At the conclusion of the 2023-2024 school year, school system reports show that private pre-kindergarten providers are still insufficient to meet even the revised requirements. 

In a recent presentation to the Maryland State Board of Education (MSBE) Shayna Cook, Assistant State Superintendent of Schools in the Division of Early Childhood Education, provided an update on the expansion of pre-kindergarten (pre-k). According to state officials, it was made clear that only four jurisdictions were able to meet the private provider standard of 10 percent for the 2023-2024 school year. Five counties were in the position of actually having zero private providers, while some jurisdictions showed varying degrees of improvement. During the prior two school years, the Blueprint plan had required that at least 30 percent of pre-k students be in private provider programs. Following a slow start up last year, including inconsistent interest and capacity from the private providers, the state agreed to bring the requirement down to 10 percent for this year. These challenges are still present despite Blueprint implementation reports showing a concerted effort by local education agencies statewide.

The full presentation by the Division of Early Childhood can be found on the MSDE website.