Education Reform: Blueprint Bill Veto Override Effort

In March 2020 the Maryland House and Senate passed the “Blueprint Bill” (HB1300/SB1000) which would have implemented the substantial public education reforms suggested by the Kirwan Commission. The reforms were aimed at providing an excellent public education for all children living in Maryland regardless of their zipcode, and providing additional support to those living in concentrating poverty. Research shows that the suggested reforms would provide more people with opportunities for good jobs, and decrease crime and incarceration. Unfortunately, this bill was vetoed in May by the Governor who stated concerns about the expense at this time of the COVID crisis. However, we question whether a veto was necessary, since the Blueprint bill already contained a “pause button”, which delayed implementation in any year in which state revenues declined by 7.5% or more over the previous year (which certainly would have been triggered this year). MAJR will be working with Strong Schools Maryland and dozens of other organizations in the “Blueprint Coalition” to override the Governors veto.

The main components of the Blueprint bill are:

  1. provide quality early childhood education: preKindergarten for all 4 year olds and preK for 3 year olds living in concentrated poverty,
  2. provide a diverse and qualified teaching force and give them the resources and pay they deserve,
  3. provide more resources to those who need them most: for example, areas of concentrated poverty would be provided with Judy centers to serve the needs of family and children from birth to school age, and community schools would provide wrap around services such as health care,
  4. provide better pathways to good jobs, not only toward college preparedness, but also in areas such as vocational/technical training and trade certification
  5. provide oversight and support for improvement in places that implementation is not working.

The Blueprint bill also contains more support for behavioral health issues and provisions to make a shift toward a restorative justice model. MAJR believes this would be an important step toward closing off the “school to prison pipeline” in which discipline issues, are handled by suspensions and expulsions, eventually leading to a complete failure to provide a child with the tools they need to lead a productive and happy live.

The Blueprint bill is expensive and would be phased in over a ten period. However, research shows that the money spent on reforms like providing quality early childhood education to children living in areas of concentrated poverty is an investment that pays back many fold. Children are able to become adults with good jobs who can pay more in taxes. They are less likely to to need special education or services from the state. The biggest financial payback to the state is the reduced cost of incarceration.

MAJR will be sending out an email to our members to ask everyone to email their legislators in support of a veto override. This email will most likely go out toward the end of the year in preparation for the January session, but could go out earlier if the legislators decide to have a special session for veto overrides.

The correlation between the failure to provide a good public education and the flow into prisons is well documented. The reading level of 3rd/4th graders in a community can be used to accurately predict the percentage of the population who will end up in jail/prison.

If these education reform issues are of interest to you please consider joining the MAJR’s Front Door Work Group or Strong Schools Maryland.  If you work with a group that is working to override the Blueprint veto, you might consider joining the Blueprint Coalition which can be contacted at the link below.

Restorative Practices in Schools.

Principal Matt Hornbeck gave this inspiring talk on “Restorative Practices in Schools” to the Juvenile Justice Team at MAJR.  Matt Hornbeck is introduced by his father David Hornbeck, former Maryland State Superintendent of Schools, and founder of Strong Schools Maryland. Restorative practices have been shown to create strong positive community spirit in schools which increase retention. They reduce the number of juveniles who end up in the criminal justice system.  We hope these practices will become widespread in Maryland schools.

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