The Maryland House of Delegates, Ways and Means Committee, is considering a bill (H.B. 1211) that would let county boards of education allow students to satisfy foreign language requirements by completing a certain course in computer programming or coding.
Sponsored by 19 House delegates, the bill has bipartisan support but is encountering considerable resistance from language educators, rallied by the Joint National Committee for Languages (JNCL).
In October 2018, the Maryland High School Graduation Task Force convened by the state superintendent of schools produced its final report of recommendations for graduation in the state. The task force recommended that successful completion of two years of the same language be required for graduation in order to align with the University System of Maryland (USM) admission requirements. Some local school systems already required two years of the same language to meet the world language requirement. The task force also recommended that the advanced technology option be phased out.
