Action Needed: Update & Advocacy Resources on the 8% Special Education Cap
What We Are Asking of You
Your engagement is essential. We respectfully ask that you:
1. Reach Out to Legislators
Contact your Senators and Delegates, especially those representing districts with charter schools, using this template. You can find your representatives’ contact information here:
2. Encourage Sign-On Letter Participation by 5pm on 1/15
Personally ask supportive legislators—particularly those in the delegations listed above—to sign on to the MAPCS-led letter.
Whats Happening
The Maryland State Board of Education (MSBE) is currently reviewing the statewide charter school funding regulation, including whether to retain, modify, or eliminate the existing 8% cap on special education overages/adjustments for public charter schools.
As discussed, the 8% cap was achieved through prior advocacy and serves as a critical fiscal guardrail. It helps protect charter schools from unpredictable and potentially unlimited special education cost shifting, allowing schools to budget responsibly and maintain stable staffing and programming.
At this time, we believe that MSBE has pulled the regulation back for further consideration and is evaluating multiple options, including:
Keeping the cap at 8%
Adjusting the cap (up or down)
Eliminating the cap entirely
Our shared goal is to support the State Board’s original proposal to retain the cap at 8% or lower and prevent its removal or a significant increase.
Key Context from the 1/7 Meeting
We discussed challenges in comparing special education funding calculations across districts, particularly due to differences in how federal revenue is included. These inconsistencies further underscore the importance of clear, statewide guardrails.
It was clarified that advocacy for removing the cap is being led by Delegate Stephanie Smith (Baltimore City, District 45), rather than the Baltimore City delegation as a whole, in conjunction with the school district.
Several local school systems have indicated that they do not intend to pass along district special education adjustments and plan to cap administrative fees at 2%, demonstrating that the regulation can be implemented in a balanced manner without undermining district operations.
MSBE will likely hold a special meeting in the coming weeks to discuss the regulation's overage cap. They will vote to publish in the Maryland Register once finalized. We anticipate publication in the Maryland Register the first Friday in February.
Advocacy Strategy & Statewide Support
A central part of our strategy is building broad, statewide legislative support for maintaining the 8% cap. That being said, we are seeking strong participation from the other delegations that represent districts with public charter schools, including:
Frederick County
Baltimore County
Anne Arundel County
Prince George’s County
St. Mary’s County
Charles County
**Based on preliminary conversations, we do not anticipate members of the Baltimore City Delegation to participate (many are staying neutral/not speaking on the issue). That being said, we would welcome their support if they do want to step in on our behalf to speak to MSBE/sign our letter.**
Our goal is to demonstrate to MSBE that legislators from across Maryland—urban, suburban, and rural—support reasonable guardrails that provide funding predictability for charter schools while allowing districts to operate effectively.
MAPCS is coordinating a bipartisan sign-on letter for Senators and Delegates urging the State Board to retain the 8% cap (or a lower cap) as the regulation is finalized. The collection of signatures is through this form.