Education - Collective Bargaining - Certificated Employees - Class Size
HB 473 would amend Maryland’s public school collective bargaining law to allow school employers and employee organizations to negotiate the maximum number of students assigned to a class. Under current law, class size is one of the subjects that public school employers are prohibited from bargaining over. The bill removes that prohibition from Education Article § 6-406(c)(3), while leaving in place the existing rules that require bargaining over salaries, wages, hours, working conditions, transfers, assignments, access to new employee processing, and educator career ladders.
In practical terms, the bill would make class size a permissible subject of negotiation in county-level collective bargaining for certificated public school employees, but only if the parties mutually agree to bargain over it as an “other matter” under the statute. The bill does not mandate any specific class-size limits; it simply opens the door for local negotiations and potential inclusion in collective bargaining agreements. The change would take effect July 1, 2026.
The bill would revise Maryland Education Article § 6-406(c) by deleting the express prohibition on negotiating the maximum number of students per class. This would expand the scope of bargaining for public school employers and exclusive bargaining representatives, potentially affecting local labor agreements, staffing discussions, and class-size provisions in county school systems. It would not itself set statewide class-size caps or standards, but it would permit those issues to be addressed through collective bargaining where both sides agree.
The bill’s title and sponsor list suggest support from lawmakers interested in expanding collective bargaining rights for educators, particularly around classroom conditions. Because the available record includes only a hearing notice and no committee transcript or vote tally, there is no direct evidence of floor debate or formal vote sentiment. Based on the bill text, the measure appears to be framed as a pro-labor, pro-education-policy change that would give local parties more flexibility to negotiate class size.
The main point of contention is likely whether class size should remain outside bargaining or be treated as a negotiable working-condition issue. Supporters would likely argue that class size directly affects teaching conditions, student attention, and classroom management, while opponents may argue that class-size decisions should remain under school management discretion because they are tied to budgeting, staffing, and broader educational policy. The bill does not resolve those policy tradeoffs; it simply removes the statutory bar and leaves the issue to local negotiation.