Effective July 1, 2009, the Adult Education, Adult Correctional Education and GED testing programs from the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) will transfer to the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR).

Beginning July 1, 2009, staff and functions currently located at 200 West Baltimore Street - Baltimore, MD 21201, will be located with DLLR's Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning at 1100 Eutaw Street, First Floor - Baltimore, Maryland 21201.

Contact phone numbers for staff will remain the same and the Adult Education hotline number (1-800-358-3010) and the Maryland Adult Education and Literacy Services Program website will remain operational.

Legislation proposed by Governor Martin O'Malley and passed during the 2008 legislative session will transfer oversight of adult education and literacy programs and correctional education to DLLR's Division of Workforce Development. The program transfer, which will take place July 1, 2009, provides an exciting opportunity to better align adult and correctional education with workforce creation, and to create a new paradigm for the streamlined delivery of these services. The legislation created a Workforce Creation and Adult Education Transition Council, which was tasked with developing a plan for a seamless transfer and recommendations for program alignment. The Transition Council completed its work and submitted a report to the Governor and the General Assembly by the statutory deadline of December 31, 2008.

Note: The official program transfer will take place on July 2009. Due to the transfer date corresponding with the new fiscal year, relevant budget information can be found in MSDE's FY 2010 budget.

Legislative Highlights
We are pleased to report that all three of pieces of legislation recommended by the Workforce Creation and Adult Education Transition Council passed and are awaiting the Governor's signature:

SB 382 - Annual Corrective Bill - Passage of this bill ensures that correctional educators will continue to be paid under the Institutional Educators Pay Plan.

SB 762 - Affectionately known as the "adult and correctional education clean-up bill," this bill contained all of the Transition Council recommendations requiring statutory change. View the complete bill summary.

HB 1526 - This bill created the Maryland Workforce Corporation, a new quasi-governmental organization to bring more funds into the State for workforce training and adult education. The amendments to this bill included a provision to ensure that an expert in adult basic education serves on the Corporation's board of directors.

Thanks to Senators Middleton and Klausmeier and Delegate Hecht for serving on the Transition Council and for championing these bills!

Supplemental Budget - We are also pleased to report that we were successful in our budget request for additional PINs as well as expenses to cover the costs of the physical move in this summer. The PINs include four new positions in adult correctional education to make up for those that will remain at MSDE as part of MSDE's juvenile services education program. Several additional PINs will bolster various support functions at DLLR, including our human resources unit, as the new programs and personnel join our Department in July.

Transition News

1. Plans for the program transfer are well underway. MSDE and DLLR staff are in daily contact regarding all aspects of the move. FAQ's for transferring employees and other interested stakeholders are now posted below under the Frequently Asked Questions link. Both agencies continue to meet regularly with senior staff from the Division of Correction in preparation for the correctional education transition. On the accountability side, the GWIB Adult Learning Oversight Committee met in late March and the Governor's StateStat Office has begun regular sessions to monitor both the transition and the programs themselves. Finally, we happy to report that disruption to the GED Testing schedule will be minimal. Testing will be offered into late June and begin again on July 9, 2009. Please check Maryland Adult Education and Literacy Services Program website for details.
    
2. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Correctional Education - As many of you know, Mark Mechlinski, Director of Correctional Education at MSDE, has decided to remain at MSDE to oversee the juvenile services education program.

Updated August 13, 2010