A look at the Maryland State Department of Education building in downtown Baltimore in June 2023. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)
State auditors found that the Maryland State Department of Education failed to adequately oversee hiring and background checks by local school systems to ensure that new hires were properly vetted and credentialed.
In an audit released Thursday, the Office of Legislative Audits also said the department may have risked millions in federal payments by not seeking federal funding reimbursement in a timely manner. And auditors were sufficiently concerned about the handling of two no-bid contracts that they referred the issue to the attorney general’s criminal division for further investigation…