The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reforms will add billions of dollars in state funding annually for public schools within the next decade. Photo by Danielle E. Gaines.
The independent agency that oversees Maryland’s multibillion-dollar education reform plan has canceled a scheduled Thursday meeting at which officials said they might have been able to start approving local school district plans.
Scheduling conflicts forced the postponement of the Thursday meeting of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Accountability and Implementation Board – or the AIB – which grants final approval of plans. That meeting has now been set for Aug. 1.
The meeting follows up on a series of reports filed by local officials earlier this year: In March on top challenges they are facing in implementing the Blueprint, and in May with their plans for how they will implement the Blueprint in each of their districts.
Staff with the AIB and Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) have already responded to those reports from all 24 jurisdictions and are now wading through the district’s responses, the next step to final approval.
“AIB and MSDE staff are in the process of reviewing the revisions to determine if the plans are complete and may be recommended for approval to the AIB or if additional revisions are needed,” Rachel Hise, executive director of the AIB, wrote in an email this week.
Hise wrote in an email Wednesday the 12 school districts who submitted responses were Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll, Charles, Frederick, Garrett, Somerset, St. Mary’s and Talbot counties.
The remaining 12 school districts still face a Thursday deadline to turn in their responses. They are Allegany, Cecil, Dorchester, Harford, Howard, Kent, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Queen Anne’s, Washington, Wicomico and Worcester counties.
Dorchester County public schools were given until Aug. 1 to respond to the specific question of how the district will provide more resources for students to be successful, known as “Pillar 4” in the Blueprint plan.
Prince George’s officials also received an extension to submit their responses, but Hise said in the email they plan to turn in what they have Thursday.
The plans filed so far have included some common themes, such as prioritizing stakeholder outreach and involvement, increasing collaboration with school district staff and local schools, and identifying supports for students who haven’t met the college and career readiness standard.
Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-Lower Shore), who serves on the Senate Education and the Environment Committee, echoed one sentiment some school officials have requested from the state: flexibility.
“The funding being provided by the state is for specific Blueprint education categories and programs. Yet, the schools do so much more beyond the Blueprint education plan whether it’s physical fitness, whether it’s music and arts, whether it’s the after-school and summer programs,” Carozza said Wednesday. “You just can’t be so restrictive on your state mandates that you’re not factoring in the individual local needs and prioritizes.”
Carozza said there also needs to be additional discussion on funding parts of the Blueprint, especially with concerns over how to pay for the plan after fiscal 2027.
One law that took effect this month – House Bill 1082 – requires each school system to hire a Blueprint coordinator at a salary of $150,000. The cost will be shared between the state and district, but not every district is getting the same level of support: Worcester County, which is in Carozza’s district, and Talbot County will have to pay the highest local share at $127,500, with $22,500 from the state.
“These state formulas need to be worked with individual counties,” Carozza said. “You have overall agreement on some of these mandates, but you still have to provide the flexibility of meeting those goals.”
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