Section 7-1A-03 - Proportion of eligible private providers(a) Except as provided under subsection (b) of this section, a county board shall ensure that:(1) Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, prekindergarten slots provided by eligible private providers shall account for at least 10% of the total prekindergarten slots provided by eligible prekindergarten providers in each county;(2) The proportion of eligible private provider prekindergarten slots in each county increases by 10 percentage points every school year, until, in the 2028-2029 school year, eligible private provider prekindergarten slots account for at least 50% of eligible prekindergarten provider prekindergarten slots in each county; and(3) In each year after the 2028-2029 school year, the proportion of eligible private provider prekindergarten slots in each county shall continue to constitute at least 50% of eligible prekindergarten provider prekindergarten slots in each county.(b)(1) The Department shall issue a waiver from the requirements of this section to a county board if:(i)1. All families in the county who desire to enroll their eligible children with eligible prekindergarten providers are able to do so; or2. After reasonable cross-jurisdictional or regional efforts, there are too few eligible private providers to meet the minimum requirements of this section; and(ii) The county board demonstrates to the Department that it has made a good faith effort to fully embrace the mixed delivery system, including by adopting a memorandum of understanding in accordance with § 7-1A-05 of this subtitle.(2) The Department may exclude by annual waiver Tier I children who are 3 years old in a county from the calculation under subsection (a) of this section until the 2031-2032 school year.(3) The Department may exclude by annual waiver Tier I children who are 4 years old in a county from the calculation under subsection (a) of this section until the 2028-2029 school year.(4) The Department shall establish waiver application procedures to carry out the provisions of this subsection.Amended by 2024 Md. Laws, Ch. 165,Sec. 1, eff. 7/1/2024.Amended by 2023 Md. Laws, Ch. 119, Sec. 1, eff. 4/24/2023.Amended by 2021 Md. Laws, Ch. 55, Sec. 1, eff. 4/9/2021.Added by 2021 Md. Laws, Ch. 36, Sec. 3, eff. 3/12/2021.