Baltimore City Public Schools -

The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future (sometimes referred to “Kirwan”) is landmark legislation that was passed into law in 2021. Building on the recommendations of the Kirwan Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education, this legislation represents a comprehensive overhaul of education funding in the state of Maryland, with major new investments designed to close equity gaps and improve the overall quality of education in the state. 

City Schools is currently working on developing our second local implementation plan for the Kirwan Blueprint for Maryland Future. We continue to consider how policies and practices support a system that equitably serves all students to prepare them for success that advances and accelerates our goals and priorities and that of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.

This year’s plan is split into two parts: a short overview of our systemwide implementation, submitted on March 15, 2024, and the full Blueprint Implementation Plan, submitted at the beginning of May. The systemwide implementation overview gives City Schools the opportunity to share how we align the Blueprint with our priorities and programming and the implementation challenges we face. The full LEA Blueprint Implementation has 23 questions this year across all 5 pillars.

On Thursday, April 4, 2024, City Schools hosted a Town Hall where participants got to ask questions and share feedback. You can review the presentation and watch the recording (English/Spanish).

City Schools’ Kirwan Blueprint implementation plan for the 2021-22 through 2023-24 school years was approved by the state's Accountability and Implementation Board in July 2023. The plan is laid out as a series of responses to questions posed by the Maryland State Department of Education.

This initial plan was laid out as 164 questions covering the five pillars of work outlined in the Kirwan Blueprint. You can learn more about the development timeline, authors, and process in the presentation that was made to the Board's Operations Committee.

While some initial elements of Kirwan were implemented in the 2021-22 school year, the 2022-23 school year will mark the beginning of substantial impacts on district funding. It’s important to understand what Kirwan is — and what it isn’t.

Kirwan is a recalibration of state funding through an equity lens that works to correct what has been historical underfunding of educational resources for children from low-income families, English language learners, and students with disabilities. In addition, it gives special attention to students who live in areas of concentrated poverty.

This will mean additional funds for the district and the opportunity to deploy new resources on behalf of our students. At the same time, as part of its equity focus, Kirwan is targeted at schools and students who need it most; some schools and students will benefit more than others from Kirwan funding.

Kirwan is not a curriculum, and it is not a “blank check” for the district to spend however it wants; there are guidelines, restrictions, requirements, and mandates. Kirwan is also not the sole source of funding for the district. It is designed to be transformative — to support students and schools at the margins as well as bring about systemic change.

City Schools’ implementation plan for the Kirwan Blueprint was approved by the Accountability and Implementation Board in July 2023. The plan is laid out as a series of responses to questions posed by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE).

The plan only addresses planning and implementation work that began in 2021-22 and ends in 2023-24. A second plan will be submitted in March 2024 and will cover subsequent years.

The plan is laid out as 164 questions covering the five pillars of work outlined in the Kirwan Blueprint. You can learn more about the development timeline, authors, and process in the presentation made to the Board's Operations Committee.

Below you will find:

• The implementation plan that was submitted to the MSDE and approved by the AIB.

• An overview of the presentation that was made to the Board's Operations Committee earlier this year.

• A very brief, high-level summary of points made under each pillar in the plan.