Lawmakers representing Anne Arundel County in the Maryland General Assembly are working to pass a bill to help provide student loan relief for local teachers.
The bill would authorize Anne Arundel County to set up a fund for teachers who secure a position in the Anne Arundel County Public School system, commit to teaching there for at least five years and meet an income threshold established by the county. All the details and requirements would be designed by the county if and when it chooses to act on the enabling legislation.
The Senate version of the bill is sponsored by the Anne Arundel County delegation chair, Sen. Dawn Gile, a Severna Park Democrat. The House effort is being led by Del. Shaneka Henson, an Annapolis Democrat. The bill is supported by several other state lawmakers representing Anne Arundel.
Gile’s staff got the idea from Howard County, which passed a similar bill in 2018, enabling that local government to establish a loan relief fund, which it did in June 2023. Howard is the only jurisdiction that has done this so far, according to the Maryland Association of Counties.
Spencer Dixon, Gile’s legislative director, came across an advertisement for the new Howard County program before the start of this legislative session and thought, “‘Why can’t we have that in Anne Arundel County?’” he said earlier this month.
Howard allocated $300,000 in its budget for the program in the current fiscal year and intends to offer $1.5 million in total over the next five years. It is not yet known how many teachers this will impact since the first application period doesn’t open until this spring. The first round of loan forgiveness payments will be made this summer.
Howard County and the school system are in the process of determining who will be eligible to apply, how many applicants will be accepted and how much aid each will receive, said Howard County government spokesperson Safa Hira.
Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman voiced his support for the bill in a letter to the Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee. County Council members indicated their support in initial conversations with Gile and her team, Dixon said.
“This authorizing legislation opens the doorway for the county to invest in our children by investing in our educators, keeping morale high and limiting financial burden that may impact an educator’s ability to teach in the schools they desire,” Pittman wrote in his March 1 letter. “This will be another tool in our toolbox that Anne Arundel County can use to maintain our slate of dedicated educators while encouraging future educators to view our county as an attractive teaching destination.”
The school system employed about 5,930 classroom teachers and served 84,452 students last school year, according to The National Center for Education Statistics.
Gile and Henson added that the bill could also help position Anne Arundel to improve the diversity of its teachers, better reflecting the diversity of the student population. It’s something AACPS also appreciated about the proposal.
“We recognize the educational benefits of a diverse workforce that enriches the educational experience of all AACPS students,” wrote Grace Wilson, the school system’s legislative and policy specialist, in letters to both the House and Senate committees.
If the bill were to pass, the county would design participation requirements along with a funding model and payment plan. Both House and Senate versions have passed out of committee and are set for a vote by the full chambers.
Given that there is an existing latticework of national and state loan repayment programs educators can take advantage of, the county would likely reap the most advantage from the program by not making it mutually exclusive to others.
“For the purpose of leveraging the most relief for Anne Arundel County educators who are borrowers, the county would likely benefit, and borrowers would benefit from designing the program to be additive onto existing programs rather than replacing [them] because otherwise you would sort of be leaving [federal] money on the table,” Dixon said.
Howard County’s program does not prohibit participants from taking advantage of other initiatives, according to the Howard County Council bill.
Once created, the program would be run by Anne Arundel County Public Schools. Representatives from the school system signaled their support for the bill at House and Senate committee hearings, arguing the legislation could be the reason a teacher comes to or stays in the county.
“This bill keeps good educators in our schools,” said Nicole Disney-Bates, president of the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County and a special educator, at the February Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee hearing.
While most government officials who testified backed the bill, some residents opposed it, with one person arguing it would be fiscally irresponsible to allocate taxpayer funds for this purpose.
“SB0657 is more government overreach,” wrote Anne Arundel resident Suzanne Price in a letter to the Senate committee.
Price was one of 12 residents who recorded their opposition for the committee’s consideration in the bill testimonial log.
The bill is on track to reach the governor’s desk by the end of the legislative session in early April. The Senate bill is in the House Appropriations Committee and the House bill is in the Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee.
