The changes, outlined in a late-October letter from Board Chair Jane Lichter to State Sen. J.B. Jennings, come eight months after the February passage of the fiscal year 2027 budget, which required all seven votes to approve and passed 7-4. The budget took effect July 1 and cannot be revisited.

The controversy centers on former board member Robin Harvey, who voted yes on the budget after registering as a candidate for the House of Delegates. A 2014 Maryland law bars Baltimore County school board members from being candidates for local, state or federal office while serving on the board.

Under the new safeguards, the prohibition will be written into the Board of Education Handbook, included in orientation for new board members, and reinforced annually through a signed "Statement of Understanding" regarding the law. Lichter said the board is confident the measures "will provide appropriate safeguards to prevent this from happening in the future."

The issue surfaced publicly in March, prompting the Baltimore County Parent and Student Coalition to appeal the vote to the Maryland State Department of Education. In August, the State Board of Education dismissed the appeal as filed too late, though it noted Harvey "should have resigned her board seat before filing her candidacy."

Sen. Jennings then asked the Maryland Attorney General's office whether a sitting board member may run for elected office while continuing to serve. The office answered "No." Jennings, who represents parts of Baltimore and Harford counties, said at the time that the improper vote had put "a dark cloud" over the budget and urged the board to act.

Amy Adams, a leader with the parent coalition, said the board's response validates the group's concerns. "They're correcting their policy and being up front with oncoming board members so that this error doesn't happen again," she said.

Adams said she wishes the process had moved faster. "BCPS historically is deny and deflect," she said. "They talk about transparency endlessly, but they're not very transparent. This was an administrative fight where we saw a clear problem, and we wanted an admittance of that problem and then a remedy for that problem. It took us months to get there, but we got there."

Harvey won her general election race and will represent Maryland's 10th District in the House of Delegates. The budget she voted on remains in force, but the board's new rules aim to ensure future votes are cast only by members eligible to serve.