HOGAN CALLS FOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION INTO GRADE FIXING: Gov. Larry Hogan asked the Maryland State Prosecutor to investigate any alleged criminal conduct that is involved in a grade fixing scandal in Baltimore City, where an investigative report had revealed 12,552 grades were changed from failing to passing and potentially hiked the system’s graduation rate. Hogan specifically mentioned fraud as something to investigate, since the system receives federal money. Ryan Dickstein/WMAR
- A Baltimore City schools spokesman says that all the grades were changed on a case-by-case basis as the district underwent a change in policy regarding grades and issuing make up work for students whose grades were “on the bubble.” “There was no criminal wrongdoing that was found in that report; there were no financial impropriety,” Baltimore City Public Schools Director of Communications Andre Riley said. “If anything, it reflects the growing pains if you change the policy to do what was right for kids.” Britney Verner/WMAR
- Republican delegates also want to turn control of city schools over to the state, in the wake of the investigation of the Inspector General for Schools’ of grades 6-12 from 2016-2020. Kim Dacey/WBALTV
MARYLAND ANNOUNCES LONG-TERM PLAN FOR SURGES: Maryland is moving into a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the state now planning long term for surges. Gov. Larry Hogan announced COVID Ready Maryland plans Thursday. Bryan Sears/The Daily Record
- One effort in the plan specifically calls for expanded use of so-called “test-to-treat.” That means getting people tested, and if they have an infection and are eligible, giving them an antiviral medication during the same visit. Hannah Gaskill and Meredith Cohn/The Baltimore Sun
- Maryland has ordered 65,400 doses of a pediatric coronavirus vaccine that will be ready for children on June 20, pending federal approval, state health officials said Thursday. Erin Cox/Washington Post
- The Health Department website is launching a portal on which Marylanders can check whether they are fully up-to-date on their COVID vaccinations. “No one should consider themselves fully protected unless you have gotten a booster,” Hogan said. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters
MASS SHOOTING AT SMITHSBURG AREA COMPANY: A Thursday afternoon mass shooting at a Smithsburg manufacturing company has left three people dead and three others injured, including the suspect and a Maryland State Trooper, Washington County police said. Staff Report/The Herald-Mail
- An employee at the Smithsburg-area business Columbia Machine is accused of shooting four co-workers on Thursday, killing three of them, authorities said. Clara Niel/The Frederick News-Post
POSITIONS ON EDUCATION FROM GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES SCRUTINIZED: In coverage of the June 6 debate hosted by MPT earlier this week, AFRO News writes that the third question of the debate, asked by AFRO News Editor Alexis Taylor, was shied away from by most of the men looking to be the next governor of Maryland. “How will you navigate our schools through the pandemic as it continues and the numbers rise?” Taylor said. Tinashe Chingarande/the AFRO
- The next governor’s willingness to support — or stall — landmark education reform legislation passed in 2021 known as the Blueprint plan, and the work of its oversight committee, in the coming years may have a significant impact on schools. Lillian Reed/The Baltimore Sun
POLL FINDS TRUMP GETS MORE SUPPORT THAN HOGAN AMONG MD GOP VOTERS: In a potential primary matchup between President Donald Trump, Md. Gov. Larry Hogan and four other possible candidates, Trump has twice the support of Hogan among likely Republican voters in Maryland, according to the poll from Baltimore Sun Media and the University of Baltimore. Sam Janesch/Baltimore Sun
CLOSE RACE RESULTS WON’T BE AVAILABLE RIGHT AWAY: A decision by Gov. Larry Hogan to veto state legislation allowing local election officials to count mail-in ballots before Election Day could delay the final results of close races and they won’t be called on Election Day, Montgomery County’s acting election director said. Steve Bohnel/Bethesda Beat
JAN. 6 COMMITTEE BEGINS MAKING CASE TRUMP IS TO BLAME IN U.S. CAPITOL ASSAULT: The House committee that has spent a year investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol aired video clips of former president Donald Trump’s daughter, son-in-law and closest aides Thursday night as it began making its case that the assault was the violent culmination of an attempted coup. Rosalind Helderman and Jacqueline Alemany/Washington Post
