Public Schools - Open Enrollment - Policies and Funding
HB0026 authorizes county boards of education to adopt an open enrollment policy that would let eligible students attend a public school in a different Maryland county than the one where they live with a parent or guardian. The bill sets out the basic structure for such policies, including free enrollment for students, application procedures, publication requirements, enrollment preferences for students zoned to the school and siblings of current students, and an equitable selection process such as a lottery when applications exceed available seats.
The bill also requires receiving schools to count open-enrollment students in attendance, accountability, and graduation purposes, and to accept credits earned in the sending county. It allows, but does not require, transportation services, and it specifies that if transportation is provided, the receiving county board pays those costs. Schools may deny applications for reasons such as lack of capacity, missing programs or facilities for a student’s needs, failure to meet program eligibility criteria, desegregation plan compliance, or expulsion-related discipline issues.
HB0026 would amend Maryland Education Article § 7-101 and add new § 7-101.4 to create a statewide framework for county-level open enrollment. It changes the default rule that students attend school in their county of domicile by carving out an exception for students admitted under an approved open enrollment policy. The bill also alters school funding rules by requiring the sending county board to transfer to the receiving county board an amount based on local current expense per student, with the State covering any difference when the sending county’s per-student amount is lower than the receiving county’s. In addition, receiving counties must include these students in full-time equivalent enrollment counts, which affects funding and reporting.
Based on the bill text and available context, the measure appears to be presented as a policy expansion aimed at increasing school choice and cross-county access to public schools. There are no recorded committee transcripts or votes in the provided material, so there is no documented public debate to indicate strong support or opposition at this stage. The structure of the bill suggests an effort to balance flexibility for families with administrative controls for school systems.
The main points of potential contention are likely to be funding, capacity, and local control. County boards and school systems may be concerned about how open enrollment could affect enrollment management, transportation obligations, and the transfer of local education dollars between counties. Another likely issue is equity and admissions fairness, since the bill uses a lottery or other equitable selection process when demand exceeds capacity but still preserves preferences for zoned students and siblings. Schools may also object to being required to accept transfer students only within existing programs and facilities, while advocates may argue the bill does not go far enough because adoption of open enrollment remains optional for county boards.