RadioOnFire.com - Counsel in the Maryland attorney general's office says Gov. Larry Hogan may have exceeded his authority by using an executive order to require public schools to start after Labor Day.
Adam Snyder, chief counsel of opinions and advice, expressed that view in a letter sent to two Maryland lawmakers Friday.
He says while he cannot say "unequivocally" that the executive order exceeds the governor's authority, he believes it is "likely" a reviewing court would conclude that it does.
Snyder says Hogan's order purports to direct state and local boards on the topic of the school calendar. That, Snyder says, likely falls within the power of the state education board's authority over educational policy and administration. He says Maryland's highest court has found that power to be "comprehensive" and "exclusive."
The 24-page letter was sent to House Majority Leader Anne Kaiser of Montgomery County and Prince George's County Senator Paul Pinsky, who is the Vice Chairman fo the Senate's Education Health and Environmental Affairs Committee.
Montgomery County Delegate Eric Luedtke, who has criticized Hogan's order, welcomed the decision.
"I think the Attorney General is right. The Governor's executive order is an unprecedented power grab that undermines community control of schools. I expect the courts will come to the same conclusion should a suit be brought," Luedtke told WBAL NewsRadio 1090.
Kaiser told WBAL NewsRadio 1090 that she was still reviewing the letter but called it encouraging.
She beleived a concerned parent might challenge the order in court, but that it is too soon to tell if the elgislature will attempt to overturn the order, when lawmakers return to session in January.
Governor Larry Hogan's Communications Director Doug Mayer responded to the letter in an email to WBAL NewsRadio 1090 on Friday night.
“Even by lawyer standards, taking 24 pages to reach a ‘I don’t know,’ is unprecedented," Mayer wrote.
"The Assistant Attorney General's unsolicited prediction of a hypothetical court case seems more politically-influenced than an opinion based on legal precedence. The partisan lobbying effort by Speaker Busch and others definitely raises questions of propriety and we hope it isn't having undue influence on the ability to render impartial legal analysis. The Attorney General's office has a lot of political opinions and we agree with almost none of them, including this halfhearted one."
Hogan issued the executive order last month. It requires public schools to start classes after Labor Day and end the school year by June 15.
A number of school systems have noted that they will now have to shorten Spring Break, and cancel plans to close on Jewish holidays and teacher development days in order to comply with the order.
Source WBAL
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