Maryland Blueprint &
Accountability & Implementation Board
Learn about AEMS's advocacy work on Maryland's historic "Blueprint for Maryland's Future" education reform bill. Explore the history of this bill and learn how you can get involved with shaping the future of Maryland's public education to ensure it includes robust arts education for ALL Maryland public school students.
ABOUT THE BLUEPRINT
The Blueprint for Maryland's Future is a landmark piece of education reform legislation. In 2016, Governor Larry Hogan appointed William ‘Brit’ Kirwan to lead the Commission charged with making recommendations for the reform of Maryland's K-12 public education system. In 2019, the Commission completed its work and made its recommendations to the General Assembly of Maryland. Among the transformational recommendations made by the commission which resulted in 2020's HB1300 were:
​
-
More wrap-around school services like school-based health centers
-
Full-day pre-K for eligible 3 & 4 year old
-
Literacy intervention for K-3 studentsFunds needed to support students experiencing poverty & attending schools with concentrations of poverty
-
Better pay, more planning time, and a new career ladder system for teachers
-
Create more assistance to help teachers get certified and provide better teacher training.
-
More pathways for to be college and career ready by graduation, for all students, including English Language Learners and students in Special Education programs.
On March 17, 2020, the Maryland General Assembly passed The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future with an overwhelming majority. Despite this affirmation by the legislature, and having been responsible for empaneling the Blueprint Commission, on May 7, 2020 Larry Hogan vetoed the Blueprint, citing the economic downturn due to COVID-19. On February 8, 2021, the Maryland General Assembly overrode Governor Larry Hogan's veto, passing the Blueprint into law. The law called for the creation of an Accountability & Implementation Board to ensure the faithful execution of this landmark reform bill.
ABOUT THE ACCOUNTABILITY & IMPLEMENTATION BOARD
The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future Accountability & Implementation Board (AIB) is an independent unit of State government that was created to ensure that the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is implemented as intended. ​The AIB holds State and local governments accountable for implementing the Blueprint with fidelity and evaluates whether the Blueprint’s outcomes are being achieved. ​
​
On December 1, 2022, the AIB adopted a Comprehensive Implementation Plan to guide State and local entities in implementing the Blueprint for Maryland's Future and achieving the intended outcomes. AEMS had a key role in providing feedback to ensure that the interests of the arts were represented in the final plan. Providing a robust block of testimony and targeted suggestions to include the arts, AEMS was able to accomplish the following changes finalized in the Comprehensive Implementation Plan:
​
-
In Pillar 3: a change was made to specifically identify Foundation formula funds and Concentration of Poverty grant funds to meet the requirements of subjects areas listed in COMAR, including the arts. The language includes the verbatim words: "including the arts."
-
In Pillar 4: arts programming is specifically listed as one of the wraparound services to be provided by community schools.
​
When not explicitly prioritized, the arts often take a back seat to other subjects and priorities despite their disproportionately positive impact on children. We need your advocacy help to avoid the unintended consequences of de-investment in the arts if they are not explicitly uplifted and protected. Education without the arts is NOT a world-class education!
LOCAL IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
Both the Maryland State Department of Education and the local school districts (known as Local Education Agencies/LEAs) were mandated to create local implementation plans by Wednesday, March 15, 2023. Equipped with guidance from AEMS on how to ensure the arts are elevated through this local implementation planning process, arts education advocates around the state reached out to their LEAs and gave recommendations for incorporating the arts.
Join the AEMS' Slack Space to share your discoveries as you read through your LEA’s plan!
​
​
Using the list below, you can read through your LEA’s plan to see if they honored your advocacy for the arts!
​
Here are AEMS’s recommendations to cross-reference with the draft plan.
UPCOMING...
LEAs will be submitting the next round of their implementation plans in March 2024. Stay tuned for more recommendations and advocacy alerts from AEMS in the fall.
Local Education Agency &
Implementation Coordinator(s)
Wendy Main
​
Dr. Shannon Pugh
​
Sandi Jacobs, Melissa Broome
​
Anthony Navarro, Joe Sampson
​
Dr. Tara Downes
​
Angie McCauslin & Jon O'Neal
​
Wes Zimmerman & Megan Frunzi
​
Christina Miller
​
Tim Brooke & Regina Teat
​
Dr. Sarah Sirgo
​
Dr. Nicole Miller
​
Katie Ridgway
​
Tim Guy
​
Dr. Karen Couch
Pat Merritt
Tom Porter
​
Janine Bacquie
​
Dr. Kara Libby
​
Dr. Matthew Kibler
​
Linda Johnson, Jill Holland
​
Dr. Jeffrey Maher & Sarah Lorek
​
Dr. Helga Einhorn
​
Dr. Kara Burhans
​
Micah Stauffer
​
Natalie Bennett
190 W. Ostend St.
Baltimore, MD
21230