{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Maryland Now","title":"Swimming Halfway: Maryland's Blueprint for Education Reform","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2862,"description":"Maryland Now — brought to you by Blended Public Affairs\n\nThis episode, Josh Kurtz takes a deep dive into the Blueprint for Maryland's Future — the state's roughly $4 billion, 10-year education reform plan — now about halfway through its run, with a formal progress report due out by the end of the year. Drawing on interviews with eight educators and political leaders, Josh traces the Blueprint's roots back to a 1990s ACLU lawsuit over underfunded Baltimore City schools, through the Thornton and Kirwan Commissions, Governor Hogan's 2020 veto and the legislature's override, and into where the plan stands today — including a look at what's working, what isn't, and the funding fight that's about to define its next chapter.\nIn this episode:\nHow Maryland's decline in national education ratings alarmed policymakers and educators and prompted bold but complicated action\nThe five \"pillars\" of the Blueprint, and why the law also created an unusual new oversight agency, the Accountability and Implementation Board\nAll 24 Maryland school districts have now hit $60,000 starting teacher salaries — but neighboring states are catching up fast, and some districts had to sacrifice other priorities to get there\nWhy a court ruling striking down Maryland's digital advertising tax has frozen over $535 million earmarked for the Blueprint\nThe push from advocacy groups and the teachers' union for progressive revenue measures — and the pushback from counties already stretched thin\nA candid, skeptical take from a former Baltimore City school board member on whether the Blueprint tried to do too much, too fast\nA powerful official's case for staying the course, told through two sports metaphors — a college athletic program still waiting to win games, and a swimmer who covers 26 miles without ever completing the crossing\nGot a question or topic you want covered this season? Reach us at marylandnow@blendedpublicaffairs.com, and find us now on Facebook too.\nTechnical support by Nate Carper,...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/cWPrI2HtFRFi4-cEgG9AilW5PwDl7N2ksf_B2iAK6ck/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mMjlm/MWRkNGZkYjQxNzZh/ZjI0NTRjNmVmNTg2/NjBjMC5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}