Maryland legislation · 2026 Regular Session
Maryland SB776: Commission on the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children - Establishment
Status: Signed into law, May 26, 2026
Establishing the Commission on the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children to research the history, operations, and resident deaths at the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children and provide a complete and public accounting of the children who died and were buried on the grounds; and requiring the Commission to submit a final report to the Governor and General Assembly by December 31, 2029.
What the bill says
An act concerning Commission on the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children - Establishment FOR the purpose of establishing the Commission on the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children; and generally relating to the Commission on the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children. BY adding to Article - State Government Section 6-1001 to be under the new subtitle "Subtitle 10. The Commission on the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children" Annotated Code of Maryland (2021 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) Preamble.
From the enrolled text, June 3, 2026:
AN ACT concerning Commission on the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children - Establishment FOR the purpose of establishing the Commission on the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children; and generally relating to the Commission on the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children. BY adding to Article - State Government Section 6-1001 to be under the new subtitle "Subtitle 10. The Commission on the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children" Annotated Code of Maryland (2021 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) Preamble WHEREAS, The State of Maryland established the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children (also known under various historical names) in Prince George's County for over a century as a detention and reformatory institution for youth; and WHEREAS, Recent reports and historical records have brought to light the existence of a neglected cemetery on the grounds of the former institution containing the unmarked graves of hundreds of deceased children, primarily African American boys, who died while in the care and custody of the State; and WHEREAS, The condition of this burial ground represents a profound and long-standing failure of the State to provide dignity in death to children for whom it had assumed responsibility in life, and this neglect has hidden a painful chapter of Maryland's history from public view …