Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Strategic Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board adopts strategic outcomes; adds apprenticeships and least-restrictive-environment goals
Summary
The board adopted a set of strategic outcomes aligning the Blueprint's five pillars. Notable additions: increasing high-school participation in registered apprenticeships and an explicit outcome to expand inclusive placements for students with disabilities (reduce separate-school placements).
The State Board of Education approved MSDE's proposed strategic plan outcomes across the five pillars of the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, after MSDE explained three substantive updates since last month: an outcome to grow high school participation in registered apprenticeships, a new outcome focused on placements in the Least Restrictive Environment for students with disabilities, and clarified language about student support professional FTEs.
MSDE framed apprenticeships as a statewide workforce-aligned priority that combines classroom instruction with paid, credentialed employment pathways. Alex Rees and Phil Lasser of MSDE said the apprenticeship outcome will be pursued in partnership with Commerce, Labor and other workforce stakeholders.
On special education, the board accepted an outcome to increase the percentage of students with disabilities served in inclusive (LRE A/B) settings while reducing placements in LRE C and separate schools, disaggregated by race/ethnicity, disability category and assessment pathway. MSDE noted Maryland currently places 11.3% of students with disabilities in LRE C and 5.5% in separate schools—higher than national averages for separate placements—and said the outcome aims to address disproportionality.
Board members asked about implementation timelines, baselines and data dashboards; MSDE indicated baseline data and dashboard development are in progress and that some measures will have baseline availability in January 2027.
Next steps: MSDE will build a data dashboard to monitor progress against outcomes, work with partner agencies on apprenticeship metrics, and return to the board with baseline data and cadence for reporting.
