Maryland has a divided government, with a Republican governor and a state Assembly controlled by Democrats. The Washington Post reports there isn’t much agreement between the two branches of government, but there’s one area they might find common ground: School choice.
The state has been kicking around tax credit scholarship proposals for years. They’ve gotten some support in the Legislature, and received the backing of former Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley, but have never become law.
This year, they’ve picked up some new momentum. The state Senate on Wednesday approved legislation creating a tax credit program that would fund need-based scholarships at private schools and “innovative programs” at public schools. Gov. Larry Hogan has proposed a tax credit scholarship plan of his own.
The Post reports the traditional holdouts in the House of Delegates may have a new outlook this year:
Maryland House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) said Tuesday that he is softening on the idea of giving tax credits to companies that make donations to help pay for private school scholarships, clearing the way for the bill to be heard on the House floor this session.
Busch, who has been a fierce opponent of education tax credits, said there is a growing sentiment among many Democratic lawmakers from Baltimore City and parts of Prince George’s County — urban areas with some of the state’s lowest-performing schools — that students need more educational options.
He said a bill, known as Broadening Options and Opportunity for Students and Teachers and introduced by Del. Keith E. Haynes (D-Baltimore City), addresses those requests.
“Many legislators come to me and have suggested that they would like to see some kind of legislation put forward,” Busch said. “It’s a fair gesture that we take a look at it . . . to lay out parameters and guidelines” for how they think the money should be distributed.
Haynes’ measure would create a new BOOST Authority in state government, which would be tasked with deciding which schools can qualify to accept scholarship students.
A separate House bill, also backed by a Democratic state Delegate from Baltimore City, more closely matches the Senate’s proposal, though it has yet to advance. It may be worth noting that this year, state lawmakers are looking to steer additional aid to the city, which was riven by protests and calls for justice after Freddie Gray died in police custody last April.
It’s too early to say whether the competing school choice plans can be reconciled, but this is a bipartisan school choice push worth keeping an eye on.
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