Since the 2021 passage of Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state’s landmark education reform bill, local school districts have been planning and implementing the reforms required by the state.
Despite facing several challenges, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is in “full-scale implementation mode,” according to Janine Bacquie, the district’s Blueprint director.
What is the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future?
The Maryland General Assembly passed The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future in 2021. Over the next 10 years, the law aims to “transform public education in the state into a world-class education system.”
The implementation of the bill is broken down into five pillars focusing on specific priorities:
- Expanding early childhood education;
- Hiring and supporting high quality and diverse teachers;
- Preparing students for college and careers;
- Dedicating more resources for student success; and
- Holding the state and local school districts accountable.
According to Bacquie, the Blueprint has “many legs” with differing timelines, due dates and requirements for districts to act depending on the pillar and subtasks.
“It’s not just one particular initiative,” she said.
The state is expected to invest an additional $3.9 billion in public schools by fiscal year 2034, according to the Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB), the state’s Blueprint implementation oversight group. Local governments will invest at least $700 million more during those 10 years.
Funding for districts is allocated through a “weighted-student formula” that considers a base per-pupil funding amount, weighted amounts based on characteristics of students and funding for programs that the schools offer, according to the Blueprint website.
The Blueprint’s future has grown uncertain recently as state and local lawmakers dealing with fiscal issues raise concerns about its costs, according to Maryland Matters. Democratic Gov. Wes Moore recently told a gathering of county leaders the reform plan may need to be refined.
Where do things stand with MCPS?
For the last two years, school districts statewide have been doing “baseline data collection,” Bacquie said. But now, they’re in “full-scale implementation mode.”
According to MCPS implementation plan reports filed with the state in May, this has included everything from partnering with groups to provide resources to MCPS graduates in need of career coaching to increasing the starting salary for teachers to $62,558.
Bacquie also highlighted the increase in the number of the district’s community schools, which “work in collaboration with community partners, local governments, and other stakeholders to provide wraparound services that address barriers to learning and success,” according to the MCPS website. Community schools in Montgomery County use programs such as Linkages to Learning that help provide services including interpretation or translation and mental health support for students.
MCPS added 19 community schools for the 2024-2025 school year, according to a social media post from its community school team.
“We’re doing community assessments, we’re gathering data about the needs, and then we’re trying to bring those services and supports directly to those schools in that community,” Bacquie said.
According to the implementation plans, the district has also partnered with others such as the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Healthcare Initiative Foundation Inc., Your Eyes and Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind to provide vaccinations and dental, hearing and vision screenings at community schools.
County school board President Karla Silvestre said the Blueprint has been a “heavy lift” for the staff involved with its implementation.
“This was a great school reform legislation for the whole state with real, meaningful and creative ideas,” Silvestre said. “I’m proud of the work that has been accomplished.”
School districts were required to submit several reports on their implementation plans to be reviewed by the accountability board. In 2023, districts submitted a report in March. This year, districts submitted implementation plan reports in two parts, with one due in March and another in May.
According to the accountability board, the first part focused on systemwide Blueprint implementation, and the second required districts to answer initiative-specific questions.
Staff members from the accountability board and the Maryland State Board of Education reviewed the submissions, provided feedback and asked districts for revisions, according to an Aug. 1 accountability board meeting.
MCPS was not among the eight of the state’s 24 school districts whose spring submissions met the accountability board’s criteria for success. The criteria vary depending on the pillar but includes aspects such as providing updates from last year’s submissions, providing examples of partnerships and data analysis.
Bacquie said the MCPS submissions are still under review and are undergoing the revision process.
The district submitted documentation covering its educator career ladder plans, proof of 10% salary increases from 2019 to 2024 and comprehensive literacy plans.
MCPS faces funding, teacher shortage difficulties
Like many school districts, Bacquie said the district is facing challenges including teacher shortages, funding issues, a lack of space and finding private childcare providers to partner with MCPS to expand pre-k access.
Bacquie said the state’s districts are all competing to recruit and retain teachers, especially in areas such as special education. As programs expand, finding space for schools and community-based providers has also been a struggle, Bacquie said.
When it comes to funding, she noted that sometimes initiatives cost more than what’s been allocated by the state due to inflation and other local costs.
“[Then] the county’s got to come up with those extra dollars in order to make sure we’re meeting those requirements because it’s state law,” Bacquie said.
According to the MCPS budget for fiscal year 2025, the school district is expected to receive roughly $39.3 million this fiscal year from the state to implement Blueprint initiatives.
Funding has been even more challenging for the MCPS after the County Council approved a budget that was $30.5 million less than the school board requested, resulting in several budget cuts—though the $3.3 billion in spending was the most ever allotted to the district. The budget cuts delayed the conversion of 520 part-time pre-k seats to full-time, according to MCPS.
Despite the delays, Bacquie said MCPS will meet the state’s goals for pre-k expansion, which includes expanding pre-k at no cost for 4-year-olds and 3-year-olds from families with incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty level.
“We have slightly slowed down the ambitious pace of implementation and recalibrated a bit,” Bacquie said. “But we will continue to be on track to meet all enrollment goals and objectives.”
Silvestre said she’s most excited about the expansion of pre-k because it will make a difference in students’ academic achievement. Gaps in achievement begin in kindergarten, Silvestre said, so she wished “we could do more and move faster.”
Expanding pre-k has also faced challenges due to the requirements that childcare providers need to meet to work with the school district and finding providers who are willing to do so, according to the district.
What’s next?
Moving forward, Bacquie said MCPS will face struggles with how to navigate implementation of the Blueprint pillars over the next few years as state funding decreases and localities pick up more of the bill.
“Over the next few years trying to manage all of that, to take a look at what those actual costs are and be able to project them and then looking at all the competing priorities, I think that’s a challenge for everyone,” Bacquie said.
And Silvestre said meeting the Blueprint requirements will be a “balancing act” since budgets are tight and will continue to be over the next few years.
“I appreciate the dialogue that there’s been with [districts] in terms of implementation,” Silvestre said. “I hope that to continue that, so that [the state is] able to hear where the pain points are and be flexible on some things as we all strive to do the best thing for our school systems and for our students.”
The challenges aren’t insurmountable, and for some, the AIB and state education department have been advising school districts on how to navigate them, Bacquie said.
“Sometimes it may not be as fast as we might think we need it, but they’re moving it forward,” Bacquie said.
Meanwhile, the district’s state funding for fiscal year 2025 is tied up in the approval of its plans, according to Bacquie. Also, MCPS is in a “holding pattern” as it awaits guidance from the state on how to implement such steps as career ladders, pre-k payment sliding scales and kindergarten readiness assessments.
“I anticipate that our plan will be fully approved and that we’ll be approved for … funding,” she said.