ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan on Monday announced the appointment of Richard P. Henry as Maryland’s first Inspector General for Education. Henry, who has over 30 years of law enforcement experience at the federal level, currently serves as executive director of the Maryland State Department of Education’s Office of Compliance and Monitoring.

“For five years, our administration has been working hard to root out corruption, wrongdoing, and the mismanagement of state tax dollars by local school systems,” said Governor Hogan. “With the appointment of the first Inspector General for Education in state history, we are reaffirming our commitment to providing more accountability for parents, teachers, and taxpayers and better results for our children. Richard Henry has the experience and the passion to serve as a tough but fair watchdog in this new role.”

Governor Hogan pushed for and enacted the establishment of the Maryland Office of Inspector General for Education to provide accountability and transparency in the expenditure of public education funds in the state. The Inspector General is jointly appointed to a five-year term by the governor, the attorney general, and the state treasurer.

To further bring much-needed accountability to our school systems, Governor Hogan has introduced the Community and Local Accountability for Struggling Schools Act of 2020 (CLASS Act), HB 347/SB 275. Based on a model developed by Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, the CLASS Act will empower local communities to take charge of failing schools and enact critical changes in leadership and curriculum.

“We are proud to have some of the best and most highly funded schools in America, and we have continuously increased funding and worked hard to make them even better,” continued Hogan. “But unfortunately, far too many of our deserving children continue to be stuck in persistently failing schools. Much tougher accountability measures are still desperately needed.”

In his current post, Henry, who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Johns Hopkins University, leads a statewide program to ensure local school systems comply with state regulations. From 1992-2018, Henry served in several capacities for the United States Marshals Service, including chief inspector for the Information Technology Division, chief inspector for the Human Resources Division, senior inspector for the Judicial Security Division, senior inspector for the Financial Fraud/Asset Forfeiture Division, and supervisory deputy for Prisoner and Investigative Operations. He is a recipient of the Bronze Star for Bravery presented by the Howard County Police Department, the Organized Crimes Drug Enforcement Task Force Director’s Award for Investigative Excellence, and the United States Attorney’s Pete Twardowicz Award for Investigative Excellence. Henry’s appointment is effective March 4, 2020.