Maryland State Board of Education limits dual enrollment courses
The Maryland State Board of Education on Tuesday voted to limit the number of dual enrollment credits students can receive each semester.
As part of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state’s extensive education reform plan, school districts must pay for community college courses in which high school students enroll.
Superintendents have expressed concern to the state board and the Accountability & Implementation Board, charged with oversight of the Blueprint, that they are struggling to afford the tuition. Lawmakers tweaked the Blueprint during this year’s legislative session to allow the two state boards to limit course offerings to two classes each semester.
“It’s one of the great successes of the Blueprint so far,” said Phil Lasser, executive director of the superintendent’s office. “Here is a way to make sure students still get to take advantage of those dual enrollment courses at no cost to the student or their family … and make the budgets work for [school districts].”
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Baltimore County Public Schools already scaled back paying for secondary students to take courses at the Community College of Baltimore County. Under the policy change, only certain juniors and seniors can take the courses for free.
Tight budget constraints also have led some school districts to propose cutting arts and sports programs to afford Blueprint programs as federal funds granted during the coronavirus pandemic expire. For example, school boards in Cecil and Howard counties have proposed cutting music programs to balance their budgets.
State education policies require fine arts instruction in elementary and middle schools, said Rachel McGrain and Peter Dayton, of the Arts Education in Maryland Schools Alliance.
Some districts have additional policies protecting the arts, such as Baltimore’s strategic plan for fine arts.
There’s no clear consequence for districts that aren’t following state policies, Dayton said, and districts might not know it’s required by state standards.
“Contrary to the misperception of the arts being a superfluous or extra activity, it is a core requirement in the same way as other core subject areas like [English] and math that has specific regulations around what students are entitled to receive in our public schools,” he said.
Dayton and McGrain expected school districts would try to cut fine arts courses when Blueprint programs ramped up. They successfully advocated for adding arts education to the Blueprint’s implementation plan.
