ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Emma Wynne is like most children and enjoys going to school and seeing her friends. Her favorite subject is math.
Emma also has special needs.
Unfortunately, Emma isn’t getting the same treatment as her peers.
“It’s really unacceptable that Maryland treats disabled young adults unfairly," said Emma's mother, Lara Wynne.
Maryland law says students can’t start a school year that begins after their 21st birthday.
For a small group of people like Emma, whose birthdays come just before the start of the school year, it means they go for 15 years instead of 16.
Emma is fighting for one more year of school, the same as her friends.
“Some of my friends go for 16 years and some go for 15, I think it would be fair for everyone to get 16,” said Emma.
Emma and her mom Lara fought for this in Annapolis.
Leaving the bill hearing they felt great.
“We left feeling really encouraged the Maryland legislators would do the right thing," said Lara Wynne.
Unfortunately, nothing happened with the bill since then.
Despite Emma receiving a round of applause after her testimony, the bill wasn’t even brought to a vote in its committee.
“Not to see the bill move because they’re concerned about the fiscal note on something like this," said Delegate Michele Guyton, Democrat from Baltimore County.
Delegate Guyton sponsored the bill after Lara reached out, she feels the cost of giving these students with special needs another year may be holding up the bill.
We reached out to the chair of the ways and means committee, Vanessa Atterbeary and the speaker of the House of Delegates, Adrienne Jones, to see why this bill wasn’t given a vote.
Neither returned our request.
“It seems like a no brainer that disabled young adults should have equal access to the education," said Lara.
Emma, Lara and Delegate Guyton are continuing the fight.
If the bill doesn’t move in the next few weeks Emma won’t get her 16th year of school.
