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SB 791

An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, in school finances, further providing for school districts lying in more than one county or in more than one municipality and limitation on total tax revenues.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Dave Argall and 5 co-sponsors

The bill raises required classroom teaching time for career-ladder levels 1–3 from 60% to 80% of working time, starting July 1, 2025.

Referred to Education
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Bill Summary · SB 791

SB 791 — Public Schools — Career Ladder — Teacher Classroom Teaching Time

Status: Hearing 2/21 at 9:30 a.m. (Introduced Feb 21, 2025)
Summary prepared from bill and fiscal analysis (Maryland SB 791 / crossfile HB 732)

Purpose and intent

SB 791 increases the statutory minimum share of a teacher’s working time that must be spent teaching in the classroom for teachers on career-ladder levels one, two, and three. The change aims to align the career-ladder classroom-time requirement more closely with typical teacher practice and affect staffing and workload expectations as the career ladder is implemented.

Key provisions

  • Amends Education Article §6‑1003(a) to change the classroom teaching-time requirement for teachers on career-ladder level 1, 2, or 3 from 60% to 80% of a teacher’s working time.
  • Leaves in place the existing 8‑year phase‑in schedule required under Chapter 36 (the Blueprint implementation), which begins July 1, 2025.
  • Keeps other career-ladder and related funding structures intact (including the collaborative time per‑pupil allocation established under the Blueprint), and does not alter minimum salary or NBC (National Board Certification) provisions tied to the career ladder.
  • Effective date: July 1, 2025.

Who is affected

  • Directly affected: public school teachers who are on level 1, 2, or 3 of the Maryland career ladder (level definitions are set in law: level 1 = state‑certified teacher; level 2 = teacher pursuing advanced credential; level 3 = NBC or master’s in subject / includes assistant principals).
  • Indirectly affected: local school systems (implementation, scheduling, staffing), students (instructional time), and local budgets (personnel costs, staffing decisions).

Fiscal and operational impact

  • State fiscal effect: none reported (no change to State aid formulas).
  • Local fiscal effect: potential decrease in local personnel expenditures to the extent local systems respond by hiring fewer educators; magnitude is discretionary and not reliably estimated.
  • The bill does not reduce the collaborative‑time per‑pupil funding that the Blueprint provides despite raising classroom time requirements.

Procedural/timeline notes

  • Bill takes effect July 1, 2025.
  • The existing 8‑year phase‑in for modifying classroom time remains unchanged and begins with the 2025–2026 school year as previously scheduled under Chapter 36.

For more detail, see the bill text (Education Article §§6‑1002–6‑1003) and the Department of Legislative Services fiscal analysis.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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