Session Ends with Fairer Tax Code and Improved Education Proposal

And other legislative updates in this week’s Up the Street

SINE DIE EDITION

Balloons and confetti fall at the end of the legislative session at midnight Monday.

Session Ends with Fairer Tax Code and Improved Education Proposal

The budget and fallout from federally orchestrated chaos absorbed nearly all the attention this session, as educators made sure their voices rose above the noise in Annapolis to protect funding for education and establish greater financial stability over the long term. Educators came to the table with strategies to advance policy conversations that will result in a stronger educator pipeline, a more robust Grow Your Own program, and further action on important issues that impact educators’ professional lives and teaching and learning conditions. 

Against a backdrop of federal confusion that leaves Maryland’s financial forecast challenging and fluid, the General Assembly adjourned sine die at midnight Monday, with a balanced budget that included more support for K-12 education than was originally proposed. Lawmakers took necessary actions to reduce a $3 billion deficit in the $67 billion fiscal year 2026 budget designed to support education, the economy, and the social safety net. On Monday the House voted (101-39) and the Senate voted (33-14) for a budget that was negotiated in a conference committee to resolve the few differences between the two chambers’ proposals.

Senate Budget and Taxation Committee Chair Guy Guzzone (D-Howard) and House Appropriations Chair Delegate Ben Barnes (D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel), members of the conference committee, spoke favorably about the budget before their chambers voted. “We made sure our core programs are solid and funded,” Barnes said. “In the process, we’ve been grownups—a big difference, I think from what you see at the federal level. We know we had to take cuts, and we took about $2 billion in cuts, but we also raised revenues to make sure our core values are protected and funded.” Guzzone said the budget represents “our shared values and priorities.”

The Trump Administration’s unpredictable actions led lawmakers to include a provision that the Department of Budget and Management report to them at any time that cuts in federal aid or other reductions reach $1 billion. “The idea simply is, as we move forward when things may be happening to us from Washington, we’ll be getting prepared and ready to be having discussions and understanding exactly all the impacts,” Guzzone said.

Between the budget and its companion bill, the Budget Reconciliation Financing Act (BRFA), House Bill 352/Senate Bill 321, Maryland now has a fairer tax code that asks more of those who earn upwards of $500,000, and reduces or leaves unchanged the income tax liability from the majority of regular Marylanders, according to legislative leaders. According to the governor’s office, 94% of Marylanders will see no change or a reduction in their personal income taxes under this plan. Key revenue provisions include:

Between the continued unpredictability and volatility of federal actions, along with some costs that were ultimately shifted from the state level to the local level, challenges will remain ahead for local school system budgets. Look for further analysis of local budget pictures in future editions of Up the Street.

Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act Passes, Improved over Initial Bill

The governor’s Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act, House Bill 504/Senate Bill 429, which addresses the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future and related funding and policy in fiscal year 2026 and beyond, passed the House (101-38) and Senate (34-13) in a much improved form compared to the original bill. As MSEA fought to achieve, the bill restores the Blueprint’s scheduled funding for community schools and eliminates the double cut to students in poverty and multilingual learners that would have been enacted by the original bill due to how a proposed delay in collaborative time was crafted. Grow Your Own educator programs to address the educator shortage will be funded at the highest level ever at $19 million, marking a significant new investment in strengthening the educator pipeline. The bill contains a three-year policy pause and two-year funding pause to collaborative time, delaying the phase up of that critical initiative to begin in the 2028-2029 school year, instead of the 2029-2030 year as in the original bill. Under the passed bill there are no cuts in FY26, resulting in $217 million in restored state and local funding.

MSEA President Paul Lemle noted the major progress reflected by the final bill: “Educators appreciate the work of legislators to restore more than $2 billion in funding for our students over the next four years amid extremely challenging budget times and a constant stream of engineered chaos from D.C.,” Lemle said. “This session has seen dramatic progress restoring the vast majority of the proposed cuts to our schools and ensures that everyone pays their fair share and more sustainably funds our public schools and services.”

Additional bill language allows a union to sponsor the Grow Your Own programs that expand the pathway for education support professionals who choose to pursue becoming a teacher, sets aside $500,000 for an outside entity to explore innovative scheduling models, and creates a national recruitment campaign and relocation stipends for educators who move to Maryland.

As a financial precaution amid federal fiscal chaos, if general fund revenue estimates fall below a certain level, the governor is required to introduce a budget with flat funding of major education aid. MSEA will be closely following any likelihood of this trigger being enacted later this year and in advance of the next regular legislative session.

OTHER KEY ISSUES

The power of educator voices achieved other victories this session, expanding antibias training and programs, protecting public funds for public schools, and more. 

Educator Safety

One of MSEA’s priorities was to improve educator safety The Davis Martinez Public Employee Safety and Health Act, Senate Bill 26/House Bill 176, will enact commonsense steps to help improve school safety. MSEA President Paul Lemle testified for the legislation, which establishes a unit in the Division of Labor and Industry to address violence and threats in all public workplaces, including schools, to maintain records of incidents and develop violence prevention programs. Sponsors of the legislation are Senator Ben Kramer (D-Montgomery) and Delegate Jared Solomon (D-Montgomery).

Educator Pathway Expansion

Another bill that MSEA strongly supported to expand the pathways for a teacher to obtain a license is on its way to the governor for his signature. House Bill 888, sponsored by Delegate Kris Fair (D-Frederick), provides additional high-quality pathways to teacher licensure that will benefit the state’s workforce and students. The edTPA assessment that is frequently relied on for licensure has been found to contain racial bias that may affect the test’s scoring, has limited efficacy to assess performance, and poses a financial burden for aspiring educator applicants. This legislation has the potential to ease a high quality candidate’s entry into the profession.

Promoting Antibias, Justice

As a disturbing rise in hate crimes is seen in our state, educators have a critical role to play as leaders within the school community. MSEA supported the establishment of antibias training for educators in the 2024 legislative session last year. Extending this training to county board members will help ensure that those making critical education policy decisions are well informed of their role in preventing bias, prejudice, and hate. Crossfiled legislation, House Bill 324/Senate Bill 293, sponsored by Delegate Marc Korman (D-Montgomery) and Senator Brian Feldman (D-Montgomery), respectively, passed this year.

The Holocaust Assistance Grant, House Bill 71, sponsored by Delegate Mark Edelson (D-Baltimore City), establishes a $50,000 grant program in the State Department of Education to assist local school systems with Holocaust education and authorizes a local school system to apply for a grant to be used for teacher training or teaching materials.

Supported by MSEA, Senate Bill 68/House Bill 197 requiresthe State Department of Education to develop a comprehensive plan by July 1, 2026 to establish “Restorative Practices Schools” that integrate restorative practices into the school’s daily practices. Restorative practices are essential to create a positive, safe, equitable, and healthy school environment and culture. A large body of evidence suggests that restorative practices build and improve relationships that foster strong school communities and dismantle the school to prison pipeline. Senator Ben Brooks (D-Baltimore County) and Delegate Cheryl Pasteur (D-Baltimore County) sponsored the legislation.

Bad Bills Put to Bed: Keep Public Money for Public Schools, Support Blueprint Goals

MSEA was poised to oppose bad ideas that fortunately died before emerging from their committee assignments. For example, Senate Bill 673/House Bill 1447 was a proposal to divert $250,000 of state funds and MSDE resources to private schools. Given the goal not to delay for too long getting to a 60:40 ratio of classroom time to collaborative time, the backwards proposal to require teachers to be in class 80% of the time was developed to undercut an important long-term, research-backed improvement to working and learning conditions. Senate Bill 791/HB732 never emerged from their chambers’ committees.

More to Come: Respect for Education Support Professionals

While one priority education support professional (ESP) bill, the Davis Martinez Public Employee Safety and Health Act, passed, other ESP-focused bills stalled out. The push to get an ESP on the State Board of Education will continue. Senate Bill 712/House Bill 923 made inroads this session, and MSEA will keep up pressure to see ESPs appropriately represented in policy-making. While legislation to establish a $25 per hour starting wage for ESPs also did not advance, House and Senate leadership agreed to mandate a report from MSDE on ESP wages. This data will help with future legislative and bargaining campaigns.

Educator Engagement Continues to Drive Success

The victories this session owe much to MSEA members and activists who used their voices to advocate for the issues important to educators and students. Whether through testimony at hearings, visits to legislators’ offices at MSEA’s Day of Action or other times, or emails and phone calls, educator voices matter to lawmakers. Every session, education activists make an important contribution to advance lobbying efforts and win important victories. This session saw dramatic turnarounds in what could have been devastating changes to programs supporting the most vulnerable students and an overdue restructuring of the tax code to establish new revenue sources for sustainable funding. MSEA will continue to be part of the conversations to end the educator shortage and to improve implementation of and funding for the Blueprint at the state and local level. Educators’ voices must continue to be heard so that every student has a world-class education that provides them the opportunity to pursue their dreams no matter who they are or where they live.