§ 7–1A-02
Statutes in effect as of October 1, 2026.
Md. Code Ann., Educ. § 7-1A-02 (2026)
Title 7. Public Schools
Subtitle 1A. Publicly Funded Full-Day Prekindergarten Programs
§ 7–1A-02LinkCopy Citation
(a)
(1)
A local department of social services or a local health department shall provide a parent or guardian with oral and written notice that their child may be eligible for publicly funded prekindergarten programs if the parent or guardian:
(i)
Applied for economic services with the local department of social services or the local health department; and
(ii)
Has a child who will be 3 or 4 years old by September 1 of the next academic year.
(2)
The notice required under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall include:
(i)
Contact information for the enrollment office of the local school system and the Division of Early Childhood Development in the Department; and
(ii)
Information on the existence of the child care scholarship for before and after full–day prekindergarten programming and the possibility of eligibility for State aid.
(3)
(i)
On or before April 1 of each year, each local department of social services shall report to the Department of Human Services and each local health department shall report to the Maryland Department of Health on the number of parents who were given a notification before September 1 of the current school year and subsequently enrolled their child in a publicly funded prekindergarten program in the current school year.
(ii)
On or before May 1 each year, the Maryland Department of Health, in collaboration with the Department of Human Services, shall compile the information reported under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph and submit a summary report to the General Assembly, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article.
(b)
Each local department of social services or a local health department shall provide to each local school system the name and contact information for each parent or guardian provided notice under subsection (a) of this section.
(c)
The requirements set forth in § 7–101(b) of this title regarding the domicile of a child and the residency of the child’s parent or guardian shall apply to prekindergarten programs established by county boards as required by this subtitle.