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Work will begin immediately on a new school rating system to replace the current one- to four-star system that officials said does not adequately reflect the quality of a school and shortchanges schools with high numbers of low-income students.
The work was authorized by passage of one of several school system-backed bills passed in the just-ended General Assembly session, the state Board of Education was told Tuesday. School officials called it a 鈥渧ery successful year鈥� for schools in the legislature, which they attributed in part to greater involvement in Annapolis by State Superintendent Carey Wright, Board President Joshua Michael and other department officials.
鈥淭his is not easy work. It鈥檚 time consuming,鈥� Wright said Tuesday.
HB 1582 gives the department the flexibility to possibly get rid of the current school rating system. It is not among the more than 350 bills signed into law so far by the governor, including more than 200 on Tuesday.
Tim Guy, assistant state superintendent of assessment and accountability, said the change in revamping the rating system will modernize it and ensure it matches the work being done now, such as the Blueprint for Maryland鈥檚 Future education reform plan.
Guy said the Accountability Advisory Committee, which earlier recommended eliminating , would reconvene to assess what system to incorporate on how to rate schools and student achievement. The goal would be to present a proposal for public comment later this year and submit a document early next year to the U.S. Department of Education.
If that gets approved, then hopefully a new rating system would be ready for the 2027-28 school year 鈥渂ased on 2026-27 data,鈥� he said in an interview during a break in the meeting. The board met at the Anne Arundel County Public Schools board meeting room Tuesday because of HVAC work being done on the state Department of Education building in Baltimore. where the board normally meets.
The department-requested bill, sponsored by House Ways and Means Chair Jheanelle Wilkins (D-Montgomery), adds a couple of other school quality indicators to assess accountability in the schools. Those include school staffing measures that make sure schools have adequate personnel, and completion of a 鈥渨ell-rounded curriculum鈥� that doesn鈥檛 simply focus on reading, writing and arithmetic.
The bill also requires the department to provide an update by July 1, 2027, to the board and the General Assembly 鈥渙n final school quality and student success metrics鈥� that include analyses of how those measures correlate with student poverty trends.
The bill, which would take effect July 1, is expected to be signed into law by the governor in one of the two remaining bill-signing sessions next month.
Other measures
Some of the other education-related measures approved by the legislature include sponsored by Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) on a request from the Blueprint for Maryland鈥檚 Future Accountability and Implementation Board, known as the AIB. It has not yet been signed into law.
The bill made minor revisions to the Blueprint education reform plan, such as extending the 鈥渉old harmless鈥� provision to fund programs for multilingual learners, students in poverty and those in special education through fiscal 2028. That provision protects those students from any per pupil funding cuts that come along.
The bill, which would take effect July 1, also extends the time for a teacher who wants to become a principal to receive National Board Certification, from July 1, 2029, to July 1, 2034.
Another provision in the bill deals with dual enrollment, which allows high school students to take college courses locally with the tuition paid by their school district. The bill extends authority of the AIB and the state Board of Education, 鈥渋n consultation with local school systems,鈥� from fiscal 2027 to fiscal 2030 and may limit the number and types of courses a student can take at a local college.
Two other bills highlighted 鈥� and 鈥� would require applicants in direct contact with children in a childcare facility to submit to 鈥渃riminal history record checks.鈥�
The bills, sponsored by Sen. Shaneka Henson (D-Anne Arundel) and Del. April Miller (R-Frederick), also require the department to establish a centralizing background check unit to process and manage records for all childcare workers by June 30, 2027. Laurel Cratsley, executive director of government affairs, said record checks are currently done at 13 regional offices across the state.
The bills also allow the department to appoint a deputy state superintendent to specifically focus on early childhood education.
To help decrease staffing shortages at early childcare centers, the bills provide a probationary employment period for those applying for the first time to work as a childcare teacher in a center that serves children at least 2 years old. The current law is a preschool or center with children who are 3 years old.
The bills, which have yet to be signed, go into effect Oct. 1.
鈥楽uccessful year鈥�
Wright and other state school officials were a bit more involved in this year鈥檚 legislative session than in the past.
According to a breakdown of written testimony, about 174 total letters on legislation were submitted by department officials, about a 40% increase from last year. The department categorized the letters in four areas and compared them to last year. There were:
- 66 letters of support, a 94% increase;
- 27 letters of opposition, a 42% increase;
- 19 letters of support with amendments, a 36% increase; and
- 62 letters of information, a 5% increase.
Besides Wright and Michael traveling to Annapolis, department staff including Cratsley, Stefan Redding Lallinger, chief policy officer; Yvonne Harper, legislative liaison; and Maddie Houck, an education policy analyst, were involved this year.
Michael said all departmental bills were approved this year, which rarely happens.
鈥淲e leaned in. We engaged. That is a big deal,鈥� he said. 鈥淰ery successful year in terms of legislation. Now we have to do the work.鈥�
