EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
*hb0770*
HOUSE BILL 770
F5, O4 EMERGENCY BILL 3lr2357
CF SB 913
By: Delegate Atterbeary (By Request – Accountability and Implementation
Board)
Introduced and read first time: February 8, 2023
Assigned to: Ways and Means
Committee Report: Favorable with amendments
House action: Adopted
Read second time: March 7, 2023
CHAPTER ______
AN ACT concerning 1
Publicly Funded Full–Day Prekindergarten Program – Tier I Child – Alteration 2
of Definition 3
Blueprint for Maryland’s Future – Publicly Funded Prekindergarten, Maryland 4
Consortium on Coordinated Community Supports, and Career Ladder – 5
Alterations 6
FOR the purpose of altering the duties of an assistant principal on the career ladder created 7
by the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future; delaying the date on which county boards of 8
education must select certain experts from the career ladder to write curriculum and 9
develop model lessons; altering the definition of a “Tier I child” who may be enrolled 10
beginning in a certain school year to a full–day prekindergarten program, to include 11
children with a disability, children who are homeless youths, and children who are 12
from homes in which English is not the primary spoken language; to include children 13
who are homeless youths; authorizing certain children to enroll in full–day 14
prekindergarten programs beginning in a certain school year, and requiring these 15
children to be counted as Tier I children for a certain purpose in a certain school 16
year; altering the membership of the Maryland Consortium on Coordinated 17
Community Supports to include a school counselor; and generally relating to publicly 18
funded full–day prekindergarten the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. 19
BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 20
Article – Education 21
Section 5–229(a) through (d), 7–1A–01(a), 7–1A–03, and 7–1A–08 22
Annotated Code of Maryland 23 2 HOUSE BILL 770
(2022 Replacement Volume) 1
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 2
Article – Education 3
Section 6–1003(b), 6–1004(e), 7–1A–01(i), 7–1A–04(a), and 7–1A–06, and 7–447.1(d) 4
and (e) 5
Annotated Code of Maryland 6
(2022 Replacement Volume) 7
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 8
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 9
Article – Education 10
5–229. 11
(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. 12
(2) “County program amount” means, for each county, the product of the 13
per pupil amount and the prekindergarten enrollment. 14
(3) “Family share” means the amount calculated under subsection (e) of 15
this section rounded to the nearest whole dollar. 16
(4) “Local share” means, for each county, the result of the county program 17
amount minus the State share rounded to the nearest whole dollar. 18
(5) “Per pupil amount” means: 19
(i) In fiscal year 2023, $10,094; 20
(ii) In fiscal year 2024, $11,594; 21
(iii) In fiscal year 2025, $13,003; 22
(iv) In fiscal year 2026, $14,473; 23
(v) In fiscal year 2027, $15,598; 24
(vi) In fiscal year 2028, $16,811; 25
(vii) In fiscal year 2029, $18,118; 26
(viii) In fiscal year 2030, $19,526; and 27
(ix) In subsequent fiscal years, the per pupil amount for the prior 28
fiscal year increased by the inflation adjustment rounded to the nearest whole dollar. 29 HOUSE BILL 770 3
(6) “Prekindergarten enrollment” means: 1
(i) Beginning in fiscal year 2023, the number of Tier I children 2
enrolled with an eligible prekindergarten provider; and 3
(ii) Beginning in fiscal year 2025, the number of Tier I and Tier II 4
children enrolled with an eligible prekindergarten provider. 5
(7) “State share” means, for each county, rounded to the nearest whole 6
dollar, the following calculations multiplied by 0.5: 7
(i) Multiply the per pupil amount by the county’s prekindergarten 8
enrollment; 9
(ii) Divide the result calculated under item (i) of this paragraph by 10
the ratio, rounded to seven decimal places, of local wealth per pupil to statewide wealth per 11
pupil; and 12
(iii) Multiply the result calculated under item (ii) of this paragraph 13
by the result, rounded to seven decimal places, that results from dividing the total program 14
amount by the sum of all of the results calculated under item (ii) of this paragraph for all 15
counties. 16
(8) “Tier I child” has the meaning stated in § 7–1A–01 of this article. 17
(9) “Tier II child” has the meaning stated in § 7–1A–01 of this article. 18
(10) “Tier III child” has the meaning stated in § 7–1A–01 of this article. 19
(11) “Total program amount” means the product of the per pupil amount and 20
the statewide prekindergarten enrollment. 21
(b) To be eligible for public funding, a prekindergarten provider shall comply with 22
Title 7, Subtitle 1A of this article. 23
(c) (1) (i) As calculated under subsection (d) of this section, there is a State 24
share and local share of the per pupil amount for Tier I children. 25
(ii) There is no family share for Tier I children. 26
(2) As calculated under subsection (e) of this section and beginning in fiscal 27
year 2025, there is a State share, local share, and family share of the per pupil amount for 28
Tier II children. 29
(3) Tier III children are not eligible for funding under this section. 30
4 HOUSE BILL 770
(d) (1) For public providers, each fiscal year: 1
(i) The State shall distribute the State share to each county board; 2
and 3
(ii) The county board shall distribute to each public provider the 4
minimum school funding amount for prekindergarten calculated under § 5–234 of this 5
subtitle. 6
(2) For private providers, each fiscal year: 7
(i) The State shall distribute the State share for private providers 8
to the Department; 9
(ii) The county shall distribute the local share for private providers 10
to the Department; and 11
(iii) The Department shall distribute the State and local share to the 12
private providers. 13
6–1003. 14
(b) (1) An assistant principal is on level three of the career ladder and shall: 15
(i) Be an NBC teacher; or 16
(ii) Have an advanced professional certificate for administration. 17
(2) Beginning with teachers listed under § 6–1002(f)(3) of this subtitle, as 18
specified by the State Board, an assistant principal shall: 19
(i) [Teach in the classroom] PARTICIPATE IN CLASSR OOM 20
ACTIVITY INVOLVING D IRECT INTERACTIONS W ITH STUDENTS for at least 20% of their 21
working hours; and 22
(ii) Spend A PORTION OF the remaining time on other [teacher] 23
activities, including: 24
1. Setting priorities for the subject level departments of the 25
school; and 26
2. Fulfilling specialized roles, such as head of professional 27
development. 28
6–1004. 29
(e) A county board shall select: 30 HOUSE BILL 770 5
(1) A mentor teacher for induction programs and teacher training 1
practicums from the teacher leadership track; and 2
(2) [An] BEGINNING JULY 1, 2026, AN expert to write curriculum and 3
assessment items and develop model lessons from the distinguished teacher and professor 4
distinguished teacher tiers of the teacher leadership track. 5
7–1A–01. 6
(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated. 7
(i) “Tier I child” means a child: 8
(1) Who is 3 or 4 years old; 9
(2) (I) Whose family income is less than or equal to 300% of the federal 10
poverty level; OR 11
(II) WHO IS A CHILD WITH A DISABILITY; 12
(III) WHO IS A HOMELESS YOU TH; OR 13
(IV) WHO IS FROM A HOME IN WHICH ENGLISH IS NOT THE 14
PRIMARY SPOKEN LANGU AGE; and 15
(3) Whose family chooses to enroll the child in full–day prekindergarten. 16
7–1A–03. 17
(a) Except as provided under subsection (b) of this section, a county board shall 18
ensure that: 19
(1) Beginning in the 2022–2023 school year, prekindergarten slots 20
provided by eligible private providers shall account for at least 30% of the total 21
prekindergarten slots provided by eligible prekindergarten providers in each county; 22
(2) The proportion of eligible private provider prekindergarten slots in each 23
county increases by 5 percentage points every school year, until, in the 2026–2027 school 24
year, eligible private provider prekindergarten slots account for at least 50% of eligible 25
prekindergarten provider prekindergarten slots in each county; and 26
(3) In each year after the 2026–2027 school year, the proportion of eligible 27
private provider prekindergarten slots in each county shall continue to constitute at least 28
50% of eligible prekindergarten provider prekindergarten slots in each county. 29
6 HOUSE BILL 770
(b) (1) The Department shall issue a waiver from the requirements of this 1
section to a county board if: 2
(i) All families in the county who desire to enroll their eligible 3
children with eligible prekindergarten providers are able to do so; or 4
(ii) After reasonable cross–jurisdictional or regional efforts, there 5
are too few eligible private providers to meet the minimum requirements of this section. 6
(2) The Department may exclude by annual waiver Tier I children who are 7
3 years old in a county from the calculation under subsection (a) of this section until the 8
2029–2030 school year. 9
(3) The Department may exclude by annual waiver Tier I children who are 10
4 years old in a county from the calculation under subsection (a) of this section until the 11
2026–2027 school year. 12
(4) The Department shall establish waiver application procedures to carry 13
out the provisions of this subsection. 14
7–1A–04. 15
(a) All eligible prekindergarten providers shall include structural elements that 16
are evidence–based and nationally recognized as important for ensuring program quality, 17
including: 18
(1) Beginning in the 2025–2026 school year: 19
(i) High staff qualifications, including teachers who, at a minimum, 20
hold: 21
1. State certification for teaching in early childhood 22
education; or 23
2. A bachelor’s degree in any field and are pursuing 24
residency through the Maryland Approved Alternative Preparation Program, which 25
includes early childhood coursework, clinical practice, and evidence of pedagogical content 26
knowledge; and 27
(ii) Teaching assistants who have at least: 28
1. A Child Development Associate (CDA) certificate; or 29
2. An associate’s degree; 30
(2) Professional development for all staff; 31
HOUSE BILL 770 7
(3) A student–to–classroom personnel ratio of no more than 10 to 1 in each 1
class; 2
(4) Class sizes of no more than 20 students per classroom; 3
(5) A full–day prekindergarten program; 4
(6) [Inclusion of students with disabilities to ensure access to and full 5
participation in all program opportunities; 6
(7)] For at least 1 year before a student’s enrollment in kindergarten, 7
learning environments that: 8
(i) Are aligned with State Early Learning and Development 9
Standards; 10
(ii) Use evidence–based curricula; and 11
(iii) Use instruction methods that are: 12
1. Developmentally appropriate; and 13
2. Culturally and linguistically responsive; 14
[(8)] (7) Individualized accommodations and supports for all students; 15
[(9)] (8) Instructional staff salaries and benefits that are comparable to 16
the salaries and benefits of instructional staff employed by the county board of the county 17
in which the early learning program is located; 18
[(10)] (9) Program evaluation to ensure continuous program improvement; 19
[(11)] (10) On–site or accessible comprehensive services for students; 20
[(12)] (11) Community partnerships that promote access to comprehensive 21
services for families of students; and 22
[(13)] (12) Evidence–based health and safety standards. 23
7–1A–06. 24
(a) (1) Beginning in the 2022–2023 school year, Tier I children who are 3 or 4 25
years old may be enrolled in a full–day prekindergarten program under this subtitle. 26
8 HOUSE BILL 770
(2) BEGINNING IN THE 2023–2024 SCHOOL YEAR , CHILDREN WHO 1
ARE 3 OR 4 YEARS OLD MAY ENROLL IN A FULL–DAY PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAM 2
UNDER THIS SUBTITLE IF THE CHILDREN ARE : 3
(I) TIER II CHILDREN; AND 4
(II) 1. CHILDREN WITH DISABIL ITIES; OR 5
2. CHILDREN FROM HOMES I N WHICH ENGLISH IS NOT 6
THE PRIMARY SPOKEN L ANGUAGE. 7
(3) IN THE 2023–2024 SCHOOL YEAR ONLY , CHILDREN DESCRIBED 8
UNDER PARAGRAPH (2) OF THIS SUBSECTION S HALL BE COUNTED AS TIER I 9
CHILDREN FOR PURPOSE S OF FUNDING ALLOCAT ED UNDER § 5–229 OF THIS 10
ARTICLE. 11
(4) BEGINNING IN THE 2024–2025 SCHOOL YEAR , CHILDREN 12
DESCRIBED UNDER PARA GRAPH (2) OF THIS SUBSECTION S HALL BE COUNTED AS 13
TIER II CHILDREN FOR PURPOSE S OF FUNDING ALLOCATED UN DER § 5–229 OF THIS 14
ARTICLE. 15
(b) (1) The proportion of enrolled Tier I children who are 3 years old shall 16
increase annually until all Tier I children who are 3 years old are enrolled in a full–day 17
prekindergarten program. 18
(2) The proportion of enrolled Tier I children who are 4 years old shall 19
increase annually so that all Tier I children who are 4 years old shall be enrolled in a 20
full–day prekindergarten program. 21
(c) Beginning EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBSECTION (A)(2) OF THIS 22
SECTION, BEGINNING in the 2024–2025 school year, Tier II children may be enrolled in a 23
full–day prekindergarten program if space is available to encourage socioeconomic diversity 24
in prekindergarten classrooms. 25
(d) Priority in expanding prekindergarten slots shall be provided to 3– and 4–year 26
olds who are[: 27
(1)] Tier I children[; 28
(2) Children with disabilities, regardless of income; AND 29
(3) Homeless youth; and 30
(4) Children from homes in which English is not the primary spoken 31
language]. 32 HOUSE BILL 770 9
(e) The ability of a family to choose the prekindergarten provider in which to 1
enroll their child does not supersede local authority to set school attendance boundaries. 2
7–1A–08. 3
On or before December 1, 2021, and each December 1 thereafter, each county board 4
shall submit the following information, disaggregated by eligible private and eligible public 5
providers, to the Department and the Accountability and Implementation Board 6
established under Title 5, Subtitle 4 of this article: 7
(1) The number of eligible prekindergarten providers in the county; 8
(2) The number of eligible prekindergarten providers in the county that, in 9
the immediately preceding calendar year, expanded to offer prekindergarten programs that 10
are open for pupil attendance a minimum of 6.5 hours during each school day; 11
(3) The Maryland EXCELS program quality rating level of each eligible 12
prekindergarten provider in the county; 13
(4) The participation rate of all county 3– and 4–year olds in eligible 14
prekindergarten providers established or expanded in accordance with this subtitle, 15
disaggregated by age and tier, if applicable; 16
(5) The number and proportion of eligible prekindergarten providers in the 17
county that are eligible private providers; 18
(6) A measure of school readiness in accordance with § 7–210 of this title; 19
and 20
(7) A demonstration that the expansion of prekindergarten programs in 21
the county gave priority to: 22
(i) Children in areas with limited or no access to quality child care, 23
regardless of family income; 24
(ii) Tier I children; and 25
(iii) Students with disabilities, regardless of family income. 26
7–447.1. 27
(d) The Consortium consists of: 28
(1) The following members representing government agencies: 29
(i) The Secretary of Health, or the Secretary’s designee; 30 10 HOUSE BILL 770
(ii) The Secretary of Human Services, or the Secretary’s designee; 1
(iii) The Secretary of Juvenile Services, or the Secretary’s designee; 2
(iv) The State Superintendent of Schools, or the State 3
Superintendent’s designee; 4
(v) The Chair of the Commission, or the Chair’s designee; 5
(vi) The Director of Community Schools in the [State] Department 6
[of Education], or the Director’s designee; 7
(vii) One member of the Senate of Maryland, appointed by the 8
President of the Senate; and 9
(viii) One member of the House of Delegates, appointed by the Speaker 10
of the House; 11
(2) The following members representing other organizations and entities: 12
(i) One member of the Maryland Council on Advancement of 13
School–Based Health Centers, appointed by the Chair of the Council; 14
(ii) One county superintendent of schools, designated by the Public 15
School Superintendents Association of Maryland; 16
(iii) One member of a county board of education, designated by the 17
Maryland Association of Boards of Education; 18
(iv) One teacher who is teaching in the State, designated by the 19
Maryland State Education Association; 20
(v) One social worker practicing at a school in the State, designated 21
by the Maryland Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers; 22
(vi) One psychologist practicing in a school in the State, designated 23
by the Maryland School Psychologists Association; 24
(vii) One representative of nonprofit hospitals, designated by the 25
Maryland Hospital Association; 26
(viii) One member of the Commission, designated by the Chair of the 27
Commission; [and] 28
(ix) One representative of the Maryland Medical Assistance 29
Program, designated by the Secretary of Health; AND 30 HOUSE BILL 770 11
(X) ONE SCHOOL COUNSELOR CERTIFIED BY THE 1
DEPARTMENT UNDER TITLE 6, SUBTITLE 7 OF THIS ARTICLE, DESIGNATED BY THE 2
MARYLAND SCHOOL COUNSELOR ASSOCIATION; 3
(3) The following members appointed by the Governor: 4
(i) One representative of the behavioral health community with 5
expertise in telehealth; 6
(ii) One representative of local departments of social services; and 7
(iii) One representative of local departments of health; and 8
(4) The following members appointed jointly by the President of the Senate 9
and the Speaker of the House: 10
(i) One individual with expertise in creating a positive classroom 11
environment; 12
(ii) One individual with expertise in equity in education; and 13
(iii) Two members of the public. 14
(e) (1) This subsection applies only to the members appointed under 15
subsection (d)(2), (3), and (4) of this section. 16
(2) A member serves for a term of 4 years beginning on the date of the 17
member’s appointment and until a successor is appointed and qualifies. 18
(3) A member may not serve for more than two consecutive terms. 19
(4) The terms of the members are staggered as required by the terms of the 20
members serving on the Consortium on July 1, [2022] 2023. 21
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the term of the initial school 22
counselor member of the Maryland Consortium on Coordinated Community Supports, 23
designated under § 7–447.1(d)(2)(x) of the Education Article, as enacted by Section 1 of this 24
Act, shall expire in 2026. 25
SECTION 2. 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act is an emergency 26
measure, is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health or safety, has 27
been passed by a yea and nay vote supported by three–fifths of all the members elected to 28
each of the two Houses of the General Assembly, and shall take effect from the date it is 29
enacted. 30