The Blueprint for Maryland's Future promised two things: real investment in public schools and the freedom for educators to use that investment creatively. Five years in, those promises are being challenged. Governor Moore tried to delay the funding in 2025 and walked back commitments on collaborative time — the hours where teachers work together on curriculum and build community programs. That was the first thing they came for.

Now comes the deeper problem. Blueprint funding has flowed from a dedicated fund, outside the annual budget fight. When those costs shift to the general budget, the pressure will be for the money to come with strings. The state has contracted with consultants to evaluate implementation, and the next governor will inherit their recommendations for what the Blueprint becomes in the next 5 years. The writing is on the wall: the message to teachers and schools will be simple — let us handle the thinking about how you should teach. You go teach. Approved program lists and accountability mandates will funnel resources to consulting firms and national nonprofits while programs built by teachers and communities get shut out.

We support full Blueprint funding, and we refuse to let that funding be reframed as an award for compromises. The next governor decides whether the Blueprint keeps its original promise or becomes another neoliberal compliance apparatus. An Ellis-Andrews administration will fight for resources that reach classrooms directly.

Moore's motto for fossil fuel companies is "yes and now." When it comes to the promises in the Blueprint, we'll say the same to the people who keep our schools running.

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Early intervention saves lives and improves outcomes. We will insist on expanded access to comprehensive pregnancy and infant health screenings, establishing universal childcare and paid parental leave, and expanding preschool and pre-kindergarten for all Maryland children. More than one in four Baltimore City children live in poverty. Research confirms that poverty directly impacts academic achievement. A top-tier, year-one priority for our administration will be passing the Fair Share Act to expand the state's Child Tax Credit and close corporate loopholes. We will not ask children to learn their way out of poverty while refusing to tax the wealthy. Supporting families from the very beginning is the foundation for lifelong learning.

Maryland educators deserve respect. Respect means fair compensation, secure retirements, and the power to fight for their working conditions. We will raise teacher and educator salaries to competitive levels, reinstate prescription benefits for public sector retirees, and sign legislation granting public sector workers the right to strike. All public school employees will earn at least $25 per hour, have full collective bargaining rights, and be protected from replacement by subcontractors, outsourcing, and AI. Leading with labor is how we lead on education.

Maryland's linguistic diversity is a strength, not a problem to be managed. Right now, schools label students as "English learners" and build entire systems around that deficit framing. The real question is why our schools are insufficiently multilingual, not why our students are. An Ellis-Andrews administration will fund dual-language immersion programs statewide and revise the education funding formula, so multilingual students receive the support they actually need. We will direct millions in annual grants for districts to develop dual-language programs that benefit all students. When immigrant families and their teachers have spent years organizing for these changes through coalitions like Community WELL, the least Annapolis can do is listen and act.

Tens of thousands of Maryland children are now learning at home, and the numbers have grown sharply since the pandemic. Black families have been a large part of this growth, driven by discipline disparities and narrow curricula. Baltimore has a tradition of independent Black education going back two centuries, from the Watkins Academy in the 1820s to community-based programs e today. We will make it easier for families to form homeschooling cooperatives and networks, with state resources from the BOOST program redirected to co-op coordination and access to public school facilities. We will support community-based education organizations that provide culturally grounded learning and youth development.

Democracy means accountability. Maryland's students and communities deserve a meaningful voice in the decisions that affect their schools. We will expand the number of elected members on the Baltimore City School Board, giving communities more direct control over the schools that serve their children. We will expand Student Member of the Board representation to two students per county and establish stipends for SMOBs across Maryland, recognizing their contributions and removing financial barriers that prevent students from lower-income families from serving. Student board members do real work. They deserve real compensation.

Maryland's wealthiest residents, most profitable corporations, and billion-dollar nonprofits must pay their fair share to fund public education. Johns Hopkins alone sits on a $13 billion endowment while paying zero property taxes. We will ensure large educational and medical institutions contribute fairly to the communities they profit from, and we commit to signing legislation that creates progressive, sustainable revenue dedicated to fully funding the Blueprint for Maryland's Future. We commit to opposing any efforts to cut back or weaken Blueprint programs, services, or equity provisions. Governor Moore has created fiscal crises through political cowardice, then used those crises to justify austerity. This ends when we take office.

Passing the Davis Martinez Public Employee Safety and Health Act was a good start. Educators still work in buildings with doors that don't lock, parking lots without adequate lighting, and facilities that have deteriorated for decades. The state's capital investment in schools has lost half its purchasing power over the last 20 years, while construction costs have tripled. Maryland's school buildings need more than safety upgrades. They need comprehensive renovation and modernization. We will secure new revenue, including through a Maryland Public Bank, to fund the infrastructure improvements that keep educators and students safe and provide modern learning environments for every child.