Maryland students, education advocates raise concerns about proposed 2026 budget cuts
Maryland students and education advocates rallied on Monday in opposition to potential cuts in the 2026 proposed budget.
The rally in Annapolis was held on Crossover Day, known as one of the busiest days of the legislative session.
Rally organizers say Gov. Wes Moore's proposed budget includes cuts to education that would strip essential resources from schools and disproportionately impact students with the highest needs.
"It's students from across Maryland coming together under one mission, to fight for education and fight back against a lot of the education cuts," said Riya Gupta, the interim executive director of Strong Schools Maryland.
Students gathered to speak out about cuts to community schools, the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, and disability and behavioral health resources, among others.
"We want (lawmakers) to maintain their promise to the Blueprint," Gupta said. "In 2021, the governor, the legislature, made a promise to students, and now they are here four years later, stepping back on that promise, and we are here fighting against that. I think it is incredible."
"Speak up and speak now," Baltimore student Isaiah Gregory said. "This is the time to do so. Do anything and everything you can to protect the funding for our schools."
Modified Blueprint education bill
Maryland's House of Delegates voted along party lines to change parts of Gov. Wes Moore's plan for the Blueprint for Maryland's Future education plan without most of those proposed spending cuts, according to The Baltimore Banner.
Democratic leaders said their version protects a long-term education plan that's starting to pay off during a crucial time for public schools, the Banner reports.
The Banner says the legislation no longer carries some of the reforms sought by Moore, including a multi-year pause on a plan to increase planning time for teachers. Delegates opted for only a one-year pause instead.
The legislation includes programs to recruit and better train teachers, according to the Banner, and state delegates rejected proposed cuts to funding for community schools.
The Banner says state delegates also rejected Moore's proposed cuts to planned increased per-pupil funding for students in poverty and those learning English, and freezing funding levels for community schools, which offer extra services to students and their families in high-poverty neighborhoods.
2026 proposed budget
Gov. Moore's proposed budget aims to address a $2.7 billion deficit through spending cuts and tax increases for residents who earn more than $500,000 annually.
The budget would also increase taxes for sports betting and recreational cannabis, and would add a surcharge on deliveries from companies that make more than $500,000 per year.
During an interview in January, shortly after the proposed budget was introduced, Gov. Moore told WJZ the $2 billion in cuts will impact programs that are determined to be ineffective.
"There are certain programs that, as we looked at and really did deep dives, I question their efficacy," Gov. Moore said. "So you'll see certain programs, for example, certain tax credits, the enterprise tax credit is one. There's no evidence of efficacy that we have seen."
The governor also said there would be cuts to education programs that do not impact the state's Blueprint initiative and cuts to higher education spending.
Cuts to higher education
Gov. Moore's proposed budget would cut $111 million from the University System of Maryland. The higher education system would get $2.21 billion in state funding, under the 2026 budget, down from $2.32 billion in 2025.
The system is comprised of 12 institutions and three regional centers. Gov. Moore predicts that tuition rates will increase by a projected 2.2% in 2026.
Under the proposed budget, local community colleges would receive $63.2 million.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore would receive $42.9 million for construction, and Towson University would receive $71.1 million for construction. Morgan State University would get $119.2 million for construction and other upgrades.
The budget also includes $8 million for projects at three private institutions.
