Primary and Secondary Education - Educator Professional Development - Course on Student Well-Being and Flourishing

HB 457 requires Maryland's State Department of Education to create and offer a mandatory professional development course on student well-being by July 1, 2026. The course must cover eight specific well-being dimensions (social, environmental, physical, emotional, spiritual, occupational, intellectual, and financial) and be available to all school personnel and administrators through asynchronous learning. It mandates that the course be priced comparably to other professional development offerings with the same number of credits. The bill focuses on equipping educators with teaching methods to support students' holistic development, not on specific student outcomes.