MSDE recommends Pre‑K sliding scale with family share cap of 7%; committee moves recommendation to full board

Maryland State Department of Education staff recommended that the State Board adopt a Pre‑K sliding scale that calculates family contributions by household federal‑poverty band and caps family share at 7 percent of gross annual income.

“Our North Star for the Pre K sliding scale is to choose an option that is least expensive for families,” said Dr. Cook (MSDE), describing the tiered approach required by the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. MSDE explained tier 1 covers families at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty level and pays no family share; tier 2 covers 300–600 percent FPL and uses a subsidized sliding scale split among state, local and family shares; tier 3 is above 600 percent FPL and families may be required to pay the full per‑pupil rate.

MSDE staff said the department used 2022–23 school‑year baseline data where available and presented FY25 per‑pupil cost figures of just over $13,000. The agency showed a five‑level sliding structure for the tier‑2 window (301–600 percent FPL) with family shares that increase across levels and sample family‑of‑4 illustrations: an example at about $139,000 annual income would fall in a higher level with roughly a 6 percent family share (about $8,300 per pupil annually); another example of a family of four earning about $125,000 was shown at roughly a 4 percent share (about $5,000 per pupil).

MSDE previewed a preliminary online calculator to help LEAs and private providers determine household FPL, tier assignment and family share at enrollment. The calculator’s inputs would include household size, household income and child age and would allow flags for children with disabilities, multilingual learners and homelessness that can change tier assignment for FY25 purposes. MSDE cautioned the calculator is a mock‑up subject to change and does not automatically adjust family assignments if income changes mid‑year; MSDE said enrollment verification is performed at the time of enrollment.

Officials also described administrative guidance: LEAs should collect income verification at enrollment, use MSDE templates for family payment agreements (weekly or monthly collection options), and collaborate with private providers on MOUs that specify fund distribution and data reporting. MSDE said the Pre‑K Expansion Grant ends in FY25 and that, starting in FY26, LEAs should distribute Blueprint funding to private providers per the Blueprint formula.

Committee members asked detailed questions about how the sliding scale applies to multiple children (MSDE said the methodology calculates per‑child contribution and household size is accounted for in the FPL calculation), whether multilingual or disabled children are prioritized (MSDE said certain groups are prioritized for FY25 enrollment), sibling preference (left to local LEAs/providers), whether funds “travel” with students who move between LEAs (MSDE said it would confirm procedures with finance), and how MSDE will measure the sliding scale’s impact and program effectiveness (MSDE said it will capture enrollment metrics, scale pre‑K specialists and use CLASS observations and other quality measures).

After discussion, a committee member moved to forward MSDE’s Pre‑K sliding scale recommendations to the full State Board for the February board meeting; another member seconded the motion. The committee transcript records the motion and second but does not record a committee vote. MSDE said it will provide further examples, post the calculator or examples for board review and return with final materials at the full board meeting.