Maryland’s Education Focus and the Funds to Support It
After years of ardent advocacy, an adequately and equitably-funded public education system is now a reality. Funding in the next two fiscal years (FY21 | FY22) will come from three separate "buckets" of money to address the decades of underinvestment…
2019 Legislative Updates
2019 Legislative Session: Foundation Laid for Future Progress, But Critical Decisions – and Funding – Put on Hold The 2019 legislative session started with new faces, new energy, and new promise. But when the clock struck midnight on Sine Die,…
Support legislation that promotes fair discipline practices in schools.
SCHOOL DISCIPLINE: ACY will oppose legislation that overtly or covertly discriminates against children with disabilities or children of color. ACY will oppose legislation that seeks to increase the use of police force in schools or increase the use of punitive discipline…
Advocate for adequate and equitable funding for Maryland public schools with a specific focus on ensuring that funding for education prioritizes racial equity.
SCHOOL FINANCE & THE KIRWIN COMMISSION: With the extension of the Kirwan Commission’s Final Report until 2019 which will provide a detailed educational cost analysis, ACY will continue to monitor proposed legislation that addresses funding for schools in Maryland. We…
Ensure that Maryland public schools receive adequate and equitable funding (Kirwan Commission)
Kirwan Commission Updates September 30, 2017 It is an ongoing commitment of ours to ensure that all schools and districts across Maryland have the adequate and equitable funding they need to educate all of Maryland’s children. In 2016, the Maryland…
Advocate for school discipline policies that fairly, equitably, and appropriately respond to student behavior and foster positive school climate.
It is imperative that schools throughout Maryland engender positive school climate and adopt discipline policies and practices that that fairly, appropriately, and equitably respond to student behaviors, rather than exclude children from school and criminalize minor incidents. Schools must implement…
Advocate for full funding of public education through the state budget and legislative process
ACY will continue to monitor legislation related to school funding this legislative session. We will push adequate and equitable funding and will actively oppose legislation that would cut funds to public schools or use public money to fund non-public schools. We…
2017 Legislation to Watch: Education
ACY’s main education priorities during this legislative session fall into two categories: (1) Funding and (2) School Climate and Discipline. We will continue to work for legislative and policy changes that will aim to limit cuts to education funding advocate…
Support legislation aimed at reforming school discipline policies to improve school climate and end the criminalization of children
Advocates for Children and Youth is committed to making every school in Maryland a place where young people can thrive- both academically and emotionally, and where all members of the school community feel safe and respected. Establishing statewide policies for…
Support legislation to establish a Commission that will revise the current education funding formula to ensure adequate and equitable funding statewide, so that all students may have the opportunity to achieve academically.
This Commission will support the work Advocates for Children and Youth is doing to ensure that the funding formula provides adequate resources to school districts so that all students, especially those with special needs, such as students with disabilities, low…
Advocate for full funding of public education through the state budget and legislative process. Secure an increase and equitable funding for Maryland schools by participating in multi-faceted advocacy efforts.
Advocates for Children and Youth will oppose cuts to public education and advocate for adequate education funding for schools and students across Maryland. Updates: HB453 & HB1343/SB706 - Maryland Education Credit HB1213 - Broadening Options and Opportunity for Students and Teachers (BOOST)…
2016 Legislation to Watch: Education
HB668/SB584 - Preschool Development Grants - Expansion Grants - Required State Funding In 2014, Maryland was awarded a federal Preschool Development Grant, equal to $15 million per year over four years, which would expand access to prekindergarten for four year…
Secure Full State Operating and Capital Funding for Maryland’s Public Schools
ACTION ALERT: To send a letter to legislators urging them to restore education funding, click here. The public school funding formula, including the inflationary factor and Geographic Cost of Living Index (GCEI), must be protected. The Governor has proposed…
Oppose Legislative Efforts to Regulate School Disciplinary Policies and Practices
Advocates for Children and Youth supports the Maryland State Board of Education and State Department of Education in their work to create, implement and enforce policies that promote appropriate and meaningful discipline practices, eliminate disparities, and keep students in school…
Promote School-Based Behavioral Health
Students throughout the state have significant unmet behavioral health needs. To succeed in school, they need ready access to mental health care, substance use prevention, and programs to promote well-being. When children’s social-emotional-behavioral needs are met, they encounter fewer barriers…
Oppose Public Funding for Private and Religious Schools
Maryland’s lawmakers should continue to focus on funding public education, not private or religious schools. Vouchers and tax credits that benefit non-public schools divert money from an already strained budget with no assurance that low-income children will benefit. Moreover, private…
Legislation to Watch: EDUCATION
After-School and Summer Opportunity Funding March 5, 2015 The Maryland Education Coalition, of which Advocates for Children and Youth is a member, submitted testimony in support of SB691-Maryland After-School and Summer Opportunity Fund Program - Funding Requirement. The bill establishes…
Support the inclusion of behavioral health as part of school health services
HB639/SB679 – Community-Partnered School-Based Mental Health Task Force Creates a task force to develop recommendations to increase community-based mental health partnerships with schools. Why this bill is important: Advocates for Children and Youth Supports this bill because it highlights the…
Advance Pre-K expansion
HB297/SB332 – Pre-Kindergarten Expansion Act of 2014 Expands the Preschool for All pilot program eligibility from 185% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) to 300% FPL. The bills also require the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to including universal…
Create a short-term task force to develop a plan for community-partnered school-based mental health centers
HB639/SB679 – Community-Partnered School-Based Mental Health Task Force Creates a task force to develop recommendations to increase community-based mental health partnerships with schools. Why this bill is important: Advocates for Children and Youth Supports this bill because it highlights the…