Maryland families with annual incomes between three and six times the federal poverty line will pay for pre-K on a new sliding scale starting next fall.
The state board of education voted unanimously Tuesday to cap pre-K tuition contributions for families earning between around $83,000 and $166,000 each year at seven percent of their annual income.
The new payment system, adopted to align with the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future goal of expanding pre-K access state wide, splits families in this middle-tier income group into five levels. Families on the lower-earning end will pay less than $100 per month for their four-year-old’s pre-K attendance.
Laura Weeldreyer, executive director of the child care advocacy nonprofit Maryland Family Network, said she’s enthusiastic about pre-K expansion – and this latest statewide step to increase access.
