Del. Christopher Adams (R-Middle Shore), left, talks about an amendment he proposed for the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education bill. The amendment failed 98-37. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)
House Democrats beat back a series of Republican attempts to restrict parts of the state’s comprehensive education reform plan Wednesday and are on the verge of passing a bill that exceeds the governor’s request.
Two House committees – Appropriations and Ways and Means – had voted to reject cuts to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future that had been proposed by Gov. Wes Moore (D) in the face of the state’s projected $3 billion budget shortfall next year. That put House Republicans in the unusual position Wednesday of trying to amend the bill to agree with the Democratic governor’s version.
“Consider this as a friendly, Eastern Shore Republican amendment who’s aligned with your state’s majority party’s governor,” said Del. Christopher Adams (D-Middle Shore), as he offered an amendment to eliminate the Appropriations Committee’s amendments “in their entirety.”
Adams’ proposed amendment to House Bill 504 – the Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act – would have reverted the bill to the version submitted by the governor. That included a four-year pause the expansion of teachers’ out-of-classroom time known as “collaborative time,” a freeze in funding for community schools located in low-income communities, and a reduction in the growth of per-pupil funding from the Blueprint’s 5% in fiscal 2026 to a 3% increase instead.
“You are a friendly, Eastern Shore Republican, but I’m not sure your amendment is friendly,” said Del. Ben Barnes (D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel), to a few chuckles from the House floor. Barnes, the chair of the Appropriations Committee, said Adams’ amendment would “strike” the original bill, too.
After nearly five minutes of debate, the amendment failed 98-37.
Del. LaToya Nkongolo (R-Anne Arundel) defends her amendment to a Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education bill during a House debate Wednesday. Her amendment failed, 95-40. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)
Del. LaToya Nkongolo (R-Anne Arundel) next offered an amendment that would have let school systems seek a waiver, and be allowed to use compensatory education funds to try lower class sizes when they exceed more than 30 students per class. It would comply with the Blueprint mandate and help all students, she said.
Barnes said those funds are specifically used for lower-income students. In addition, he said Nkongolo’s amendment would allow school officials to use that money at their discretion.
“That flies in the face of everything that this education reform stands for,” he said.
After about seven minutes of debate on this amendment, it was rejected 95-40.
Finally, Del. Mark Fisher (R-Calvert) offered an amendment to let students enrolled in a one-star school — the lowest rating on the state Department of Education‘s five-star rating system in the annual report card for schools — have money from the failing school follow them to a new school of their parent’s choice.
Students identified as “violent” or “disruptive” could also use the funds to attend a facility such as a military boarding school, under Fisher’s amendment.
“If school choice were available to just those children in the failed schools, they would probably be pushing 100% [achievement],” Fisher said.
Del. Vanessa Atterbeary (D-Howard), chair of the Ways and Means Committee, called Fisher’s proposal the equivalent of his bill, HB 1180, that her committee heard Monday.
“To be clear, what this bill does is it diverts further money from our public schools, creating further inequities in our school system, further dividing the children across the state and denying them an equitable opportunity to education,” Atterbeary said.
After about 20 minutes of debate, Fisher’s amendment failed 97-39.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
The House could take up the bill as early as Thursday for final approval before forwarding it to the Senate for consideration. But senators, with an eye toward the state’s budget problems, which could get worse in coming weeks with funding cuts from the Trump White House, have said so far this session that they are likely more in line with Moore administration of the plan than the more-liberal House version.
Two Senate committees – Budget and Taxation and the Education, Energy and the Environment Committee – were part of last month’s joint public hearing on the bill with the two House committees. Sen. Guy Guzzone (D-Howard), chair of the Budget and Taxation Committee, said this week his committee could vote on the Senate version next week.
Read the full article here