Rep. Paul Baumbach

This Act establishes the Racial Equity Consortium (“Consortium”) for the purposes of studying and making recommendations to address the disparities and inequities faced by persons of color in this State. The African American Task Force, established by Senate Bill No. 260 of the 150th General Assembly (§ 39 of Chapter 243 of Volume 82 of the Laws of Delaware), recommended that the Consortium be established. The Consortium is charged, in part, with working to implement and continuing to study the findings of the Task Force. The Consortium’s membership includes representatives of organizations that are currently working on issues of racial justice to leverage existing resources and efforts, and to promote collaboration.

This Act implements some of the recommendations of the African American Task Force's Safety and Justice Subcommittee. Specifically, it requires that cases or charges that are more than 7 years old be treated as “resolved in favor of” a child or adult if there is no disposition available for the case and no outstanding warrants. This clarification will prevent errors in record-keeping in the criminal justice system from stopping an otherwise qualified petitioner from obtaining an expungement that may otherwise be available. It will also require old cases for which no outcome is listed to be removed from a person's record if they are more than 7 years old. In addition, this Act allow an individual with multiple violations or misdemeanors in different cases that would be eligible for a mandatory expungement if they had occurred in a single case, and the individual has no other convictions on their record, to apply directly for a discretionary expungement after 5 years have passed from the most recent conviction. The court would then consider the application under its usual “interest of justice” rubric in determining whether to grant the expungement. This saves applications to the pardon board for multiple minor misdemeanors and increases parity between applicants with similar records.

This Act recognizes advancements in the science of reading and literacy instruction by requiring that all public school students in kindergarten through grade 3 participate in a universal reading screening 3 times each year to identify potential reading deficiencies, including dyslexia, and allow for early intervention and prevention. The Department is tasked with compiling a list of reading screeners as well as literacy intervention approaches that are aligned with the science of reading that charter schools and districts may use. The Department will take into account the science of reading and evidence-based research in creating the list as well as the alignment of screeners and interventions with a multi-tiered system of support. The Department is also required to consider the burden on schools to administer screeners and the amenability of the screener to being incorporated into ongoing instruction. Charter schools and districts are additionally required to provide the results of each screening to a student’s parent – which may be done by adding it to existing communications such as report cards or progress reports. Finally, charter schools and districts must report, by grade, the number of students in kindergarten through grade 3 determined to have potential reading deficiencies and what intervention approach is being used, as well as the number of students receiving dyslexia specific interventions. The Department of Education is tasked with compiling this information into a report for the General Assembly, the State Board of Education, and the Governor.

The societal implications of technological developments are pervasive, and the reach and influence of digital media platforms continue to expand. Media literacy skills are necessary for citizens to safely, responsibly, and critically consume and use social media and other forms of media. In addition, media literacy education prepares students to make informed civic decisions that affect them, their families, their communities, and the world. This Act requires the Department of Education to develop and maintain evidence-based media literacy standards for use by school districts and charter schools serving students in grades kindergarten through 12. The standards and materials must be age-appropriate and must address appropriate, responsible, and healthy online behavior. This Act is known as "The Digital Citizenship Education Act".

This Senate Joint Resolution designates August 31, 2022, as "International Overdose Awareness Day" in the State of Delaware and directs the State flag to be lowered to half-staff at State facilities and encourages local governments, businesses, and Delawareans to do the same.

Like Senate Bill No. 4, Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 4 requires the Department of Education (Department) to maintain and publish a list of evidence-based, reading instruction curricula for grades kindergarten through 3. Each curriculum on this list must align with the essential components of literacy, known as the “science of reading” and use high-quality instructional materials. School districts and charter schools must provide an annual report to the Department regarding the implementation of these requirements and the Department must produce an annual report summarizing this information. The information required in the Department’s report may be consolidated into a single report with the requirements under § 158 of Title 14, if House Bill No. 304 is also enacted this year. Like Senate Bill No. 4, Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 4 also requires that by the beginning of the 2027-2028 school year, school districts and charter schools serving students in grades kindergarten through 3 do all of the following: 1. Adopt a reading instruction curriculum from the Department list. 2. Demonstrate that all educators who teach reading successfully complete professional development aligned with the essential components of evidence-based reading instruction. 3. Identify a school-based supervisory position responsible for assisting with the implementation of the adopted curriculum. Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 4 differs from Senate Bill No. 4 by doing all of the following: 1. Requires the Department to maintain, on its website, the criteria and rubric used to identify high-quality curriculum. 2. Allows school districts and charter schools to apply to have alternative curriculum that meet these criteria approved. 3. Clarifies the requirements. 4. Adds to the list of positions that are responsible for reading instruction and coaching. 5. Makes technical corrections.

This bill reflects the reality that “grooming” children for the purpose of committing crimes of sexual violence against them is often preceded by conduct that perpetrators know will make the child particularly susceptible to abuse. The bill requires proof that a person has engaged in three or more specific instances of conduct proscribed by the statute. Each of these predicate acts would not otherwise be considered criminal conduct, so the bill requires proof of a pattern of conduct aimed at a specific outcome. By outlawing “grooming,” the State will be explicitly empowered to stop a predator who engages in certain conduct with the intent to entice, persuade, induce, or coerce a child into participating in a sexual act with the perpetrator. A conviction for “grooming” is a stand-alone offense and is a felony punishable by up to 3 years in jail.

This Act establishes the Delaware Expanding Access for Retirement and Necessary Saving (“EARNS”) program to serve as a vehicle through which eligible employees may, on a voluntary basis, provide for additional retirement security through a State-facilitated retirement savings program in a convenient, cost effective, and portable manner. The EARNS program will be designed to serve small businesses who are unable to offer retirement plans to employees due to the cost and administrative burden. Because there are documented wealth gaps in Delaware, disproportionately impacting women and people of color, a state-facilitated savings plan aims to alleviate barriers small employers face in offering options, close the wealth gap among low to modest wage earners and keep Delaware competitive with neighboring states by attracting talented workers to Delaware. A state-sponsored savings plan, funded by employees, facilitated by employers, and overseen by the State, will offer one solution to the quickly emerging crises stemming from generations of workers without adequate savings. The Act creates the Delaware EARNS Program Board to oversee initial design and implementation of the program. The board will be disbanded no later than December 31, 2025, at which point all duties and functions of the board will be transferred to and assumed by the Plans Management Board. The effective date of the Act is contingent upon an appropriation by the General Assembly necessary to implement the Program. This Act also makes technical changes to the existing law to make it conform to the standards of the Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act, modeled on similar laws in Virginia and Maryland, requires a health-care provider to provide notice to a patient at the time blood is drawn to perform a laboratory test for Lyme disease that explains the limitations of the test and instructs the patient to see their health-care provider if the patient continues to experience unexplained symptoms. This Act was previously passed by the 150th General Assembly in Senate Bill 15, and is the same except for the removal of the sunset provision.

This Act requires all public schools that serve pupils in grades 7-12 that issue pupil identification cards to have printed on the identification cards the telephone or text numbers for the National Suicide Prevention and National Domestic Violence Hotlines and allows them to add the National Sexual Assault, Teen Dating Violence and Bullying Hotlines. The Act requires all public institutions of higher learning in Delaware, which issue student identification cards, to print on the student identification cards the telephone or text numbers for National Suicide Prevention, Domestic Violence Hotlines and local campus police or campus security telephone numbers and allows the institutions to add the National Sexual Assault Hotline number. This Act will be implemented for the 2022-2023 school year.