MSDE outlines Academic Excellence Fund proposal, new positions in mid-session budget update

The Education Transformation and Finance Committee received a mid-session fiscal update from Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) staff that summarized the governor's proposed Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act and a new Academic Excellence Fund intended to slow or pause select phase-ins and repurpose savings for reading and math interventions.

MSDE budget lead Miss Gunning told the committee the presentation was a mid-year legislative-session update and that roughly 25% of bills she'd reviewed could have fiscal impact. "This presentation today is a mid year update on the budget, through the legislative session. We're halfway through the session," Gunning said. MSDE staff described the governor's proposal as pausing or slowing the phase-in of some initiatives in order to generate savings that would seed an Academic Excellence Fund focused on reading and math interventions and a "grow-your-own" component to increase teacher certification among noncertificated classroom staff.

The Academic Excellence Fund, as explained to the committee, would use repurposed savings to implement evidence-based reading and math supports statewide with the goal of improving Maryland's performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). MSDE said the House version of the bill has already moved to the Senate and that the House made changes that substantially reduced the proposed savings while leaving many of the new expenditures in place. "They took away a lot of the savings and left, quite a bit of the new expenditures," Gunning said, adding that the Senate will have to reconcile those differences for the plan to be fiscally sustainable.

MSDE also reviewed personnel requests in the fiscal 2026 package. The governor's allowance included 18 new positions, of which 10 were reading and math coaches; MSDE has proposed realigning long-term vacant and contractual positions to free funding and add additional operational roles (MSDE described 22 contractual positions and five regular positions as candidates for realignment). MSDE listed examples of planned roles to support implementation, including accessibility specialists, education investigators and apprenticeship coordinators.

Committee members asked for clarification on House changes and for continued updates as legislation moves through the Senate. Chair Crawford and board members thanked MSDE for the work and for the level of detail provided, and the committee adjourned early after the update.

MSDE emphasized the legislation remains in progress: the House had moved its version to the Senate with substantive edits, and MSDE said final outcomes will depend on legislative negotiation and the Senate's response to the House's edits.