Parents who have to pay for at least some portion of preschool under the state’s partially subsidized pre-K expansion will likely end up in private classrooms.

The Maryland State Board of Education and the Accountability and Implementation Board on Tuesday voted unanimously to recommend that public school systems focus on getting all their low-income 4-year-olds — who qualify to attend for free — into full-day pre-K.

Private child care providers who, unlike public schools, are set up to collect tuition, should focus on enrolling families with 4-year-olds who qualify for discounted pre-K tuition under the state’s rules. Those private programs should also take on 3-year-olds who attend for free and 4-year-olds whose families pay full price.

That guidance clears up questions about the state’s plan to expand public pre-kindergarten as laid out by the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, landmark education that aims to make the state’s schools the best in the nation.

The Blueprint directs the state to offer free pre-K to low-income 3- and 4-year-olds, and discounts to families earning up to 600% of the federal poverty level, or about $187,000 for a family of four. The legislation says about half the pre-kindergarteners should be in public schools and the other half in private preschools that meet Maryland standards.

Not specified in that legislation is how public schools would collect tuition — something they’ve never done.

“This is simply direction for our school systems and our private partners so that we can accelerate the number of students we’re serving through our public pre-K system,” State Board President Joshua Michael said. “We recognize that there are significant implementation barriers to public schools collecting co-pays or tuition. And so this policy provides pathways for public schools to focus on expanding pre-K without doing that.”

The new guidance specifies that public schools can still choose to take on preschoolers from higher-income groups, and that they don’t have to charge families if they don’t want to. Baltimore City, for example, already does this.

Private preschools, too, can choose to accept low-income children whose tuition would be paid by the state.

Most school districts have struggled to get private preschools to participate in the Blueprint’s expansion plan. Statewide, not even 10% of pre-K seats are in private schools. While the school systems prioritize getting as many low-income 4-year-olds through their doors as possible, the state will focus on getting more private pre-Ks on board, according to a presentation Tuesday.

“We cannot implement this requirement of the Blueprint without private providers,” said Rachel Hise, executive director of the Accountability and Implementation Board, which oversees how the Blueprint is put into practice. “The more 4-year-olds and 3-year-olds we can get into full-day pre-K ... they’re now going to come into kindergarten ready, and we can build on that and achieve all of the milestones that the Blueprint calls for.”

The Maryland General Assembly has tried to entice more participation from the private sector by offering them more money per student, faster. Originally, the rate was set to rise to $15,598 in fiscal year 2027, up from $13,003 today. Instead, it will go to $19,950. That rate will be be competitive with the private market and the tuition private providers receive for students in state’s child care scholarship program, according to the state education department.

State Superintendent of Schools Carey Wright said they still hope to see kids from different income levels in the same classroom. Michael noted that’s more of a challenge when they’re required to prioritize kids based on their income.

What public pre-K will cost families

For parents who have to pay at least a little into public pre-K, finding out how much they owe just got a little easier.

The state board also approved a more simplified pre-K payment system Tuesday that caps families’ share of the burden and ensures expanding pre-K is financially viable long-term, according to the education department.

Previously, each family’s share would have been calculated using a percentage of their annual income. Under the new plan approved by the state’s education board, families making between 300% and 600% of the federal poverty level — roughly between $94,000 and $187,000 a year for a family of four — will be split into five income groups that dictate their monthly share.

An online calculator will allow families to estimate their expected weekly cost by entering their family size and income. It will also show them how much their local and state governments are covering.

For example, a family of four making between $94,000 and $112,000 a year would be asked to pay about $145 a month for the 10 months the child is in school. That’s less than 1.5% of those families’ incomes.

Families’ expected contributions will not exceed 7% of their annual gross income — but that’s per child, not per family.

Starting next school year, government funds will only cover families making up to 360% of the federal poverty level. County boards and private preschools will also gain the ability to waive some or all of the cost to families.

The rest of paying families will be eligible for public dollars the following school year, with families paying between $200 and $800 a month. According to estimates in the state’s presentation, as the per-student reimbursement cost rises, so does each family’s monthly share.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.