Maryland’s Education ‘Blueprint’ Struggles to Expand Pre-K

Marijke Friedman and Natalie Weger, Capital News Service • April 2, 2024


As a group of 4-year-old boys worked to create a towering building block castle in their colorful Montgomery County Public Schools pre-K classroom, Head Start teacher Molly Scherf reminded them it is important to build a strong foundation.

 

The boys used their tiny hands to create the tower piece by piece, building the foundation to their castle and for their future education.

 

With research showing children who attend pre-K perform better in later years, the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future — the state’s landmark education plan — aims to make pre-K much more widely available to every 3- and 4-year-old in the state.

 

Scherf, who has worked in early childhood education for 30 years, said it’s a great idea.

 

“[Pre-K] is not just all about learning the letters of the alphabet or learning how to count to 10; it's also learning how to get along with your peers,” she said.

 

The state’s plan to make pre-K available to all children and free to low- and moderate-income families faces some serious struggles, however. The Blueprint relies on a mix of private providers and public schools to expand the availability of pre-K — but many districts are struggling to enlist enough private providers. On top of that, some public schools that would otherwise host the pre-K population don’t have the room to do so.

 

Educators in the state call the Blueprint pre-K plan a “mixed delivery system” that aims to expand pre-K without making it a public school monopoly.

 

“So in theory, it's a great model,” said Rachel Hise, executive director of the Accountability and Implementation Board, the state agency created to oversee the Blueprint. “In practice, it has a lot of challenges.”

 

A vast expansion

The state says 30,718 children were enrolled in pre-K in Maryland during the 2022-23 school year, and that number is expected to expand as the 10-year Blueprint is implemented.

 

The Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education, which drew up the early childhood education effort incorporated into the Blueprint, estimated the changes it proposed would mean 80% of eligible children would be in pre-K when the plan is fully implemented. That’s a lofty goal considering state figures showed the pre-K participation rate for 4-year-olds was below 50% in half of Maryland’s school districts in 2022-23.

 

Costs will increase along with the pre-K population. According to the state’s Department of Legislative Services, Blueprint-related early childhood programs cost the state $445 million in fiscal year 2023 alone. While future cost increases depend largely on enrollment, that department projects a 15.7% increase in funding for pre-K programs between fiscal years 2024 and 2025.

 

Research shows that could be a good investment. William T. Gormley, co-director of Georgetown University’s Center for Research on Children in the United States and his colleagues tracked the results of youngsters in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for more than 20 years after they left pre-K. The researchers found that while 44% of children who attended pre-K went on to college, only a third of those who missed out on pre-K went on to higher education.

 

“In this respect, early childhood education is indeed the gift that keeps on giving,” Gormley and his colleagues wrote in a 2023 paper.

 

That being the case, Pillar 1 of the Blueprint — early childhood education — calls for government-funded pre-K to be available to all low-income 4-year-olds by the 2025-26 fiscal year. Preschool will be free to all 3- and 4-year-olds from families that earn up to 300% of the federal poverty level. Families with incomes between 300% and 600% of the federal poverty level will pay for pre-K on a sliding scale, and higher-income families will pay for it in full.

 

Instead of placing all pre-K students in conventional public school classrooms, the plan relies on participation from both public and private child care providers. Preschool classrooms can either be in public schools or other childcare facilities.

 

This will create a diverse set of pre-K options that aims to make childcare accessible for limited-income families, according to Molly McGriff, senior director of United for Childcare, an initiative of the United Way of Central Maryland.

 

“That diversity benefits families as they're able to choose from all different settings that maybe look a little bit different, might be closer to home, might be able to meet their needs better,” she said.

 

The system’s struggles

So far, though, the mixed delivery plan is not meeting expectations.

 

School districts were expected to have 30% of their pre-K slots filled by private providers in the 2022-23 school year, but most school systems did not meet that requirement, according to Brianna January, an associate policy director for the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo).

 

And all but one local school district — Montgomery County Public Schools — requested a waiver after being unable to meet the requirement of having 35% of pre-K seats in the private sector for the 2023-24 school year, said Hise, of the Accountability and Implementation Board.

 

With districts expected to fill half their pre-K slots through private providers by the 2026-27 school year, districts find themselves under increasing pressure to strike deals with companies that provide that service.

 

“It’s proving to be a bit more challenging than I think a lot of folks really expected,” January said.

 

The creators of the Blueprint expected private childcare providers would be interested in joining the pre-K industry, January explained, but providers are not as eager as had been anticipated.

 

For one thing, there’s a money issue.

 

“We recognize that the reimbursement rate for [private] providers is not high enough to incentivize them to provide slots for these 3-year-olds,” said Del. Courtney Watson (D-9B). “That is a major problem across the state.”

 

In addition, childcare providers must overcome a number of barriers before they can actually qualify to offer pre-K.

 

For example, starting in the 2025-26 school year, pre-K teaching assistants will be required to obtain either an associate’s degree or a child development associate certificate. Pre-K teachers will be required to have a bachelor’s degree and hold teaching certification in early childhood education or be enrolled in a certification program.

 

The trouble is that some childcare providers will not be able to go to school and keep their businesses running at the same time, said Christina Peusch, executive director of the Maryland State Childcare Association.

 

“That is set up to fail,” Peusch said. “It’s not equitable.”

 

Another potential barrier is that private providers must adhere to Maryland EXCELS — the state’s quality rating and improvement system for childcare facilities. Bonuses ranging from $150 to $13,500 will be awarded to participating childcare programs on a rating scale of 1 to 5 based on program type, quality rating, and capacity.

 

St. Mary’s County has no private providers that are rated “EXCELS 5,” the highest possible ranking, said Kristen Paul, director of early childhood programs at The Parents’ Place of Maryland, which connects parents of children with disabilities and health care needs to resources.

 

“We don’t have enough pre-K slots right now,” Paul said. “We’ve got a gap.”

 

A space shortage?

On top of the struggles in finding private providers, some education experts are concerned there is not enough physical space in some school buildings to accommodate pre-K classrooms.

 

“I would love to have pre-K in our school,” said Jamie Miller, principal of Broadneck Elementary School in Anne Arundel County. “But our school building is very, very old and there's not a place for them. Every single classroom is full and at max capacity, so I don't have space right now.”

 

Shamoyia Gardiner, executive director of Strong Schools Maryland, an organization created to advocate for the passage of the Blueprint, said she’s worried about such space shortages.

 

For Maryland public schools to offer pre-K, the physical space in buildings must meet standards set by the state’s Interagency Commission on School Construction. But Gardiner noted the commission’s requirements were not aligned with the Blueprint during its creation.

 

That commission — which decides exactly which school construction projects the state will fund — uses a “blunt tool” of measuring the amount of square feet per student, said Lynne Harris, a member of the Montgomery County Board of Education. But that blunt instrument doesn’t take into account that pre-K classrooms have different requirements, such as a bathroom, Harris said. 

 

“Are they going to finally acknowledge that to build facilities to house the pre-K programming that is mandated by the Blueprint, it's going to require the [school construction commission] to relax?” she said.

 

Some private providers need more space, too, and the state has a grant program that aims to allow them to expand.

 

“The grant is highly competitive,” said Ruby Daniels, president of the Maryland State Family Child Care Association. “When you apply, you're actually competing with the [local education agencies], which is the public school. You're completely competing with Head Start, you're completely competing with childcare centers.”

 

In a letter sent to state leaders in November, MACo urged lawmakers to increase state aid to construct pre-K facilities and ease requirements to encourage more private providers to take part in the program.

 

This legislative session, the General Assembly is hoping to iron out some of the Blueprint’s wrinkles to ensure Maryland is living up to its promises of expanding and improving early childhood education, said Watson, the Democratic state delegate from Howard County.

 

January emphasized the county leaders she works with are dedicated to implementing the Blueprint and collaborating with state leaders to help expand pre-K successfully.

 

“We have to work together. We have to get it right,” January said. “County governments are really trying to be good partners and they want to make the Blueprint work. They want to see it successful.”

 

 

Capital News Service is a student-powered news organization run by the University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism. For 26 years, they have provided deeply reported, award-winning coverage of issues of import to Marylanders.

 


Common Sense for the Eastern Shore

It’s Not Your Grandfather’s Department of Justice

By John Christie • December 16, 2025
When I practiced law, much of my litigation involved issues arising under federal antitrust laws. The Department of Justice (DOJ) was my frequent adversary in court. In some cases, DOJ challenged a client’s conduct as anticompetitive. In others, they claimed an intended client merger would create a monopoly. Some of these DOJ court battles were won, others were not. Overall, I had great respect for DOJ lawyers. They were professional, well prepared, and dedicated to their mission of seeing justice done. They were courteous, honest, and forthright with the courts before which we argued our cases. In those days, without resorting to social media or press conferences, the DOJ spoke entirely through its court filings. Although as an advocate I took issue with various DOJ investigatory decisions as well as decisions to initiate litigation, I never thought politics was involved. Post-Watergate internal rules strictly limited communication with any figures at the White House. Not so, it seems, anymore. Beginning last January 20, all of this changed rapidly and spectacularly . On March 14, Trump triumphantly arrived at the main DOJ building in D.C. to be welcomed by a group of carefully selected VIPs. He was greeted by Pam Bondi, his chosen new attorney general, who exclaimed, “We are so proud to work at the directive (sic) of Donald Trump.” Bondi’s boast that the DOJ now worked at the president’s behest was something never said before and, in effect, surrendered the department’s long and proud independence. And Bondi’s comment was not an empty gesture. As chronicled by reporters Carol Leonnig and Aaron Davis in their new book, Injustice: How Politics and Fear Vanquished America’s Justice Department , within hours of being sworn in, Trump and his lieutenants began punishing those at the Justice Department who had investigated him or those he considered his political enemies. Career attorneys with years of experience under many administrations were fired or reassigned to lesser work, or they resigned. As Leonnig and Davis report, what followed was “the wholesale overthrow of the Justice Department as Trump insert[ed] his dutiful former defense attorneys and 2020 election deniers atop the department.” [Source: Injustice , p. xix.] In the place of years of experience, the new team appears credentialed simply by loyalty to the president’s causes. The DOJ’s conduct in court has since caused damage to judicial and public faith in the integrity and competence of the department. Just Security is an independent, non-partisan, daily digital law and policy journal housed in the Reiss Center on Law and Security at the New York University School of Law. Since January 20, it has documented federal judicial concerns about DOJ conduct. In 26 cases, judges raised questions about DOJ non-compliance with judicial orders and in more than 60 cases, judges expressed distrust of government-provided information and representations. This count was taken the day after a federal court dismissed the DOJ cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. [Source: Just Security , “The ‘Presumption of Regularity’ in Trump Administration Litigation,” Nov. 20, 2025.] As summarized by the Georgetown Law Center’s Steve Vladeck, “It’s one thing for the Department of Justice to so transparently pursue a politically motivated prosecution. But this one has been beset from the get-go with errors that remotely competent law students wouldn’t make. Indeed, it seems a virtual certainty that the Keystone Kops-like behavior of the relevant government lawyers can be traced directly to the political pressure to bring this case; there’s a reason why no prosecutors with more experience, competence, or integrity were willing to take it on.” [Source: One First , Nov. 24, 2025.] Rather than accept criticism and instead of trying to do better, Bondi’s DOJ and the Trump administration lash out in a fashion apparently aimed at demeaning the federal judiciary. At a recent Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, one of Trump’s former defense attorneys, attributed the Trump administration’s myriad losses in the lower federal courts to “rogue activist judges.” He added, “There’s a group of judges that are repeat players, and that’s obviously not by happenstance, that’s intentional, and it’s a war, man.” Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller decries each adverse ruling against the Trump administration as just part of a broader “judicial insurrection.” Not to be left behind, Trump himself regularly complains of “radical left lunatic” judges. In addition to the harm these comments inflict on the federal courts, their premise is simply not true. According to a survey by Vladeck, as of Nov. 14, there were 204 cases in which federal district courts have ruled on requests for preliminary relief against the Trump administration. In 154 of them, district judges granted either a temporary restraining order, a preliminary injunction, or both. Those 154 rulings came from 121 district judges appointed by seven presidents (including President Trump) in 29 district courts. In the 154 cases with rulings adverse to the Trump administration, 41 were presided over by 30 Republican-appointed judges, fully half of whom were appointed by President Trump. No, it is no longer your grandfather’s Department of Justice. John Christie was for many years a senior partner in a large Washington, D.C. law firm. He specialized in anti-trust litigation and developed a keen interest in the U.S. Supreme Court about which he lectures and writes.

Salisbury City Council Appoints Melissa Holland to Fill District 2 Seat

By CSES Staff • December 16, 2025
The Salisbury City Council has appointed longtime public servant Melissa D. Holland to fill the vacancy in District 2. Holland was selected on Dec. 1 after the council reviewed several applicants. A 27-year resident of Salisbury, Holland brings more than 20 years of experience in government, education, and administration. As executive assistant to the president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, she currently oversees operations, budgeting, communications, and planning. Before joining UMCES, Holland worked for nearly 11 years with the Wicomico County Council, gaining extensive experience in legislative procedure, constituent services, research, and budget preparation. Her background includes positions with the Wicomico County Board of Education, the State of Maryland’s Holly Center, and multiple early-learning programs. Approved by a 3-1 council vote, Holland was selected based on her administrative expertise and long-standing community involvement. (Salisbury’s City Council is now comprised of only women.) She has a bachelor’s degree in legal studies from Post University and an associate degree from Wor-Wic Community College. She has also served as PTA president at East Salisbury Elementary and Wicomico Middle School. In her application, Holland emphasized her commitment to maintaining transparency in city government and ensuring that District 2 residents remain informed and represented. “I plan to be well-informed on the issues that matter to the citizens of Salisbury and to listen to their concerns carefully,” she wrote. “I want to make a positive and lasting impact on our city.” Holland’s appointment restores the City Council to full membership as it faces debates over budgeting, infrastructure planning, and local governance initiatives. She is expected to begin constituent outreach immediately and participate fully in the selection of the next council president.

Democrats Ambushed in Hurlock Election

By CSES Staff • November 4, 2025
Voters in Hurlock have delivered sweeping changes in this year’s municipal election, as Republican and GOP-aligned candidates won key races there. The results mark a setback for Democrats and a significant political shift in a community that has historically leaned Democratic in state and federal contests. The outcome underscores how local organizing and turnout strategies can have an outsized impact in small-town elections. Analysts also suggest that long-term party engagement in municipal contests could shape voter alignment in future county and state races. Political analysts warn that ignoring municipal elections and ceding them to the GOP could hurt the Maryland Democratic Party in statewide politics. Turnout increased by approximately 17% compared with the 2021 municipal election, reflecting heightened local interest in the mayoral and council races. Incumbent Mayor Charles Cephas, a Democrat, was soundly defeated by At-Large Councilmember Earl Murphy, who won with roughly 230 votes to Cephas’s 144. In the At-Large Council race, Jeff Smith, an independent candidate backed by local Republicans, secured a 15-point win over Cheyenne Chase. In District 2, Councilmember Bonnie Franz, a Republican, was re-elected by 40 percentage points over challenger Zia Ashraf, who previously served on the Dorchester Democratic Central Committee. The only Democrat to retain a seat on the council was David Higgins, who was unopposed. The Maryland Republican Party invested resources and campaign attention in the Hurlock race, highlighting it on statewide social media and dispatching party officials, including Maryland GOP Chair Nicole Beus Harris, to campaign. Local Democrats emphasized support for Mayor Cephas through the Dorchester County Democratic Central Committee, but the Maryland Democratic Party did not appear to participate directly.

Giordano Sides with Ehrlich Over Hogan, Underscoring GOP Rift as Moore Widens Lead

By CSES Staff • November 4, 2025
In what political observers are calling a clear break from Maryland’s moderate Republican establishment, Wicomico County Executive Julie Giordano chose former Gov. Bob Ehrlich — not former Gov. Larry Hogan — as the guest of honor at her re-election fundraiser in late October. Billed as Giordano’s annual Harvest Party, her event drew conservative activists from across the lower Eastern Shore and featured Ehrlich as keynote speaker. This was immediately read by insiders as a signal that Giordano will embrace the party’s right-wing base ahead of 2026, distancing herself from Hogan’s more centrist, bipartisan image. “Bringing in Bob Ehrlich instead of Larry Hogan wasn’t accidental,” one longtime Republican strategist said. “It shows Giordano wants to plant her flag with the MAGA-aligned wing of the party, the same voters who now dominate Maryland’s Republican primary base.” Hogan, who has hinted at another run for governor, was notably absent from this year’s Tawes Crab and Clam Bake in Somerset County, a high-profile gathering long considered essential for statewide contenders. Coupled with Giordano’s public alignment with Ehrlich, Hogan’s absence has fueled speculation that his influence within Maryland’s GOP is slipping. Those doubts were amplified by new polling data. A statewide survey commissioned by the Baltimore Banner found Gov. Wes Moore (D) leading Hogan 45% to 37% in a hypothetical 2026 matchup, with 14% undecided. The poll, conducted by phone and web from Oct. 7–10 among more than 900 registered voters, carries a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points. The results suggest that while Hogan remains popular among moderates and independents, Moore continues to hold a firm advantage statewide, particularly among Democrats and younger voters. Giordano’s decision to align herself with Ehrlich rather than Hogan further illustrates the ideological divide defining Maryland Republicans heading into 2026. As the party drifts further to the right, analysts say Hogan’s brand of pragmatic centrism may no longer have a natural home in today’s GOP. For now, Ehrlich’s appearance in Salisbury is being seen as a symbolic moment, one that cements Giordano’s status as a leading figure in the state’s Trump-aligned movement and underscores how quickly the political winds have shifted. For Hogan, once seen as the Republican best positioned to reclaim the governor’s office, that shift may mark the end of an era.

New Congressional Map for Maryland and District 1?

By Jan Plotczyk • November 4, 2025
Can Maryland create a new congressional map that will flip the state’s sole Republican district to the Democrats? Gov. Wes Moore has created a Governor's Redistricting Advisory Commission to consider mid-cycle redistricting and Maryland has jumped into the redistricting fray. The commission will conduct public hearings, solicit public feedback, and present recommendations to the governor and Maryland General Assembly. “My commitment has been clear from day one — we will explore every avenue possible to make sure Maryland has fair and representative maps,” said Moore. “And we also need to make sure that, if the president of the United States is putting his finger on the scale to try to manipulate elections because he knows that his policies cannot win in a ballot box, then it behooves each and every one of us to be able to keep all options on the table to ensure that the voters’ voices can actually be heard .” Moore’s commission is one of those options — a response to Trump’s call to Republican-led states to create more GOP House districts before the 2026 midterm elections. Three GOP states — Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina — have completed a Trump gerrymander for a gain of seven seats and three more states — Indiana, Utah, and Ohio — could create new maps with a total of four additional Republican seats. That would make 11, should they withstand challenges. Democratic-led states made a lot of noise at first about countering these GOP efforts, but only California and Virginia have campaigns for new maps underway. California wants to flip five seats and Virginia hopes for up to four. Optimistically, that could add up to as many as nine. Maryland’s goal would be to add one Democratic seat. Other states on both sides could soon follow, in some cases taking advantage of existing redistricting deadlines or ongoing litigation. Maryland State Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Balto City) is not in favor of mid-cycle redistricting, calling it too dicey. “Simply put, it is too risky and jeopardizes Maryland’s ability to fight against the radical Trump administration. At a time where every seat in Congress matters, the potential for ceding yet another one to Republicans here in Maryland is simply too great,” Ferguson wrote in a letter to Senate Democrats. Rep. Andrew P. Harris (R-MD01), whose district would be targeted by redistricting, called the effort "the most partisan thing you could do." He whined, “It just wouldn’t be fair.” Harris warned that any redistricting could backfire on the Democrats. “We will take this to court, it will go as high as necessary, and in the end, a judge could draw a map that actually has two or three Republican congressmen,” Harris said. “I’d caution the Democrats, be careful what you wish for.” Harris and his wife, Maryland GOP Chair Nicole Beus Harris, have perhaps already worked out a strategy. The Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission, last constituted by Gov. Martin O’Malley in 2011, will begin its work this month. The five-member commission includes: Chair: Senator Angela Alsobrooks Senate President Bill Ferguson or designee Speaker Adrienne A. Jones or designee Former Attorney General Brian Frosh Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss “We have a president that treats our democracy with utter contempt. We have a Republican party that is trying to rig the rules in response to their terrible polling,” said Sen. Alsobrooks. “Let me be clear: Maryland deserves a fair map that represents the will of the people. That’s why I’m proud to chair this commission. Our democracy depends on all of us standing up in this moment.” Will Maryland’s First District finally be competitive? Can we at long last replace “AWOL Andy” Harris? Stay tuned…. Jan Plotczyk spent 25 years as a survey and education statistician with the federal government, at the Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics. She retired to Rock Hall.

Residents Turn Out for Offshore Wind Information Session

By CSES Staff • November 4, 2025
In strong numbers, local residents turned out last month for a community information session on offshore wind hosted by the Alliance for Offshore Wind at the Ocean Pines library. The forum heard from industry experts, environmental advocates, and labor leaders to discuss how offshore wind projects can support jobs, clean energy, and coastal resilience along Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Featured were Sam Saluto of Oceantic, Jim Strong of the United Steelworkers, Ron Larsen of Sea Ink Solutions, and Jim Brown of the Audubon Society, all of whom emphasized the long-term environmental and economic benefits of wind development off Maryland’s coast. Speakers outlined how the project, once completed, is expected to create hundreds of high-paying jobs, generate clean power for tens of thousands of homes, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels that cause pollution and coastal erosion. “The potential here is extraordinary,” said Saluto, highlighting Oceantic’s ongoing work to ensure safety and sustainability standards remain at the highest level. “We’re not just talking about wind turbines. We’re talking about revitalizing local economies and protecting the Shore’s way of life.” Union representative Jim Strong echoed that sentiment, noting that Maryland’s labor community sees offshore wind as a chance to rebuild domestic manufacturing capacity while giving workers access to strong wages and long-term stability. Environmental voices, including Jim Brown of the Audubon Society, focused on how properly sited wind projects can reduce carbon emissions while coexisting with marine wildlife and migratory bird patterns. While most of the evening centered on data and community questions, the event briefly turned tense when Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan, who is leading a lawsuit challenging Maryland’s offshore wind plans, attempted to question the panel. The mayor appeared to lose his train of thought mid-sentence and later cast doubt on the reality of climate change, drawing visible concern from several attendees. Meehan, a New Yorker who moved to Ocean City in 1971 and has held public office since 1985, has become one of the region’s most vocal opponents of offshore wind. His critics argue the lawsuit represents an effort to stall progress rather than engage with the facts presented by energy, labor, and environmental experts. Despite the brief exchange, the overall tone of the evening was forward-looking. Residents lingered after the formal discussion to review informational materials, speak with industry representatives, and learn about opportunities for community involvement. For many, the message was clear: Maryland’s transition to clean energy is not only feasible, it’s already underway, and the Eastern Shore stands to benefit.
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