As the countdown begins on the General Assembly’s 90-day legislative sprint, the only guarantee is that elected officials need to solve a nearly $3 billion problem.

But legislators have already made some of their other priorities known through the bills introduced ahead of session, including some that could alter the state’s education system, from school cellphone bans to lowering the cost of applying to college.

A variety of factors could affect whether a bill has a shot of passing. Democrats control both chambers, for example, meaning bills introduced by Republicans without bipartisan sponsorship can have a much tougher time getting across the finish line. And it’s only the first day of session, so there are still plenty of bills to come.

Based on what’s been introduced so far, here are the issues we’re keeping an eye on.

Education spending

Eyes are already on the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state’s costly education reform plan, for potential budget cuts.

That includes Gov. Wes Moore, who last month hinted at changes to spending formulas and proposed pausing an expensive provision that would give teachers more time to collaborate and lesson plan outside of the classroom.

In the meantime, the state is supposed to hire 15,000 teachers to eventually make that plan possible. A bipartisan bill could help, allowing out-of-state credentialed teachers to get hired more easily in Maryland public schools. Maryland would have to join the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact, which has 13 members including nearby Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Another bill would task 11 people with improving how the delay in student enrollment counts affects school funding, especially as student populations grow. The idea has bipartisan sponsorship in the Senate and three Democratic backers in the House of Delegates.

College access

More Marylanders might stand a chance at going to college if these bills, all sponsored by Democrats, pass.

Sen. Alonzo T. Washington is sponsoring two of them. The first would bar public universities from charging application fees to students from certain public high schools in Maryland. The bill doesn’t specify which ones, but that measure could help some low-income students afford to apply.

The other would prohibit Maryland’s public colleges from asking about an applicant’s disciplinary record or factoring it into admission decisions, with an exception for cheating. Under the first draft of the bill, schools could keep students convicted of certain sexual or violent crimes out of on-campus housing.

And a bill sponsored by Sen. Benjamin Brooks would cut down from three to two the number of years an undocumented student, or their family or guardian, must file Maryland income tax returns to qualify for in-state tuition.

Cellphones in schools

Crackdowns on cellphones are already underway in some Maryland school systems, but lawmakers are looking to take it a step further.

Democratic Sen. Jeffrey D. Waldstreicher and Republican Sen. Justin D. Ready want to create a one-year pilot program to ban cellphones during the school day, except during lunch, at one middle and one high school in Montgomery and Carroll counties.

Another bipartisan House bill calls for cellphone restrictions in elementary and middle schools while a different bill, introduced by Republican Nino Mangione, calls for the same but allows high schoolers to use their phones during lunch.

Two Democrat-sponsored bills, one in the Senate and one in the House, would require that cellphones be put away during class.

Other lawmakers around the country have had the same idea. As of October, 27 states and Puerto Rico introduced cellphone restriction laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Students accused of crimes

After a Howard High School student who’d transferred from another school system was charged with murder last year, state education leaders started requiring a student’s criminal history to be shared with other districts if they transfer.

But Republican lawmakers want stronger restrictions on students who have been accused or convicted of a crime.

One Senate bill would stop students who were convicted of a sexual offense from attending school in person. The school district would offer them alternative education, instead, away from other students.

And if two bills introduced by Mangione and other Republicans were to pass, any student suspected of or charged with a violent crime wouldn’t be allowed inside school.

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.