Public Education Funding Makes Historic Gains in FY24 Budget
And other legislative updates in this week’s Up the Street
THIS WEEK IN ANNAPOLIS
Education Funding Makes Historic Gains in FY24 Budget; Vouchers Remain Sticking Point
By Monday a fiscal year 2024 budget must be adopted, and a joint legislative conference committee has to work out differences between the House and Senate versions. On Thursday afternoon, House conference committee negotiators arrived to a committee meeting to iron out final differences but were not joined by Senate conference committee members.
Nevertheless, the toplines of the budget for public school funding are historic, including record-breaking investments in public education, forward funding the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future by around $1 billion to shore up its fiscal sustainability, and fully funding education support professionals’ $1,000 bonuses that were passed last year but shortchanged by Gov. Hogan. This overall funding will continue to take steps to reduce educator shortages, improve salaries, and implement the wide range of student-centered programs that will help students across the state.
Funding for the BOOST private school vouchers program, which takes public money from public schools to use in private schools, remained a sticking point. Gov. Moore’s budget and the House version of the budget prudently reduced funding for the vouchers and phased them out. The Senate level-funded the program and removed the phase out language. Conference committee members must meet again to resolve this difference.
Testimony Supports Variety of MSEA Priorities
As the final two weeks of the session sees bills run through hearings in rapid succession, this week featured several opportunities for MSEA to advocate for the educational equity, social justice, and labor rights that are among educators’ priorities. Several bills were in the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday:
- Virtual School Guardrails: Senate Bill 610, sponsored by Sen. Mary Washington (D-Baltimore City and Baltimore County) has strong MSEA support to bring virtual schools in line with traditional public schools in the extraordinary circumstances in which they must be utilized. It would guarantee that all students have access to the schools as they would with traditional public schools, that school staff will be employed by the county government and included in collective bargaining, and the schools would be not-for-profit. MSEA is working to include protections for education support professionals (ESPs) affected by the use of virtual schools when school buildings are closed.
- ESP Wages Workgroup: Senate Bill 735, sponsored by Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus Sen. Craig Zucker (D-Montgomery), would establish a workgroup to address chronically low ESP wages. Del. Melissa Wells (D-Baltimore City) crossfiled House Bill 1234. The Senate version of the bill passed that chamber unanimously. The workgroup would make recommendations to the General Assembly for future legislation, and MSEA would have a seat on the workgroup.
- Janet L. Hoffman Loan Repayment Assistance: MSEA supported Sen. Karen Lewis Young’s (D-Frederick) Senate Bill 482, crossfiled by Del. Joe Vogel (D-Montgomery) as House Bill 488, to help fill the severe shortage of mental health professionals available to students. MSEA is working to extend loan assistance eligibility to school counselors and teachers, which is reflected in amendments to Gov. Moore’s Educator Shortage Act, House Bill 1219, addressing the same subject.
- Apprenticeships: MSEA supported Senate Bill 668, sponsored by Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel) and crossfiled as House Bill 1233 by Del. Ken Kerr (D-Frederick) to establish a teacher degree apprenticeship program. The program takes an equitable approach and names unions as important stakeholders. It also has support from the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE).
- Holocaust History and African American History: Senate Bill 841, sponsored by Ben Kramer (D-Montgomery), crossfiled by Del. Dalya Attar (D-Baltimore City) as House Bill 1242, would require schools to expose students to museums and sites that address the Holocaust, antisemitism, and other historic biases, thereby encouraging students to develop critical thinking and greater empathy and understanding. MSEA recommends amending the bill to allow the Maryland State Department of Education to include more museum destinations and sites that focus on the history and culture of underrepresented communities.
Supplemental Budget Introduced, Increases Funding for School Meals
On Monday, the Moore administration released its second supplemental budget. The supplemental reflects adjustments made to FY23 and FY24 fiscal projections by the Board of Revenue Estimates (BRE) earlier this month. It also increased funding by $2.2 million for Maryland Meals for Achievement’s in-classroom school breakfast program.
NEWS AND NOTES
Blueprint Implementation Plans Confirm Shortage of Educators
Last week, all 24 local boards of education met the deadline to submit their initial Blueprint implementation plans for approval by the Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB) and Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), and all of them referenced a critical shortage of educators that will be needed to successfully implement the Blueprint over the next decade. This week the State Board of Education reviewed the timeline for approving the initial plans, and they estimated that all 24 districts’ plans are either sufficient now or the districts will receive support to amend the plans so they can be approved. The AIB will begin to approve plans next month.
View any of the local school district implementation plans at the AIB website.
School officials must submit a second set of Blueprint implementation plans in March 2024 to highlight the four Blueprint priorities—early childhood education, diverse and high quality educators, supports for struggling learners, career and college readiness—through the 2026-27 school year.