# Maryland HB 0504: Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act Maryland HB 0504, Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act, is a 2025 Regular Session House bill sponsored by no sponsor on record; status signed, last action 2025-05-06 (Approved by the Governor - Chapter 237); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-17). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0504-2025RS - As of: 2026-10-17 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Maryland HB 0504 - State: Maryland - Session: 2025 Regular Session - Title: Excellence in Maryland Public Schools Act - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-01-22 - Last action: 2025-05-06, Approved by the Governor - Chapter 237 - Sponsors: no sponsor on record - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: Primary and Secondary Education, Accessibility - see also- Blind; Deaf; Disabilities; etc, Administrative Agencies, Advertising, Annotated Code of Maryland, Apprentices, Appropriations, Artificial Intelligence -see also- Biometrics, Awareness and Outreach, Bonds -see also- County & Baltimore City Bonds; State Bonds, Budgets -see also- Capital Budgets, Certifications, Civil Actions -see also- Small Claims, Classifications and Designations, Collective Bargaining, Committees and Commissions, Communications -see also- ElecComm; Intergov; Telecom; etc., Comptroller, Continuing Education, Contracts -see also- Procurement, Counselors -see also- Social Workers, Counties -see also- Chartered Counties; Code Counties; etc., Courts -see also- AppCt; Circuit; District; Orphans'; etc., Curriculum, Data -see also- Census; Demographics, Debt Management, Demographics -see also- Census; Data, Disabilities, Discipline, Disclosure, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Early Childhood Education, Education, Boards of, Education -see also- ContEd; DrvEd; HigherEd; etc., Education, State Department of, Emergencies -see also- Pandemics, Equipment -see also- Charging; Med. Equip.; MV Equip; etc., Ethics, Fees -see also- Attys' Fees; Devt Fees & Taxes, Gifts, Goods and Services -see also- Retail Sales; TermnSvc; TrfGds, Governor, Grants, Higher Education -see also- Comm Colleges; Med Schools; etc., Independent Contractors, Inflation, Insurance -see also- Health Ins; MAIF; Motor Vehicle Ins, Interest, Intergovernmental Cooperation -see also- AdmAgn; Cmts; etc., Internet -see also- Internet Access, Job Training -see also- Continuing Ed; Vocational Rehab, Language -see also- Communications; Literacy, Leases and Rent, Liability, Licenses -see also- AB Lic; Certifications; DrLic; Permits, Literacy, Local Government Mandates, Meetings -see also- Hearings; Open Government, Mentors, Military Families, Nonprofit Organizations, Open Government, Poverty, Prices -see also- Consumer Price Index, Primary Schools -see also- Private Schools; Public Schools, Privacy, Procurement, Property Tax, Public Information, Public Schools -see also- Primary Schools; Secondary Sch, Real Property, Records -see also- Land Records; Vital Records, Recruitment and Hiring, Remote and Hybrid Education, Reports, Residency -see also- Immigrants and Citizenship, Retirement -see also- Mandatory Retirement, Revenue and Taxes -see also- (specific tax), Rules and Regulations, Safety -see also- Occupational Safety, Salaries and Compensation -see also- Overtime; Reimb. Rates, School Administration, Secondary Schools -see also- Private Schools; Public Sch, Sovereign Immunity, Special Education, Standards and Best Practices, Students, Studies -see also- Commitees & Commissions; Reports, Sunset, Teachers, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Telephones, Time, Treasurers, Truancy, Voting -see also- Absentee and Mail-In Voting, Waivers, Work, Labor, and Employment -see also- JobTrn; Leave; etc. - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 9 (510 yes, 442 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 28 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Moving teachers can get relocation grants: benefit, medium. Eligible teachers moving from another state can receive a one-time relocation grant of up to $2,000. They need a full, unrestricted out-of-state teaching license and a signed Maryland public school contract. They must agree to teach at least two years in a school receiving Concentration of Poverty… - School workers get paid teacher pathways: benefit, medium. Grow Your Own applicants need a school-based job in a participating system, a high school diploma or equivalent, and an approved licensure pathway. The noncertified employee definition excludes certificated bargaining-unit, managerial, and confidential employees. Candidates must receive pay and ben… - State funds student behavioral health services: benefit, medium. The Governor must budget money for the Coordinated Community Supports Partnership Fund for student behavioral health and related services. Required amounts are $25 million for fiscal 2022, $50 million for 2023, and $85 million for 2024. The law lists both $40 million and $70 million for fiscal 2025… - Schools get English learner funding schedule: benefit, medium. English learner school funding per qualifying student is $9,041 in fiscal 2026, $9,148 in 2027, and $9,327 in 2028. Amounts are $9,613 in 2029, $9,794 in 2030, $10,069 in 2031, $10,232 in 2032, and $10,510 in 2033. After 2033, the prior year's amount rises with inflation and rounds to the nearest d… - Schools get new funding targets: benefit, medium. Maryland sets these per-student foundation funding targets: fiscal 2026, $9,063; 2027, $9,561; 2028, $9,789; 2029, $10,200; and 2030, $10,625. Targets continue at $11,047 in 2031, $11,483 in 2032, $11,931 in 2033, $12,381 in 2034, and $12,843 in 2035. After 2035, targets rise with inflation and rou… - Schools get revised compensatory education funding: benefit, medium. Maryland sets compensatory education funding per qualifying student at $7,842 in fiscal 2026, $7,786 in 2027, and $7,908 in 2028. Amounts are $8,029 in 2029, $8,363 in 2030, $8,582 in 2031, $8,448 in 2032, and $9,026 in 2033. After 2033, the prior year's amount rises with inflation and rounds to th… - Special education funding includes qualifying preschoolers: benefit, medium. Special education funding per student is $9,503 in fiscal 2026, $10,900 in 2027, $12,368 in 2028, and $14,367 in 2029. It reaches $16,836 in 2030, $17,277 in 2031, $17,609 in 2032, and $18,053 in 2033. Later amounts rise with inflation and round to the nearest dollar. Funding counts include publicl… - School leadership mentors can receive stipends: benefit, low. School leaders selected as mentors for the Maryland School Leadership Academy may receive a stipend. Payment is optional, and the law does not set an amount or guarantee payment to every mentor. - Teacher candidates get structured training support: benefit, low. Grow Your Own applicants must plan member roles, school placements, shortage subjects, administration, required college credits, and mentoring throughout each candidate's program. Mentor assignments must meet supervision, training, employment-continuity, and bargaining requirements. School systems… - Community school director gains staff support: benefit, low. The Director of Community Schools now sits within the Office of Community Schools and Expanded Learning Time. The Office may hire staff to help the Director guide local school systems and community school coordinators. Local school systems use the Director’s evaluation form. - Community schools can offer more support: benefit, low. Community school support services now include evidence-based tutoring delivered in school, in person, during the school day. They also include efforts to improve attendance and reduce chronic absences. Coordinators may arrange multilingual learner courses, replacing the narrower reference to Englis… - Community schools must track service goals: benefit, low. Community school plans must set measurable goals based on assessed needs, with progress checked at least every two years. Coordinators must review school plans annually. Systems authorized to spend for community schools must create countywide plans incorporating school plans and needs-based goals c… - School leaders get new training programs: benefit, low. Maryland must establish system leadership training and a Maryland School Leadership Academy. The State Superintendent, county superintendents, and specified board chairs and vice chairs must complete the 12-month system program. Its evidence-based training is tailored to cohorts and offered in pers… - School oversight board funding gains protection: benefit, low. The Governor must include the Accountability and Implementation Board’s jointly certified funding in each state budget bill without changes. The Governor and the General Assembly’s presiding officers must jointly certify that funding. The law sets no dollar amount. - Special education funding gets independent review: benefit, low. By January 1, 2026, Maryland's education department must contract for an independent special education funding study. The Governor must budget enough money for it. The study covers special education and prekindergarten costs, long-term spending assumptions, needs-based funding weights, and minimum… - Struggling schools get targeted academic coaching: benefit, low. Maryland's Academic Excellence Program provides coaching and sustained teacher training in school systems that opt in through cooperative agreements. School selection uses accountability data and prioritizes low proficiency and recent achievement declines. Fiscal 2026 and 2027 focus on early readin… - Students get funded career counseling: benefit, low. County school boards must send career counseling funds to local workforce development boards for middle and high school students. Funding equals $62 times county enrollment in fiscal 2024. For fiscal 2025 through 2028, the prior year's per-enrollment amount rises with inflation. Workforce boards de… - Teacher recruitment can include free mentoring: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, Maryland may run a national campaign to recruit licensed and prospective teachers. The campaign also addresses teacher shortages and reliance on conditional licenses. The education department must consult an experienced national education nonprofit on campaign design, delive… - Teacher training partnerships gain grant options: benefit, low. Beginning January 1, 2026, Maryland must award competitive Grow Your Own grants to school systems in qualifying partnerships. Standard partnerships include a school system, employee organization, and Maryland college; the college no longer needs an approved teacher-preparation program. Grants may c… - Teacher candidates face service and assignment limits: cost, medium. Grow Your Own candidates must teach full-time in Maryland public schools or public prekindergarten for at least two years in a state-identified shortage subject. Separately, the program's purpose describes a three-year pledge in their current system in a high-needs school, grade, or shortage subjec… - High-poverty schools wait for full grants: cost, medium. Eligible schools receive 100% of their calculated per-student Concentration of Poverty grant starting in fiscal 2032. Previously, full funding began in fiscal 2030. The law delays that full-funding date by two fiscal years. - School funding increases face revenue cap: cost, medium. Beginning in fiscal 2026, Maryland caps covered school funding increases at 0% when a revenue test is triggered. The test adds December's General Fund estimate and Blueprint for Maryland's Future Fund estimate. The cap applies when that sum is at least 3.75% below March's General Fund estimate. It… - Community school support funding loses minimum: cost, low. The law removes the former $100,000 minimum for community school training, technical help, and added staff. The Governor may include funding for these purposes through the Maryland Department of Education. Funding remains optional, and no new amount is guaranteed. - Schools share poverty grants with safeguards: mixed, medium. County boards may spend up to 40% of poverty grant funds centrally for services that directly benefit eligible schools. The system must have at least 10 eligible schools, or at least 35% of its schools must qualify. Boards must consult eligible schools, submit a plan to the state education departme… - Teachers phase into classroom-time rules: mixed, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, required classroom-teaching shares for career-ladder teachers phase in over seven years under state-approved county schedules. New teachers receive priority for time outside class, especially in low-performing or high-poverty schools; teachers in those schools or schools wit… - Counties can exceed school property tax limits: mixed, medium. Counties may raise property tax rates or collections above charter limits solely to fund approved school board budgets. This includes county payments to the Teachers’ Pension System and Teachers’ Retirement System on the board’s behalf. All revenue above the charter limit must go to the school boar… - School AI tools get temporary exemption: mixed, low. During school years 2025–2026 through 2027–2028, Education Article § 7-910 does not apply to covered artificial intelligence tools. The exemption covers buying or using tools to support student learning. Tools must meet Maryland's legal definition of artificial intelligence. This eases the covered… - Academic Excellence Fund keeps eligible interest: mixed, low. Eligible interest on state money allocated to the Maryland Academic Excellence Fund stays with that Fund instead of the General Fund. The exception also applies under the separate rules for fiscal years 2024–2028. Federal requirements and any applicable gift or settlement terms still apply. ## Sponsors and cosponsors - (none) ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-04-07 | House | Third Reading Passed | pass | 101 | 38 | 1 | | 2025-04-07 | Senate | Third Reading Passed | pass | 34 | 13 | | | 2025-04-01 | Senate | Floor Amendment {773521/1 (Senator Ready) Rejected | fail | 17 | 27 | 2 | | 2025-04-01 | Senate | Third Reading Passed | pass | 33 | 13 | | | 2025-03-11 | House | Third Reading Passed | pass | 100 | 39 | 1 | | 2025-03-05 | House | Floor Amendment {793326/1 (Delegate Nkongolo) Rejected | fail | 40 | 95 | 2 | | 2025-03-05 | House | Motion Vote Previous Question (Delegate J. Lewis) Adopted | pass | 109 | 22 | 6 | | 2025-03-05 | House | Floor Amendment (Delegate Fisher) Rejected | fail | 39 | 97 | 1 | | 2025-03-05 | House | Floor Amendment {123026/1 (Delegate Adams) Rejected | fail | 37 | 98 | 2 | ## Actions (38) - 2025-05-06: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 237 - 2025-04-07: Passed Enrolled (House) - 2025-04-07: Third Reading Passed (34-13) (Senate) - 2025-04-07: Conference Committee Report {463129/1 Adopted (Senate) - 2025-04-07: Third Reading Passed (101-38) (House) - 2025-04-07: Conference Committee Report {463129/1 Adopted (House) - 2025-04-05: Senate Conference Committee Appointed (Senators Guzzone, King, Watson and Salling) (House) - 2025-04-05: Senate Refuses Recede (House) - 2025-04-05: Senate Conference Committee Appointed (Senators Guzzone, King, Watson and Salling) (Senate) - 2025-04-05: Senate Refuses Recede (Senate) - 2025-04-05: House Conference Committee Appointed (Delegates Barnes, Atterbeary and Smith) (Senate) - 2025-04-05: House Requests Senate Recede (Senate) - 2025-04-05: House Refuses Concur Senate Amendments (Senate) - 2025-04-04: House Conference Committee Appointed (Delegates Barnes, Atterbeary and Smith) (House) - 2025-04-04: House Requests Senate Recede (House) - 2025-04-04: House Refuses Concur Senate Amendments (House) - 2025-04-01: Third Reading Passed (33-13) (Senate) - 2025-04-01: Floor Amendment {773521/1 (Senator Ready) Rejected (17-27) (Senate) - 2025-03-31: Second Reading Passed with Amendments (Senate) - 2025-03-31: Favorable with Amendments {573327/1 Adopted (Senate) - 2025-03-28: Motion Laid Over (Senator Guzzone) Adopted (Senate) - 2025-03-28: Favorable with Amendments {573327/1 (Senate) - 2025-03-28: Favorable with Amendments Report by Budget and Taxation (Senate) - 2025-03-12: Referred Budget and Taxation Education, Energy, and the Environment (Senate) - 2025-03-11: Third Reading Passed (100-39) (House) - 2025-03-05: Second Reading Passed with Amendments (House) - 2025-03-05: Floor Amendment (Delegate Fisher) Rejected (39-97) (House) - 2025-03-05: Motion Vote Previous Question (Delegate J. Lewis) Adopted (109-22) (House) - 2025-03-05: Floor Amendment {733422/1 (Delegate Fisher) (House) - 2025-03-05: Floor Amendment {793326/1 (Delegate Nkongolo) Rejected (40-95) (House) - 2025-03-05: Floor Amendment {123026/1 (Delegate Adams) Rejected (37-98) (House) - 2025-03-05: Motion Special Order until Later This Session (Delegate Adams) Adopted (House) - 2025-03-04: Motion Special Order until 03/05 (Delegate Adams) Adopted (House) - 2025-03-04: Favorable with Amendments {363624/1 Adopted (House) - 2025-03-03: Favorable with Amendments Report by Appropriations (House) - 2025-02-13: Hearing 2/19 at 1:00 p.m. (Appropriations) and Hearing 2/19 at 1:00 p.m. (Ways and Means) (House) - 2025-02-11: Hearing 2/19 at 1:00 p.m. (Appropriations) (House) - 2025-01-22: First Reading Appropriations and Ways and Means (House) ## Bill text - Enacted, 2025-05-06: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/Chapters_noln/CH_237_hb0504e.pdf) - Enrolled, 2025-04-07: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/bills/hb/hb0504e.pdf) - Third Reading, 2025-03-05: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/bills/hb/hb0504t.pdf) - First Reading, 2025-01-22: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/bills/hb/hb0504f.pdf) ## Related bills - HB 0384: Maryland Disability Service Animal Program - Established (vetoed) - SB 0227: Workers' Compensation - Payment From Uninsured Employers' Fund - Revisions (vetoed) - HB 0482: Occupational Licensing and Certification - Criminal History - Predetermination Review Process (vetoed) - SB 0157: Maryland Disability Service Animal Program - Established (vetoed) - HB 1294: Commercial Law - Credit Regulation - Earned Wage Access and Credit Modernization (became law) - HB 0228: Maryland Veterans Trust – Assistance to Members of the Maryland National Guard (signed) ## Sources - [Enacted (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/Chapters_noln/CH_237_hb0504e.pdf) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/bills/hb/hb0504e.pdf) - [Third Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/bills/hb/hb0504t.pdf) - [First Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/bills/hb/hb0504f.pdf) ## Related - [HB 0384: Maryland Disability Service Animal Program - Established](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0384-2025RS) - [SB 0227: Workers' Compensation - Payment From Uninsured Employers' Fund - Revisions](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0227-2025RS) - [HB 0482: Occupational Licensing and Certification - Criminal History - Predetermination…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0482-2025RS) - [SB 0157: Maryland Disability Service Animal Program - Established](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0157-2025RS) - [HB 1294: Commercial Law - Credit Regulation - Earned Wage Access and Credit Modernization](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB1294-2025RS) - [HB 0228: Maryland Veterans Trust – Assistance to Members of the Maryland National Guard](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0228-2025RS) - [Maryland bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland/bills) - [Maryland state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0504-2025RS (as of 2026-10-17).