Maryland legislative leaders unveil broad education bill based on Kirwan panel's recommendations.

'The statewide panel charged with changing how Maryland funds public schools for the next decade is still months away from finishing its work.

But the General Assembly’s Democratic leaders wasted no time in taking the panel’s preliminary recommendations and crafting legislation they hope will provide more money for high-poverty schools and establish a mandate for universal pre-kindergarten.

At a news conference in Annapolis on Thursday, the state’s top Democratic lawmakers joined with former University of Maryland System Chancellor William E. “Brit” Kirwan, who chaired the funding panel, to unveil legislation they framed as a sweeping measure to help the poorest schools, among other goals.

Their announcement came a day after Republican Gov. Larry Hogan held his own news conference to propose a plan to guarantee that $4.4 billion in casino revenues are reserved for schools and not depleted by other spending.'>>>

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-kirwan-legislation-20180215-story.html