MSDE, State Board Issue Charter School Funding Proposal
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT:
Raven Hill, 410-767-0486
[email protected]
MSDE, State Board Issue Charter School Funding Proposal
Community members may share feedback for 30 days after publication.
BALTIMORE (December 10, 2025) — The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and State Board of Education have released a draft regulation for public charter school funding, the first step in creating a transparent funding formula for 50 schools statewide. If approved, the regulation would be the first implemented since the establishment of charter schools in 2003.
Local school systems are required by law to fund charter schools proportionate to other public schools, known as commensurate funding. However, the law currently does not provide guidelines or a funding formula. The proposed regulations would align charter school funding with the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future legislation and establish an administrative fee for shared services, among other measures.
“Transparency and good-faith negotiations between local school systems and charter schools are critical to achieving shared goals for student success,” said Dr. Carey M. Wright, State Superintendent of Schools. “We want to ensure a more equitable playing field for all schools.”
“For too long, ambiguity has stood in place of policy — creating uncertainty in funding calculations for charter schools in Maryland,” said Dr. Joshua Michael, State Board of Education President. “Today’s action to advance fair, transparent charter school funding regulations brings needed clarity and helps refocus on improving teaching and learning in all public schools.”
There are 50 public charter schools operating in eight local school systems, serving 25,000 students.
Under the standard regulatory review process, community members will have 30 days after publication in the Maryland Register to provide feedback. The proposed regulation will then go to the Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review (AELR) Committee of the Maryland General Assembly for review before coming back to MSDE and the State Board for further consideration and potential adoption.
The proposed regulation follows the December 2024 and August 2025 State Board rulings that directed local school boards to use all revenue streams in calculating charter school funding and negotiate terms for providing centralized services, such as student meals, transportation and employee healthcare. The State Board passed a May 2025 resolution affirming the results of this decision and Dr. Wright’s guidance to local school systems on the formula for calculating charter school funding.
The State Board rulings concluded that local school boards have significant discretion in the use of up to 25 percent of Blueprint funding, but must provide a proportionate amount to charter schools. In addition, the rulings also allowed for excess special education costs to be deducted from the annual school system operating budget when calculating commensurate funding.
###