Growing teacher vacancies, high turnover, and a scarcity of qualified educators in Maryland public schools continue to threaten student learning and waste economic resources.[1]  Since 2012, teacher preparation program enrollment has dropped by thirty-three percent in Maryland.[2]  A lack of diverse educators persists today,  stalling improvement in student performance and school behaviors.[3]  Under thirty percent of Maryland teachers are teachers of color,[4]  and teachers of color – especially Black and Hispanic educators – face greater turnover and attrition rates.[5]  The Maryland Educator Shortage Reduction Act of 2023 (“S. 893”), which took effect on July 1, 2023, seeks to solve the teacher shortage by introducing recruitment and retention strategies for current and future educators in three crucial ways.[6]

S. 893 broadens eligibility for the Nancy Grasmick Public School Professional Award of the Janet L. Hoffman Loan Assistance Repayment Program (“LARP”), a program directed by the Office of Student Financial Assistant (“OFSA”) to help recipients with higher education loan repayment.[7]  Candidates for the three-year award now include mental health professionals who have provided mental health services within the public school system for at least two years.[8]  The award’s 2024 funding comprises $5 million, with no cap on the number of LARP awards.[9]

S. 893 also expands eligibility for the Teaching Fellows for Maryland Scholarship.[10] This scholarship supports high school students pledging to work as public school or public pre-kindergarten educators in a high-needs school, grade level, or content area in Maryland with a teacher shortage as identified by the Maryland State Department of Education (“MSDE”) upon college graduation.[11]  S. 893 eliminates requirements that recipients be Maryland residents or Maryland high school graduates for this scholarship.[12]  Academic requirements also loosened; recipients need only meet institution standards and make “satisfactory progress” toward their degrees.[13]  OFSA must work with MSDE to promote this award to groups underrepresented in teaching by publicizing it to students at historically black colleges and universities, in addition to educational support staff at public schools and publicly funded pre-kindergarten programs in Maryland.[14]

S. 893 establishes the Teacher Development and Retention Program, a six-year pilot program recruiting prospective teachers.[15]  Eligibility for the initial stipends of up to $3,500 requires: (1) being a first- or second-year student enrolled at a higher education institution where over 40% of students receive federal Pell Grants and (2) participation in a classroom experiential learning opportunity.[16]  Eligibility for the internship stipends of up to $20,000 requires: (1) enrollment in a Maryland professional teacher’s certificate preparation program at a higher education Maryland-based institution (2) participation in an internship or practicum involving “direct experience working with students in a public school or public prekindergarten program as part of the recipient’s course of study” (3) satisfactory academic progress and meeting institution standards and (4)  a pledge to serve as a full-time teacher in a high-needs school, grade level, or content area in Maryland with an MSDE-determined teacher shortage.[17]  Each yearly internship stipend requires a two-year service obligation.[18]  The program’s 2024 funding comprises $10 million.[19]

With decreased enrollment in traditional teacher preparation programs[20]  and increased diversity in alternative preparation programs,[21] S. 893 also allows entities, such as higher education institutions and nonprofit organizations, to create alternative teacher preparation programs for early childhood education certification.[22]  The bill also requires MSDE to erect recruitment and retention goals for educator preparation programs, and to create action plans for underperforming programs.[23]  MSDE must also make and maintain a recruitment, retention, and diversity dashboard to track data and demographics of personnel and teacher interns in public schools.[24]

The journey to becoming an educator is expensive, with individuals often spending thousands out-of-pocket to finance living and transportation expenses, classroom materials, and additional vocational testing like the Praxis.[25] Current and prospective teachers are generally hopeful of the changes presented by S. 893.[26]  This bill, among others,[27] presents a major, costly change to Maryland’s education policy that demonstrates a massive push by Governor Moore and lawmakers to support Maryland’s education.[28] Only time will tell if these solutions will be enough.

---

Jessica Kweon is a second-year law student at the University of Baltimore School of Law and a first-year staff editor for Law Forum. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and minors in Biology and Writing from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Jessica has interned for the Honorable Judge Douglas R. M. Nazarian of the Appellate Court of Maryland, the Honorable Judge Mary M. Kramer of the Circuit Court for Howard County, and the Honorable Judge Catherine Chen of the District Court for Baltimore City. In law school, Jessica is also a member of the Jeffrey G. Miller National Environmental Law Moot Court team and Vice President of the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association.

[1] Mohammed Choudhury, Md. State Superintendent of Schs,, Maryland’s Teacher Workforce: Supply, Demand, and Diversity, Md. Pub. Sch. 2, 12, 19 (Jul. 26, 2022), https://www.marylandpublicschools.org/stateboard/Documents/2022/0726/TabGBlueprintAndDataDeepDiveTeacherPipelineAndDiversity.pdf.

[2] Id. at 19.

[3] Id. at 41, 48.

[4] Id. at 34.

[5] Id. at 36.

Maryland Educator Shortage Reduction Act of 2023, ch. 627, 2023 Md. Laws. See S. 893, 2023 Gen. Assemb., 445^th Sess. (Md. 2023); see H.D. 1219, 2023 Gen. Assemb., 445^th Sess. (Md. 2023)

[7] Id.

[8] Id.

[9] Id.

[10] Id.

[11] Maryland Educator Shortage Reduction Act, supra note 8.

[12] Id.

[13] Id.

[14] Id.

[15] Id.

[16] Maryland Educator Shortage Reduction Act, supra note 8.

[17]  Id.

[18] Id.

[19] Id.

[20] Choudhury, supra note 1, at 19.

[21] Id. at 44-45, 48.

[22] Maryland Educator Shortage Reduction Act, supra note 8.

[23] Id.

[24] Id.

[25] William J. Ford, Prospective Teachers Appreciate Educator Shortage Act, Some Still Want Improvements, Md. Matters (June 29, 2023), https://www.marylandmatters.org/2023/06/29/prospective-educators-appreciate-educator-shortage-act-some-still-want-improvements/#:~:text=The%20Educator%20Shortage%20Act%20provides,high%2Dneeds%20school%20in%20Maryland.

[26] Id.

[27] Pro-Public Education Bills Become Law, Md. State Educ. Ass’n (June 2, 2023), https://marylandeducators.org/pro-public-education-bills-become-law/.

[28] Kara Thompson, Education Bills Prioritize Teacher Shortages, Funding for School Reform Plan, Md. Daily Rec. (Apr. 24, 2023), https://thedailyrecord.com/2023/04/24/education-bills-prioritize-teacher-shortages-funding-for-school-reform-plan/.