Montgomery County high schools could soon have new boundaries — and new signature programs.

Officials say it’s a necessary revamp that will give students more equitable access to a high-quality education.

But the one-two punch of change is causing angst, particularly for parents who bought homes with the expectation they would send their children to a particular school or program.

Public school leaders say they’re conducting both major efforts at the same time so that families get the full picture of how the two issues intersect.

“Addressing these simultaneously helps align facility use, reduce overcrowding and expand opportunities closer to where students live,” officials wrote in a statement.

Some parents fear the district is moving ahead without sufficient transparency, disrupting tight-knit communities in the process.

“They’re trying to do a big thing, but they’re doing it poorly and without input from the right stakeholders,” said parent Rebekah Kuschmider, the mother of an Einstein High School senior and an eighth grader headed toward the school. She worries the changes will pull resources from the school’s performing arts program.

The plans are not finalized and families will have opportunities to share input with district leaders over the next several months. In the meantime, here are some key questions and answers.

Why does MCPS need a boundary study?

Montgomery County Public Schools serve about 160,000 students, making it the largest district in the state. Some of its campuses are overcrowded and others are in desperate need of renovation.

The district will open Crown High School, expand Damascus High School and reopen Charles W. Woodward High School for the 2027-2028 year, meaning officials need to redraw boundary lines to decide who attends which campus.

The impact of these changes affect far more than those three schools, with ripple effects extending to middle school attendance lines.

The district published FAQs about the process online.

Why is MCPS overhauling its approach to specialized programs?

District leaders say changes are needed to ensure more students across the district can enroll in rigorous academic programs, such as the International Baccalaureate pathway.

Under the current setup, they say, there’s uneven access: Some students get more chances to apply for specialized programming; there are limited seats for the most in-demand pathways; and some opportunities are inaccessible because of a dearth of public transportation.

So district leaders want to roll out a new model in which high schools will be grouped into six regions. Each would offer parallel programs across five academic themes, including STEM, humanities and the arts.

“A regional model will allow MCPS to offer a greater number of students more opportunities to enroll in higher-level programs as a result of having these programs in every region instead of just a few schools across the county,” officials wrote on a webpage dedicated to the proposal.

How would a regional model impact existing programs?

It would end the Downcounty Consortium and Northeast Consortium, two longstanding programs for providing high school choice within specific parts of the district. Instead, some consortium schools will be split amid the regions.

“This change allows all students in the county with access to similar programs closer to home and without as many limitations on available seats,” district officials wrote in an FAQ.

Certain legacy programs — like Science, Math, and Computer Science at Montgomery Blair High School and Humanities and Global Ecology at Poolesville High School — will continue in their current locations, serving students across their new region, officials said.

Can MCPS maintain quality across so many regions?

Some parents and teachers raised concerns that replicating academic programs across six regions could compromise quality. The district would need to recruit specialized staff and fill slots with prepared and interested students.

Ella Wan, a freshman at Richard Montgomery High School, recently spoke to the school board about the need to keep programs robust across regions. There are already disparities among existing programs, she said, pointing to the International Baccalaureate pathways at her school and Watkins Mill.

“Students may technically have ‘access’ to IB in both schools, but the quality of the experience can feel very different depending on where you go. That is not equity,” she said. “If the regional model is implemented without careful attention to resources, we risk recreating these inequities on a larger scale.”

District officials said ongoing training for staff will help assure that they are well supported and connected with colleagues across the district.

What comes next — and how can people weigh in?

The district will hold virtual information sessions on the regional program model on Sept. 29. The analysis will go before the Board of Education for final action in December 2025.

There will also be several October virtual and in-person sessions to talk about the boundary study.

Families will be presented with updated maps and data, then provided opportunities to respond via surveys.

“After reviewing all input, the superintendent will present a final recommendation for Board of Education review,” officials said.