Bill > SB378

This bill establishes the Family Literacy Pilot Program administered by the Maryland State Library Agency to help incarcerated parents maintain connections with their children through reading. The program will operate in four state correctional facilities or prerelease centers, chosen to represent different regions of Maryland and include both male and female facilities. Participating incarcerated individuals will be able to select an age-appropriate children's book, record themselves reading the book aloud, and send the book and recording to their child (defined broadly to include biological, adopted, step, grandchildren, and legal wards) after obtaining written permission from the child's custodial parent or guardian. The State Library Agency will work with the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and the Correctional Education Council to implement the program, which will be free of charge for all participants. The program aims to foster family literacy and strengthen parent-child relationships by providing a meaningful way for incarcerated parents to engage with their children. The bill requires the State Library Agency to submit a report on the program's results to the General Assembly by December 1, 2028, and the program will be in effect from October 1, 2025, until December 31, 2028, after which it will automatically expire.

Budget and Finance, Education

https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/SB0378?ys=2025RS