Support HB524 - Early Childhood Development Professional to MD State Board of Education

I am writing to urge your support for HB 524, a critical piece of legislation that holds the key to shaping a brighter future for Maryland’s families, children, and economy.

Currently, the State Board of Education adopts regulations and policies for early childhood education and child care, but its members lack expertise in the very area they are overseeing. HB 524 seeks to address this by ensuring equity in the composition of the Board. Specifically, it calls for the inclusion of an early childhood education professional, ensuring that the Board is equipped with the knowledge and experience to make informed decisions that affect our youngest learners.

If the Board already includes experts representing students, parents, teachers, and other vital stakeholders, we must also recognize the need for expertise in early childhood development. Board composition is crucial to its effectiveness, and an optimal Board should reflect the diversity of challenges, priorities, and stakeholders in the education system.

High-quality early childhood education is foundational to long-term success in both school and life. It impacts school readiness, early literacy, and social-emotional development. As we know, early childhood education and care starts at birth—yet there is currently no representation on the State Board of Education from this critical sector. HB 524 seeks to rectify this gap by expanding the Board’s membership to include a professional who specializes in early childhood education and care.

With 6,732 licensed early childhood education and care programs in Maryland, serving 206,665 children, the lack of a seat for this sector on the Board is a clear oversight. These programs include community-based public Pre-K sites, family child care, center-based child care, and nursery schools, and the Division of Early Childhood's budget exceeds $600 million. Yet, the policies and regulations governing these programs are crafted without direct input from those who know the field best.

By adding an early childhood development professional to the State Board of Education, HB 524 offers numerous benefits:
1.	Collaboration to strengthen the birth-to-five system in Maryland.
2.	Support for the Pre-K mixed delivery goals of the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, ensuring alignment with comprehensive birth-to-five objectives.
3.	Invaluable insights into the successes, challenges, and concerns of the early childhood education community, ensuring decisions reflect community needs.
4.	Better balance and expertise in the Board’s composition, with a member who understands the real-world impact of Board decisions.
5.	Enhanced understanding of how policy and regulatory decisions affect the birth-to-five ecosystem in Maryland.
6.	Consideration of the financial and business impacts of Board policies on early childhood education programs.

HB 524 is an essential step toward building a more robust early childhood education and care system, and it ensures that our governing Board is equipped to make decisions that lead to success. Our children and families depend on us to get it right. Please support HB 524!

Support HB524 - Early Childhood Development Professional to MD State Board of Education