Maryland is the latest state to join the so-called "Race to the Top" education reform competition-the U.S. Department of Education's $4 billion competitive grant program that aims to encourage states to enact various policies, like stronger charter school laws, teacher tenure reforms, and adopting national standards and tests, to receive more federal funding.

Governor Martin O'Malley unveiled an education reform plan designed to improve Maryland's chances in the RTTT competition. The centerpiece of his initiative would be to extend the time that it takes a public school teacher to earn tenure from two to three years. (Most states, incidentally, already require a teacher to wait three years before earning tenure. Some states require as long as seven or more years.) Newspapers reports indicate that O'Malley received the blessing of the Maryland teachers union before proposing this change.

It's not surprising that the unions have a hand in creating the Governor's reform plan given what's noticeably absent from it: strengthening the state's weak charter school law. According to the Center for Education Reform, a non-profit organization that supports charter schools, the Old Line state's charter school law earns a "D" on national rankings.

Charter schools like KIPP Ujima Village Academy in Baltimore City are providing at-risk children with the chance to escape the some of the state's lowest performing public schools. But roadblocks still stand in the way for charter schools in Maryland. High-performing schools like KIPP are being hampered by excessive regulations. And promising school models too often aren't given a chance to open.

The Baltimore Sun criticized O'Malley's failure to include charter schools in his new education reform plan in his RTTT application effort:

But given that Maryland is already far behind most other states in the application process, it can't afford to ignore any options that might give it a better shot at winning those funds. Not to mention that charter schools have proven effective enough to warrant expansion, even if federal funds weren't involved. At this stage, it's going to be tough enough to persuade the feds that we're serious about embracing change. It will be harder still if the state continues to insist that students in its worst-performing schools don't really need the kind of innovative alternatives that publicly funded, independently run charter schools can offer.

They're right. It shouldn't require any federal incentives for Maryland lawmakers to implement long-overdue reforms like strengthening the state's weak charter school law. Rather than crawling to the top, Maryland lawmakers should embrace bold reforms that will provide better educational opportunities for students across the state.

Link to Baltimore Sun:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bal-ed.education0124,0,3656571.story