Frederick Douglass High School Celebrates 100th Year
Frederick Douglass High School is celebrating its 100th year of continuous schooling and is the oldest school originally founded for Black students in Prince George’s County.
The 11 students in the first graduating class attended the then-Marlboro Colored High School in a schoolhouse formerly used by white students. The first class under the current name graduated in 1936.
There are currently over 1,000 students enrolled at the school.
“The drive and passion for educating Black youth in Upper Marlboro, and Prince George’s County has always been a high priority. Our legacy is solidified by the countless number of productive citizens this small school has produced,” said Frederick Douglass High School (FDHS) Alumni Association President Aaron Person. “It is because of the fearlessness and tenacity of the early educators imparting wisdom on our youth, to the innovativeness and dedication of the current educators providing our youth with opportunities to excel that keeps the legacy of FDHS alive and well.”
Maryland State Delegates Kent Roberson (D-District 25) and Debra Davis (D-District 26), County Councilmember Sydney Harrison (D-District 9), former Delegates Beatrice Tignor and Susie Proctor, former Board of Education Chair R. Owen Johnson and NFL linebacker Shawne Merriman are all Douglass Eagles. Their alumni association is holding the first-ever Douglass Family Reunion to connect their alumni this year, and they plan to make this an annual ritual.
Learn more about the history of Frederick Douglass High School here.
Maryland Higher Education Commission Extends FAFSA Deadline, Streamlines State Application Process
The Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC), the state’s regulatory and coordinating board for higher education, has made two big announcements over the past month that will make doing online applications significantly easier and more convenient.
The MHEC’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) submission deadline has been extended to June 1, giving students additional time to ensure they receive their maximum qualified financial aid packages.
“The FAFSA is the application for most of Maryland’s need-based scholarships and grants,” said MHEC acting Secretary Dr. Sanjay Rai. “It is critical that when the application opens, our students are not only part of the federal financial aid process, but become eligible for millions of dollars in Maryland scholarships and grants available to them though the Maryland Higher Education Commission.”
Students are still encouraged to submit the FAFSA by March 1 to be notified of their eligibility by April 15. MHEC created a new webpage to center all of the necessary information into one page.
MHEC has also created an app called MHEC One-App that will allow prospective students of colleges, universities and trade schools to apply for all state scholarships in one location. The commission currently administers 27 different state scholarships to over 60,000 students annually.
In order to use the app, applicants must create an account through the Maryland College Aid Processing System (MDCAPS) and sign up for email notifications.
IRS Offers New Guidance, Relief for College Savings Plan Investors
The Department of Treasury and the IRS announced in late January that Marylanders who were affected by system errors with the state’s Prepaid College Trust (PCT) are being granted additional tax rollovers without additional penalties.
“A system error should never cost Marylanders their hard-earned savings,” said Maryland’s congressional delegation in a statement following the announcement. “Today’s IRS announcement will come as a welcome relief to many Marylanders. We commend the IRS for answering our calls to provide this much-needed remedy just in time for the 2024 tax filing season.”
The agency administering Maryland’s college savings plans discovered a significant system error affecting PCT accounts in 2022, then froze access to earnings on all 31,000 PCT accounts upon discovering the error. This prevented account holders from accessing their full account balances.
These system issues were largely resolved by August 2023, but many Marylanders were unable to access or roll over their full account balances following the system issues. Through no fault of their own, these individuals could have been subject to tax consequences for performing additional rollovers.
IRS’s announcement provides the leniency that will allow PCT account holders to perform additional rollovers without being subject to added taxes.
We have previously covered updates to Maryland’s 529 savings plan; read more here and here.
