The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is a multi-billion dollar investment in Maryland schools that gives opportunity, hope, and promise to all Maryland students, no matter what they look like, where they come from, or who their family is. The Blueprint is an education plan for the benefit of all Marylanders—it will lift families in marginalized communities, build a stronger workforce with more diverse skills, and keep Maryland thriving as a place to live and work.

This historic investment brings to students, educators, and schools changes educators have long advocated for and expands opportunities at every grade level with new resources, programs, and staffing. It all comes with an accountability system to ensure the funding and implementation upholds the intent of the Kirwan Commission’s four-year study and report, which is the foundation of the Blueprint legislation. See the Blueprint timeline.

Early research by the Kirwan Commission uncovered not only an educator shortage in Maryland but a profession struggling to remain competitive with those requiring similar education and credentials. The Blueprint’s commitment builds educator salaries, bolstering recruitment into a newly invigorated, respected, and diverse profession with increased salaries and a starting salary of $60,000 by 2026.

Pay is only part of the equation. The Blueprint projects that 15,000 new educators will be hired, including behavioral health professionals, more paraeducators, and others, allowing more time for collaboration, planning, and individualized attention for students.

The Blueprint funds the creation and expansion of career and technical education programs and introduces opportunities earlier and to more students across all grade levels. With earlier career guidance and more specific skill-building, students can qualify for well-paying jobs upon graduation. Local program committees will join existing community partners to identify opportunities and create pathways to jobs and stronger local economies. By 2030, the Blueprint’s goal is that 45% of high school students will achieve an industry-recognized credential before they graduate.

With an investment in equity, the Blueprint will help communities that have long suffered from under-investment and systemic racism by promising more equitable funding, including for students who receive special education services, English language learners (ELL), and schools in high-poverty communities. Struggling learners will receive early individual or small-group tutoring support. Per pupil funding will increase by 20% for ELL and double for special education students and, in the next dozen years, more than 150 new family support and early ed centers will open across the state for even earlier interventions.

The Blueprint will convert nearly one-third of Maryland schools into community schools, where a school-based coordinator will help determine a school’s specific needs, such as academic and language supports, nutrition, and medical, dental, and mental health care.

With 45% of Maryland students living in poverty, this community school expansion—one of the largest in the country—will make a huge difference for students and families in every corner of the state.

The Blueprint investment in early childhood education is additional equity-focused funding that levels the playing field for our youngest learners beginning with those in the most economically challenged communities. The program begins as voluntary and free to all three- and four-year-olds from families with incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty level ($26,200 for a family of four), and on a sliding scale to all four-year-olds from families with incomes 300%–600% of the federal poverty level. In 10 years, it’s estimated that 80% of eligible children will be enrolled in a publicly funded pre-k.

The Blueprint sets up a rigorous accountability structure to ensure that these new investments go where they are intended and aren’t redirected by central offices or the Maryland State Department of Education. The Accountability and Implementation Board is an independent body that will make sure the Blueprint implementation goes as planned and that resources actually reach classrooms and students.