S. Madaleno, Jr.Appointed by: Senate President Thomas Miller, Jr.Rich Madaleno is a Democratic State Senator representing District 18 in Montgomery County. He serves on

Dr. Ivory Toldson addresses the “Kirwan” Commission on what Black students need to succeed.

Just one 24 hour period in my work this week showed how dangerously misguided Baltimore leaders continue to be in their efforts to reduce violence. They are looking once again to "tough on crime" policies that lock up more Black residents, for longer periods of time.

This Women's History Month, we remember that it was a woman who founded the ACLU of Maryland: Elisabeth Gilman, daughter of the first president of Johns Hopkins University. In 1921 she formed The Maryland Civil Liberties Committee. 

When Baltimore City’s chief lawyer Andre Davis reaffirmed several weeks ago that the City would not always agree to pay punitive damages judgments awarded against Baltimore Police Officers who intentionally and flagrantly abuse their authority, many people in Baltimore, including us at the ACLU of Maryland, cheered.  The hope was that holding officers personally accountable for paying those (very rare) punitive damages would help deter that kind of egregious misconduct.  So when the City announced after the verdict in the Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF) trial that it would not pay any damages awarded against the officers who plead or were found guilty, it is not surprising that some people also saw that as a step forward for individual police accountability.  But it isn’t.  Instead, it is a transparent attempt to again shift the cost of the BPD’s own repeated and systemic failures onto the people who have been victimized.