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URGENT: Charter Funding Regulation Advances Tomorrow — What’s at Stake & Why We Must Act Now
Dear Charter School Leaders, Families, and Supporters,
Thursday, November 20 at 4:00 PM — the Maryland State Board of Education’s Policy Committee will determine whether to advance the newly released proposed regulation, COMAR 13A.02.10 (Maryland Public Charter School Program).
If advanced, the regulation will be moved to the full State Board, published in the Maryland Register, and open for a 30-day public comment period. It will also undergo AELR (Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review Committee) oversight.
WATCH LIVE TODAY AT 4 PM:
https://youtube.com/live/2OX6LKfuPGY
This is not the final approval — but it is the pivotal moment that determines whether this harmful regulation becomes the baseline for the next phase of the process.
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW MSDE DRAFT
The draft released today is not the product of consensus.
The Charter School Workgroup never reached agreement, and although MAPCS and charter sector representatives repeatedly produced clearer and more equitable language, MSDE continued to revise key provisions behind closed doors, producing a final version that:
- Dramatically expands local discretion,
- Weakens charter autonomy,
- Codifies historically non-compliant LEA practices,
- And creates an unsustainable funding environment for Maryland charter schools.
This draft reflects the influence of select district leaders — not the collective voice of charter families, educators, governing boards, or students.
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WHY THIS REGULATION IS DANGEROUS
1. No total cap on withholdings — risking unknown and significant reductions in funding
There has never been a total cap withholding in any MSDE draft, but it was discussed and proposed.
Without one, LEAs could withhold far more than charter schools can survive — and potentially more than the Blueprint’s 75% minimum pass-through protects (and some LEAs already have as referenced in the presentation for tomorrow).
Allowing anywhere from 2–25% in withholdings is not “commensurate funding.”
It is a direct path to school closures.
2. MSDE built this regulation using historically non-compliant LEA calculations
The regulation relies on LEA-provided funding documents that:
- Have been inconsistent for years,
- Were potentially not the ones shared with charter schools,
- And in at least one case have been ruled incorrect by the State Board itself.
Two LEAs — Baltimore City Public Schools and Frederick County Public Schools — currently have active legal disputes over their calculations.
One ruling has already confirmed that errors existed.
It is inappropriate and unsafe to build a statewide regulation on documentation already proven to be unreliable.
3. MSDE used those wrong calculations to justify lowering charter funding
Instead of correcting the problem, MSDE took inflated 20–27% withholdings and reduced them slightly — presenting it as “progress.”
It is not progress.
It is institutionalizing inequity.
Most charter schools cannot operate with more than 5% withheld.
This regulation would accelerate statewide charter school closures (and, in some rare cases, a transition back to traditional).
4. “Special education overage” appears in COMAR despite no statutory basis or statewide relevance
The term “special education overage” did not originate in Maryland statute or regulation. It emerged from local budgeting practices within Baltimore City Public Schools and surfaced publicly for the first time in a December 2024 State Board ruling involving Frederick County Public Schools.
What matters for Maryland’s statewide regulation is this:
- It has no definition in state law,
- It is not used consistently across LEAs,
- It has no statewide methodology,
- And it has never undergone statewide policy review.
Yet, through influence from actors not party to the FCPS dispute, the term was elevated from a local budgeting concept into statewide COMAR — without definition, guardrails, or demonstrated statewide relevance.
A term never intended for statewide application is now being used to justify withholding charter funding across Maryland.
This is not about special education services — which are vital. It is about ensuring clear, consistent, lawful definitions in funding regulations that affect all schools.
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WHO THIS REGULATION WILL HURT MOST
Maryland’s public charter schools predominantly serve low-income students and students of color. These are the students the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future promised to prioritize.
By allowing excessive withholdings and relying on historically non-compliant calculations, this regulation systematically underfunds the students who can least afford it.
Underfunding charter schools is not just a funding decision.
It is an equity decision — and this regulation chooses the wrong side.
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WHAT IS AT STAKE
If the regulation moves forward as written:
- Maryland will lose innovative high schools, early college programs, dual-language immersion schools, public Montessori programs, STEM academies, and community-based learning models.
- Families will lose access to the schools that meet their children’s needs.
- And the Blueprint’s promise of innovation and equity will be undermined.
The long-term result is simple:
Maryland’s charter sector will be pushed toward extinction.
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WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW
1. WATCH the meeting today at 4 PM
https://youtube.com/live/2OX6LKfuPGY
2. CONTACT decision-makers today
Maryland State Board of Education – stateboard.msde@maryland.gov
MSDE Charter Office – charter.msde@maryland.gov
Governor Wes Moore – governor.mail@maryland.gov
Your Delegates and Senators
3. TELL THEM:
- Do not advance COMAR 13A.02.10 as written.
- A total 5% cap on withholdings is essential to viability.
- LEA documents already found non-compliant should not inform state policy.
- Undefined terms like “special education overage” must be removed.
- The process must be reopened for transparent, consensus-based revisions.
- Charter school students — predominantly low-income and students of color — deserve fair funding.
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THIS IS THE MOMENT TO STAND UP
We cannot allow a regulation shaped by non-compliant data and behind-the-scenes influence to determine the future of Maryland’s charter schools.
We cannot allow inequity to be written into COMAR.
We cannot allow our students to be underfunded simply because they attend a public charter school.
This is the moment to stand together — clearly, boldly, and urgently — and insist on a regulation that reflects fairness, equity, clarity, and opportunity for every Maryland child.
With urgency and resolve,
McKenzie Allen
Maryland Alliance of Public Charter Schools
Disclaimer: This communication was developed without the use of any federal CSP funds and does not involve lobbying or advocacy related to federal legislation or federal policy.