Inside state’s big plan to alter public education

The challenge of rolling out the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state’s landmark public school reform plan, will grip the attention of education leaders for years to come.

The far-reaching plan became law in 2021, kicking off an enormous effort across multiple state departments, agencies and 24 public school systems that will take a generation of students to complete. Officials leading the endeavor forecast that its effects might not be fully apparent until the cohort of students entering prekindergarten in fall 2022 graduate from high school in 2036.

Some of the plan’s architects say other states should be studying what’s about to happen in Maryland. Even as the plan looms large for politicians, nonprofits and education advocates, it has drawn little attention or understanding from the public it seeks to serve.

So what does the Blueprint aim to do? And what can families expect from public education in the coming years?

Here’s everything you need to know about the long-term strategy for overhauling Maryland public schools.