The Right to Learn Act offers children a needed lifeline

At the end of January, the Maryland State Department of Education released the results of the Spring 2022 Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program, which measures the math and reading proficiency of students in public schools across the state. The results of these assessments should be of concern to every Marylander.

English language arts (ELA) scores have returned to pre-pandemic rates of proficiency or better, but even so, less than 50% of Maryland students are proficient in ELA in grades 3-8, and only 53.4% of Maryland’s 10th graders scored as proficient. The results in math proficiency are much grimmer. Statewide, only 6.9% of those testing in 8th-grade math were proficient. There was less than 20% proficiency in those testing in 6th-grade math, 7th-grade math, Algebra 1 and Algebra 2. Of the students testing in 4th-grade math, 5th-grade math, and geometry, less than 30% were proficient. The highest proficiency statewide was 3rd-grade math with 36.7% of students testing proficient.

While test scores are a single data point, they are an important diagnostic tool that can alert us to problems within a specific school, a particular jurisdiction, or a statewide system. State and national headlines have focused on Baltimore City’s test scores, but these problems are statewide. Students across Maryland are struggling. While the myriad problems in Baltimore City schools serves to exacerbate the proficiency issues, it is not the only system with abysmal scores.

Advocates of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future have assured us that for the price of $10 billion (and growing), the state’s K-12 education system can be dramatically improved over the next decade. We want to see our schools succeed and hope this massive infusion of funding is effective. But history has shown us this may not be the case. Two decades ago, the Bridge to Excellence in Education plan was going to be the answer to Maryland’s education woes. It was another huge increase in education funding that contributed to a decade of deficits. Then, a decade ago, Maryland students were forced into the Common Core Curriculum. Neither lived up to expectations. As the Blueprint costs grow, Maryland is projected to have billion-dollar deficits over the next few years. Increased funding does not always lead to better results. According to the United States Census Bureau, in FY 2020, Baltimore City had the 13th highest per-pupil spending in the country. At some point, we need to accept that throwing money at our problems simply does not work.

Whether or not the Blueprint lives up to its promises matters little to the students in our classrooms today. They do not have the luxury to wait for schools to improve. They need choices now. Maryland’s school children need the state’s leaders to put their needs first, rather than the demands of the teacher’s union. Our children deserve the best possible education option that meets their individual needs — whether that is in a public school, a charter school, a home-schooling situation or a private school.

Our children have a right to learn. House Bill 737, the Right to Learn Act, is a reasonable solution to help bridge the learning gaps in our state. It is a measured school choice option that focuses exclusively on low-income students and students who attend chronically failing schools. The bill codifies the BOOST scholarship program that allows low-income students to attend approved private and parochial schools across the state.

The bill also establishes Education Savings Accounts for families with children trapped in failing schools. Families of children attending a failing school (defined as a Maryland School Report Card score of two stars or less for two consecutive years) would qualify for the Right to Learn program allowing them to seek alternative education options for their children. Those who elect to seek alternative options would receive the per-pupil spending equivalent in an Education Savings Account from which they could fund qualified education expenses such as tuition for a public school in another jurisdiction, a private or parochial school, or a home-schooling curriculum.

The Right to Learn Act is a lifeline that focuses on those students who need it the most. It helps children in classrooms today. It poses no existential threat to public schools but instead provides the stimulus for success that competition can foster. Maryland should still strive for a world-class public school system. Until we get there, the Right to Learn Act will protect the futures of our most vulnerable students.