THE PROCESS

 

As promised during the release of last year’s progress reports, we have returned with transparent and accessible updates on Blueprint implementation. In the beginning of January 2023, our team conducted a deep dive into Blueprint mandated reports. Counties are required to submit certain reports every year to update MSDE, the AIB, and the public on their progress with Blueprint implementation. While many reports were submitted in 2022, Strong Schools analyzed a sample of reports included the Diverse Hiring Practices report, 2021 Trauma and Behavioral Health report, and 2022 Trauma and Behavioral Health report. Our analysis was simple: did the counties provide responses to the reporting questions posed by the law?

 

Every report had outlined guidelines with questions the county was supposed to answer. If a county did not meet all the parts of the given requirement, they were given a rating of Needs Improvement. In addition to the basic reporting requirements outlined by the law, the team also rated the counties on three other standards (quality of data, forward-thinking, and community access) that are essential to quality and accessible reporting.

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It is important to emphasize, the team never rated a county for their progress in Blueprint implementation — all the ratings presented are a reflection of if the reports are up to the standard in the law. Overall, a majority of the reports submitted did not meet that minimum requirement noted in the law. There were a few counties, however, that submitted satisfactory or outstanding reports.

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THE FEEDBACK

 

We reached out to all local Blueprint Implementation Coordinators to give them copies of our reports and created space on February 8th to meet virtually with BICs about any questions about the reports or its findings — we received mixed responses varying from gratitude for the constructive criticism and frustration and anger towards the findings. Through the conversations, an emergent theme of frustration towards MSDE and the AIB arose with complaints that there was a lack of guidance and adequate time given to LEAs which negatively impacted the quality of the reports. Taking this feedback seriously, we modified the format of our progress reports to include both the county ratings and an overall view of Maryland’s Blueprint reporting to provide context for the circumstances the LEAs submitted the reports under.

 

THE LESSON

 

With these progress reports, we aim to emphasize that high-quality reporting is essential to the implementation of the Blueprint. While many discussions are had and decisions are made behind closed doors or in the background, these reports are one of the only ways the public can get a sense of what their LEA is doing to implement the Blueprint. As LEAs continue to implement the Blueprint and MSDE and the AIB support their implementation, we must advocate for the need for transparency during this process. As always, we will be back with more transparent and accessible updates on Blueprint implementation and we encourage you to explore the evidence for yourself.

 

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For the future,
Riya Gupta

Policy Research Fellow