Sen. Dave Sokola

Maddy summaryThis Senate Concurrent Resolution designates October 12, 2026, as "National Farmer's Day" within the State of Delaware. The bill directly affects the state's calendar by officially recognizing this specific date to honor farmers. It does not create new laws or change any existing regulations, but rather serves as a commemorative designation. The measure was passed by both the Senate and the House without further debate.

This House Concurrent Resolution requires the Delaware Department of Education to review the State's current MTSS framework in coordination with the DE Mathematics Framework as it relates to elementary, middle, and high school mathematics within academic and non-academic supports to develop recommendations to strengthen instructional coherence in math, assessment, and the alignment of support across all tiers of instruction and report findings and recommendations for legislative and regulatory action by June 30, 2027.

This Act discontinues the Delaware State Education Association centennial limited edition special license plate and replaces it with an updated special license plate of the Delaware State Education Association. A special license plate supports a cause and is available for purchase by the public at large, including by members the beneficiary organization. The numbers, letters, or both, assigned will be the same as the license plate assigned to the owner’s vehicle at the time of the application for the plate. This Act does not affect the validity of Delaware State Education Association centennial limited edition special license plates issued previously under § 2140G of Title 21; Delaware State Education Association centennial special license plates that are otherwise valid remain valid. This Act requires a greater-than-majority vote for passage because Article VIII, § 11 of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of 3/5 of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly when a new tax or license fee is imposed.

This Act establishes the position of a Title IX Coordinator in the Department of Education, whose purpose is statewide support, guidance, and oversight related to and providing for the enforcement of compliance with Title IX as it pertains to athletics in Delaware’s public schools serving grades 6 through 12. The Title IX Coordinator must do the following: 1) Offer annual Title IX training for school district and charter school Title IX coordinators, administrators, athletic directors, and coaches. 2) Provide non-legal technical Title IX assistance to school districts, schools, and charter schools, including model policies and best practices. 3) Collect and analyze data from school districts and charter schools to evaluate compliance with Title IX. 4) Identify, create, and maintain model Title IX policies and procedures. 5) Act as a liaison between public schools and federal agencies on updated rules and guidance. 6) Prepare a written report by December 1 of each year summarizing activities, findings, and recommendations for improving Title IX compliance and submit it to the Governor, General Assembly, and post publicly on the Department of Education website. This Act requires school districts and charter schools to annually post and report to the Department of Education the following information: 1) participation rates by sex in interscholastic and intramural athletics; 2) budget and expenditure information for boys’ and girls’ sports programs; and 3) other information determined necessary by the Coordinator to evaluate compliance. The Coordinator may issue systemic or school-specific non-legal guidance or request a school district, school, or charter school to engage in a strategic plan for improvement to address Title IX compliance. The Department of Education, in collaboration with the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association, will establish rules and regulations to implement and enforce the Act. The Act provides that the Department of Education must request sufficient funding to support the Coordinator position and necessary upgrades to the Department’s data system to enable collection and analysis of athletics budget and expenditure data disaggregated by sex.

This Act does all of the following: (1) Establishes a regulatory framework for substance use harm reduction programs that provides immunities for program providers and staff. (2) Modifies the definition of drug paraphernalia. (3) Decriminalizes possession of paraphernalia for individuals who use drugs, while retaining prohibitions for paraphernalia used in the manufacturing or distribution of drugs and the selling of certain drug paraphernalia. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Delaware's current fireworks laws have led to confusion among consumers and noncompliance, with individuals frequently using fireworks outside of legally permitted days. Many consumers are unaware they are breaking the law, while those who knowingly violate it face fines too low to serve as a deterrent. This results in ongoing nuisances for neighbors, increased risks of bodily harm, and heightened dangers of fires and property damage. Additionally, out-of-state retailers advertise illegal fireworks in Delaware without consequence, further misleading consumers. The absence of a registration process for fireworks retailers limits the State Fire Marshal’s ability to oversee the sale and distribution of these potentially hazardous products. This bill strengthens enforcement by increasing fines, regulating sales through a permit system, ensuring consumer awareness through required safety information, and generating revenue for the Fire Marshal’s office to improve oversight and public education. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 11 of Article VIII of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of three-fifths of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to impose or levy a tax or license fee.

This Act establishes a uniform statewide framework for classifying taxable real property and explicitly grants split-rate tax authority to counties, school districts, and vocational-technical school districts. The Act defines four baseline, statewide property classes based on use: Class A (one-to-four-family residential property); Class B (multifamily residential property, including affordable and income-restricted housing); Class C (non-residential commercial, industrial, utility, and institutional property); and Class D (mixed-use property, which must have its assessed value allocated proportionally among the other classes based on floor area or another objective measure). The Act explicitly declares that Class A and Class B properties together comprise Delaware’s residential housing sector and protects multifamily housing from being treated as commercial or industrial property for tax purposes. To protect renters and affordable housing developments from disproportionate tax burdens following property reassessments, this Act implements statutory tax caps on multifamily properties. Any county tax rate imposed on Class B multifamily residential real property may not exceed the rate imposed on Class A one-to-four-family residential real property in the same fiscal year. Furthermore, local school and vocational-technical district tax rates imposed on Class B multifamily residential real property are strictly capped at 120% of the rate applied to Class A residential property within the same jurisdiction and tax year. The Act requires that if a county, school district, or vocational-technical school district resets its tax rates to implement these classifications, the restructuring must be completely revenue-neutral, meaning total projected revenue cannot exceed the amount originally projected under the applicable tax warrant. Finally, the Act clarifies that jurisdictions are not required to adopt multiple tax rates and may choose to maintain a single uniform rate across all property types, while preserving all existing statutory post-reassessment revenue limits, such as the 15% county cap and 10% school district limits.

Maddy summaryThis bill designates October 6, 2026, as "National Coaches Day" within the state of Delaware. It serves as a commemorative resolution that officially recognizes the contributions of coaches but does not create new laws or alter existing policies. The measure affects only the state's official calendar and does not provide funding or mandate specific actions for schools or organizations.

Maddy summaryThis Senate Concurrent Resolution designates November 2026 as "National Adoption Month" within the State of Delaware. The bill serves as a symbolic gesture to highlight the importance of adoption during that specific month. It does not create new laws, allocate funding, or change any existing policies. Instead, it functions as a commemorative measure intended to raise awareness about adoption issues.

Maddy summaryThis bill designates August 26, 2026, as "Women's Equality Day" within the State of Delaware. It serves as a commemorative resolution to honor the historical significance of that date rather than establishing new laws or regulations. The measure requires no changes to existing policies or funding and affects only the official state calendar.