In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated.
“Cost of quality” means the per–pupil amount provided under § 5–229 of this article.
“Early childhood educator career ladder” means the career ladder for private provider prekindergarten educators established by the Department under § 7–1A–08 of this subtitle.
“Eligible prekindergarten provider” includes an:
Eligible public provider; and
Eligible private provider.
“Eligible private provider” means a community–based early learning program that:
Is licensed in the State;
Does not charge more tuition for full–day prekindergarten than the cost of quality; and
Meets the requirements under § 7–1A–04 of this subtitle.
“Eligible private provider” includes the Ulysses Currie Head Start Program under § 5–231 of this article.
“Eligible public provider” means an early learning program that:
Is provided by a county board at a public school; and
Meets the requirements under § 7–1A–04 of this subtitle.
“Full–day prekindergarten” means an early learning program with a six and one–half hour school day.
“Prekindergarten program” means an early learning program at an eligible prekindergarten provider.
“Prekindergarten provider hub” means a coordinated partnership between eligible prekindergarten providers and other entities established by the Department under § 7–1A–09 of this subtitle.
“Prekindergarten slot” means the available space for a child to attend a prekindergarten program.
“Tier I child” means a child:
Who is 3 or 4 years old;
Whose family income is less than or equal to 300% of the federal poverty level; or
Who is a homeless youth; and
Whose family chooses to enroll the child in full–day prekindergarten.
“Tier II child” means a child:
Who is 4 years old;
In fiscal year 2026, whose family income is more than 300% but not more than 360% of the federal poverty level;
In fiscal year 2027, whose family income is more than 300% but not more than 450% of the federal poverty level; and
In fiscal year 2028 and in each fiscal year thereafter, whose family income is more than 300% but not more than 600% of the federal poverty level; and
Whose family chooses to enroll the child in full–day prekindergarten.
“Tier III child” means a child:
Who is 4 years old;
Whose family income is more than 600% of the federal poverty level; and
Whose family chooses to enroll the child in full–day prekindergarten.
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:
Applied for economic services with the local department of social services or the local health department; and
Has a child who will be 3 or 4 years old by September 1 of the next academic year.
The notice required under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall include:
Contact information for the enrollment office of the local school system and the Division of Early Childhood Development in the Department; and
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Except as provided under subsection (b) of this section, a county board shall ensure that:
Beginning in the 2024–2025 school year, prekindergarten slots provided by eligible private providers shall account for at least 10% of the total prekindergarten slots provided by eligible prekindergarten providers in each county;
The proportion of eligible private provider prekindergarten slots in each county increases by 10 percentage points every school year, until, in the 2028–2029 school year, eligible private provider prekindergarten slots account for at least 50% of eligible prekindergarten provider prekindergarten slots in each county; and
In each year after the 2028–2029 school year, the proportion of eligible private provider prekindergarten slots in each county shall continue to constitute at least 50% of eligible prekindergarten provider prekindergarten slots in each county.
The Department shall issue a waiver from the requirements of this section to a county board if:
All families in the county who desire to enroll their eligible children with eligible prekindergarten providers are able to do so; or
After reasonable cross–jurisdictional or regional efforts, there are too few eligible private providers to meet the minimum requirements of this section; and
The county board demonstrates to the Department that it has made a good faith effort to fully embrace the mixed delivery system, including by adopting a memorandum of understanding in accordance with § 7–1A–05 of this subtitle.
The Department may exclude by annual waiver Tier I children who are 3 years old in a county from the calculation under subsection (a) of this section until the 2031–2032 school year.
The Department may exclude by annual waiver Tier I children who are 4 years old in a county from the calculation under subsection (a) of this section until the 2028–2029 school year.
The Department shall establish waiver application procedures to carry out the provisions of this subsection.
Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection, all eligible prekindergarten providers shall include structural elements that are evidence–based and nationally recognized as important for ensuring program quality, including:
High staff qualifications, including:
Beginning in the 2027–2028 school year, eligible public provider teachers who, at a minimum, hold:
State certification for teaching in early childhood education; or
A bachelor’s degree in any field and are pursuing residency through the Maryland Approved Alternative Preparation Program, which includes early childhood coursework, clinical practice, and evidence of pedagogical content knowledge;
Beginning in the 2027–2028 school year, eligible public provider teaching assistants who have at least:
A Child Development Associate (CDA) certificate;
An associate’s degree; or
On July 1, 2024, documented experience of actively serving as a teaching assistant in a publicly funded prekindergarten classroom for a minimum of 5 years for at least 20 hours per week and 180 days per year; and
Beginning in the 2025–2026 school year, eligible private provider educators who meet the requirements of the early childhood educator career ladder;
Professional development for all staff;
A student–to–classroom personnel ratio of no more than 10 to 1 in each class;
Class sizes of no more than 20 students per classroom;
A full–day prekindergarten program;
Inclusion of students with disabilities to ensure access to and full participation in all program opportunities;
For at least 1 year before a student’s enrollment in kindergarten, learning environments that:
Are aligned with State Early Learning and Development Standards;
Use evidence–based curricula; and
Use instruction methods that are:
Developmentally appropriate; and
Culturally and linguistically responsive;
Individualized accommodations and supports for all students;
Instructional staff salaries and benefits that are comparable to the salaries and benefits of instructional staff employed by the county board of the county in which the early learning program is located;
Program evaluation to ensure continuous program improvement;
On–site or accessible comprehensive services for students;
Community partnerships that promote access to comprehensive services for families of students; and
Evidence–based health and safety standards.
An eligible prekindergarten provider that is a Montessori school or Montessori program shall include all of the structural elements listed in paragraph (1) of this subsection except the following:
For staff qualifications, the eligible prekindergarten provider shall employ teachers who:
Hold a bachelor’s degree in any field; and
Hold a Montessori credential issued by:
The Association Montessori Internationale;
The American Montessori Society; or
A program accredited by the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education; and
For the student–to–classroom personnel ratio, the prekindergarten provider shall maintain a student–to–classroom personnel ratio of:
No more than 10 to 1, with a maximum of 20 students per classroom if all of the students are under the age of 5 years; and
No more than 14 to 1, with a maximum of 28 students per classroom if some of the students are at least 5 years old.
For an eligible prekindergarten provider in the Ulysses Currie Head Start Program under § 5–231 of this article, if a structural element listed in paragraph (1) of this subsection conflicts with a federal requirement for the Ulysses Currie Head Start Program, a prekindergarten provider in the Ulysses Currie Head Start Program shall follow the federal requirements and is exempt from the conflicting structural element.
In addition to the requirements listed in subsection (a) of this section, an eligible prekindergarten provider shall:
If the provider is an eligible private provider, achieve a quality rating level of 3 in the Maryland EXCELS program and publish that quality rating in a publicly available manner, determined by the Department;
If the provider is an eligible public provider, achieve a quality rating level of 4 in the Maryland EXCELS program and publish that quality rating in a publicly available manner, determined by the Department;
Submit to the Department a plan to achieve a quality rating level 5 in the Maryland EXCELS program within 5 years after becoming an eligible prekindergarten provider;
Achieve in accordance with the plan a quality rating level 5 in the Maryland EXCELS program within 5 years after becoming an eligible prekindergarten provider and publish that quality rating in a publicly available manner, determined by the Department; and
Except as otherwise provided in § 7–1A–07 of this subtitle, be open for pupil attendance in accordance with § 7–103 of this title.
An eligible prekindergarten provider may not engage in explicitly religious activities during school hours.
If an eligible prekindergarten provider engages in an explicitly religious activity, the activity shall be:
Separate in time and location from any instruction offered by the eligible prekindergarten provider; and
Voluntary.
An eligible prekindergarten provider shall make reasonable efforts to make the areas where prekindergarten children spend time during school hours as nonsectarian as possible.
An eligible prekindergarten provider may not be required to adopt any rule, regulation, or policy that conflicts with its religious or moral teachings.
An eligible prekindergarten provider shall comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, Title 20, Subtitle 6 of the State Government Article, and not discriminate in student admissions, retention, or expulsion or otherwise discriminate against any student or parent of a student on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression.
If a student has a disability, placement of the student shall be based on where the student will be best served.
An eligible prekindergarten provider found to have violated the nondiscrimination requirements under this section:
May not continue to be an eligible prekindergarten provider; and
Shall reimburse the Department all public funds provided under this subtitle minus any amount received from the child care scholarship program.
Except as provided in § 7–305.1 of this title, an eligible prekindergarten provider may not suspend or expel a child who is enrolled in a prekindergarten program.
Each county board shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Department, each eligible private provider participating in publicly funded prekindergarten in the county, and other applicable government agencies.
Before executing a memorandum of understanding under this section, each county board shall submit an implementation plan of the proposed memorandum of understanding to the Accountability and Implementation Board in accordance with § 5–404 of this article.
The Department shall develop a model memorandum of understanding for use by county boards of education in fulfilling the requirements under this section.
Each memorandum of understanding shall, at a minimum, provide for:
The adoption of an early childhood educator career ladder by eligible private providers in accordance with § 7–1A–08 of this subtitle;
Services for children with disabilities;
A process by which a parent is able to indicate a preference for eligible prekindergarten providers;
The manner for processing the payment of the State share, local share, and family share for each child who is enrolled with an eligible prekindergarten provider;
Any agreed upon administrative costs to be retained by an agency that is party to the agreement;
The manner in which the parties will meet the requirements of this subtitle;
A plan to address racial and socioeconomic integration in prekindergarten classrooms;
A method for the county board to distribute a list of eligible public and private providers in the same area with a parent interested in enrolling the parent’s child in a prekindergarten program;
Facilitation of peer–to–peer eligible prekindergarten provider meetings, through a prekindergarten provider hub if one is established in the area, in which eligible prekindergarten providers are able to share best practices in the field; and
Any other provisions necessary to carry out this subtitle.
A memorandum of understanding under this section shall seek to avoid, to the extent practicable, a disproportionate concentration of students of the same race, ethnicity, disability status, and income within an eligible provider.
Beginning in the 2022–2023 school year, Tier I children who are 3 or 4 years old may be enrolled in a full–day prekindergarten program under this subtitle.
For the 2023–2024 through 2025–2026 school years, children who are 3 or 4 years old may enroll in a full–day prekindergarten program under this subtitle if the children are:
Children whose family income is more than 300% but not more than 600% of the federal poverty level; and
Children with disabilities; or
Children from homes in which English is not the primary spoken language.
For the 2023–2024 through 2025–2026 school years only, children described under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall be counted as Tier I children for purposes of funding allocated under § 5–229 of this article.
The proportion of enrolled Tier I children who are 3 years old shall increase annually until all Tier I children who are 3 years old are enrolled in a full–day prekindergarten program.
The proportion of enrolled Tier I children who are 4 years old shall increase annually so that all Tier I children who are 4 years old shall be enrolled in a full–day prekindergarten program.
Beginning in the 2025–2026 school year, Tier II children not described under subsection (a)(2)(i) of this section may be enrolled in a full–day prekindergarten program if space is available to encourage socioeconomic diversity in prekindergarten classrooms.
Priority in expanding prekindergarten slots shall be provided to 3– and 4–year olds who are:
Tier I children;
Children with disabilities, regardless of income; or
Children from homes in which English is not the primary spoken language.
The ability of a family to choose the prekindergarten provider in which to enroll their child does not supersede local authority to set school attendance boundaries.
The Interagency Commission on School Construction shall prioritize public school construction funding requests for high quality prekindergarten classrooms.
The Interagency Commission on School Construction shall consider the availability of private eligible prekindergarten providers when determining priorities under paragraph (1) of this subsection.
A county board may partner with the State or the county government to address physical space constraints for eligible prekindergarten providers by utilizing existing available space at a location that is not an eligible prekindergarten provider including:
Senior care facilities; or
Community centers.
A county board may apply for funding from the capital improvement program for assistance on renovations to public facilities leased as eligible public prekindergarten programs.
The management of public facilities leased under this subsection shall be the responsibility of the building owner and not the county board.
On or before July 1, 2025, the Department shall establish an early childhood educator career ladder for eligible private providers.
The early childhood educator career ladder is for teachers and assistant teachers employed by eligible private providers.
The purpose of the early childhood educator career ladder is to:
Transform early childhood education teaching into a high–status profession in the State;
Attract high–performing students to pursue the high–status early childhood education teaching profession; and
Retain high–quality early childhood education teachers who gain additional responsibility, authority, status, and compensation as they gain additional expertise.
The early childhood educator career ladder shall:
Adequately compensate early childhood educators for their work;
Provide early childhood educators with the opportunity to identify and work with prekindergarten teachers and teaching assistants;
Provide early childhood educators the opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge by participating in job–embedded professional development; and
Compensate early childhood educators at greater rates as they advance to the next level of the career ladder.
The levels of the career ladder are as follows:
Level one is an early childhood teaching assistant;
Level two is a prekindergarten lead teacher; and
Level three is an early childhood consulting teacher.
In order to qualify as an early childhood teaching assistant, an educator shall:
Hold a high school diploma; and
On or before July 1, 2027:
Earn and maintain a Child Development Associate (CDA) with a preschool designation; or
Hold an associate degree in early childhood education or child development;
Have documented experience of actively providing services in early childhood education for a minimum of 15 years for at least:
20 hours per week; and
180 days per year; or
Hold a high school diploma; and
Within 3 months after being hired as an early childhood teaching assistant:
Earn and maintain a Child Development Associate (CDA) with a preschool designation; or
Hold an associate degree in early childhood education or child development.
Subject to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, in order to qualify as a prekindergarten lead teacher, an educator shall:
Hold at least a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, child development, or a related field from an institution of higher education accredited by an institutional accrediting association recognized by the U.S. Department of Education;
Hold at least a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, child development, or a related field from an institution of higher education in another country; and
Have the degree under item A of this item verified as comparable to a bachelor’s degree granted by an accredited institution of higher education in the United States by an independent agency authorized to analyze foreign credentials selected by the Department;
Hold a bachelor’s degree in a field unrelated to early childhood education from an institution of higher education accredited by an institutional accrediting association approved by the U.S. Department of Education; or
Subject to subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph, have documented experience of actively providing services in early childhood education for a minimum of 10 years for at least:
20 hours per week; and
180 days per year.
In order to qualify as a prekindergarten lead teacher through any pathway other than the pathway described under subparagraph (i)1 of this paragraph, an educator must achieve a minimum score on the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) assessment as set by the Department in addition to the requirements listed under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph.
A prekindergarten lead teacher who qualifies through the pathway described under subparagraph (i)4 of this paragraph shall earn an associate degree in early childhood education:
On or before July 1, 2030, if the teacher qualified through the pathway on or before July 1, 2024; or
Within 6 months after qualifying as a lead teacher, if the teacher qualified through the pathway after July 1, 2024.
Teachers from level three of the career ladder shall mentor and provide professional support to a prekindergarten lead teacher described under this subparagraph to ensure that the teacher earns a degree within the required amount of time.
In order to maintain status as a prekindergarten lead teacher, each year a lead teacher shall complete at least 20 working hours of professional learning and development in:
Early childhood instruction;
Developmentally appropriate practice; and
Any other professional skill areas the Department determines are valuable.
In order to qualify as an early childhood consulting teacher, an educator shall:
Be a prekindergarten lead teacher in good standing;
Beginning in the 2027–2028 school year, hold early childhood education certification or be pursuing certification;
Be able to lead other early childhood educators in an effective and disciplined way to improve the curriculum and instruction of prekindergarten students;
Demonstrate the skills and knowledge to mentor early childhood assistant teachers and new prekindergarten lead teachers, including by helping them to meet the educational and certification qualifications necessary to qualify for and maintain status on the career ladder; and
Supervise and support prekindergarten lead teachers, if practicable through prekindergarten provider hubs, in one or more sites in order to improve developmentally appropriate instructional practices for prekindergarten students.
The Department shall establish prekindergarten provider hubs in centralized and diverse locations throughout the State.
Prekindergarten provider hubs shall be designed to help bring as many providers into the State’s mixed prekindergarten delivery system as possible.
Prekindergarten provider hubs shall form partnerships between:
Early childhood educators on the early childhood educator career ladder;
Child care centers licensed under Title 9.5, Subtitle 4 of this article;
Family child care homes or large family child care homes registered under Title 9.5, Subtitle 3 of this article; and
Any other entities that the Department determines will aid in bringing eligible children into the State’s mixed delivery system.
Prekindergarten provider hubs shall coordinate support among entities that serve children and their families to ensure that the maximum number of eligible children are able to be placed in a prekindergarten slot.
The Department shall establish a program to aid eligible prekindergarten providers in meeting the requirements of this subtitle.
The program shall provide to eligible private providers:
Information on professional development opportunities for teachers and teaching assistants;
Technical support for meeting requirements to enroll in child care support programs; and
Assistance with implementing early childhood curriculum standards.
To the extent practicable, the Department shall provide programmatic support in accordance with this subsection through prekindergarten provider hubs.
The Department shall publish a list of eligible private providers in each local school system on its website and distribute the list to the following entities and organizations located within the areas in which the eligible private providers are located:
A local office of economic development;
The Maryland Small Business Development Center;
A local management board;
A local workforce development board; and
A local office supporting minority and women–owned businesses.
An entity or organization listed under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall, if applicable, assist a private prekindergarten provider in its jurisdiction with:
Enrolling in business support services for which the provider qualifies; and
Adopting a business plan to help the provider meet the requirements of this subtitle.
To the extent practicable, organizations listed under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall work with prekindergarten provider hubs to provide support.
The Department shall publicize the availability of publicly funded prekindergarten programs to the public.
On or before December 1, 2021, and each December 1 thereafter, each county board shall submit the following information, disaggregated by eligible private and eligible public providers, to the Department and the Accountability and Implementation Board established under Title 5, Subtitle 4 of this article:
The number of eligible prekindergarten providers in the county;
The number of eligible prekindergarten providers in the county that, in the immediately preceding calendar year, expanded to offer prekindergarten programs that are open for pupil attendance a minimum of 6.5 hours during each school day;
The Maryland EXCELS program quality rating level of each eligible prekindergarten provider in the county;
The participation rate of all county 3– and 4–year olds in eligible prekindergarten providers established or expanded in accordance with this subtitle, disaggregated by age and tier, if applicable;
The number and proportion of eligible prekindergarten providers in the county that are eligible private providers;
A measure of school readiness in accordance with § 7–210 of this title; and
A demonstration that the expansion of prekindergarten programs in the county gave priority to:
Children in areas with limited or no access to quality child care, regardless of family income;
Tier I children; and
Students with disabilities, regardless of family income.
The Department shall adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of this subtitle.