clear space clear space clear space white space
A
 r c h i v e s   o f   M a r y l a n d   O n l i n e

PLEASE NOTE: The searchable text below was computer generated and may contain typographical errors. Numerical typos are particularly troubling. Click “View pdf” to see the original document.

  Maryland State Archives | Index | Help | Search
search for:
clear space
white space
Maryland Manual, 1994-95
Volume 186, Page 230   View pdf image
 Jump to  
  << PREVIOUS  NEXT >>
clear space clear space clear space white space

230 /State Department of Education Maryland Manual 1994-1995

fair share of educational funds and smaller counties did not want to change a distribution which benefrtted
them. The proposal was not revived.

Maryland's first provision for uniform statewide education was adopted by the Constitutional Conven-
tion of 1864. Votes of Union soldiers helped ratify the Constitution of 1864 and, because an oath was
required at the polls, many Maryland voters with Southern sympathies were disenfranchised. Only in effect
for about two years, the Constitution of 1864 propelled public education forward, mandating a uniform
system of free public education, a State Superintendent of Public Instruction, a State Board of Education,
county school commisssioners, an annual State tax to support free public education, and a permanent
State school fund. The legislature was prohibited from passing local laws concerning education. The State
Superintendent was appointed by the Governor and immediately was to submit a plan for the organization
of free public education. If the legislature bogged down in old controversies and failed to enact a bill within
the new constitutional framework, the plan of the Superintendent would become law. The State tax of
ten cents on every hundred dollars of property was to be distributed to the counties and Baltimore City
in proportion to their population between ages five and twenty years.

In 1865, the first State Superintendent of Public Instruction proposed the establishment of free primary
schools, grammar schools, one high school per county, a normal school, and a university, as well as separate
schools for Negroes, the blind, deaf, handicapped, and the imprisoned. Attendance would be compulsory.
The General Assembly adopted portions of his plan. In 1865, Maryland shifted from local control of
schools to a highly centralized system whereby the State Board with the State Superintendent selected
textbooks, set the curriculum, certified teachers, approved school building designs, and distributed State
funds. Appropriations to academies were continued just until county high schools could be established.
Taxes assessed against Negroes were set aside for schools for Negroes under the jurisdiction of the State
Board of Education, although few, if any, were started. In 1865, Maryland began a formal system of
segregated schooling that would last for ninety years.

Opposition to State control came from the formerly disenfranchised voters of 1864 and from Baltimore
City. They perceived the change as too sweeping, the cost too great. In 1868, the legislature returned
control of educational matters to the counties (Chapter 407, Acts of 1868). Issues concerning local schools
were to be referred to the voters, who elected both the Board of County School Commisssioners and the
Board of School House District Trustees. The State continued to fund the schools, however, through the
ten-cent tax on every hundred dollars of property. The Principal of the State Normal School could receive
reports from county boards and Baltimore City and make recommendations to the Governor and General
Assembly, but had no authority. The reactionary law of 1868 was amended in 1870. A Board of State
School Commissioners was created, appointed by the Governor. Under the new law, circuit court judges
appointed boards of county school commissioners, who, in turn, selected district school commissioners
(Chapter 311, Acts of 1870). Free public schools were mandated for Negro children in 1872, under the
control of the existing county and district boards (Chapter 377, Acts of 1872). The office of Superinten-
dent of Public Instruction was revived in 1900 with limited duties of collecting and diffusing information
(Chapter 428, Acts of 1900). School attendance was made compulsory in 1902 for children between the
ages of eight and twelve; children over age twelve were not required to attend school if they were gainfully
employed and could read and write (Chapter 269, Acts of 1902).

State Department of Education. An educational survey was undertaken in 1914 at the legislature's behest after
release of disturbing illiteracy figures for Maryland. Basically an indictment, the survey report had a major impact
on shaping education in Maryland. The surveyors found inadequate buildings, frequent truancy, and badly trained
teachers, supervised by political appointees poorly educated themselves. Funds were ample but distributed
without regard for accountability. The Superintendent's office had almost no staff and no authority to implement
changes. The survey demonstrated the need for efficient administration and supervision of schools and public
school funds. In response, the General Assembly created the State Department of Education, headed by the State
Board of Education, and administered by the State Superintendent of Schools, backed by professionally qualified
staff (Chapter 506, Acts of 1916). Appointed by the Governor with no regard for political affiliation, county
boards of education in turn appointed the county superintendent of schools and district school boards.
Professional standards were set for State and county administrators, and standards for teachers were written into
law. Policy was formulated at the State level and administered by professionals. Ages for compulsory school
attendance were extended, minimum salaries for white teachers increased, and the school year lengthened in
Negro schools.

In 1918, Maryland accepted provisions of the federal Smith-Hughes Act which added vocational
education to the curriculum. State law was amended subsequently to establish a State Equalization Fund
to aid poorer counties in 1922; create the State Teachers Retirement Fund in 1927; initiate education for



 
clear space
clear space
white space

Please view image to verify text. To report an error, please contact us.
Maryland Manual, 1994-95
Volume 186, Page 230   View pdf image
 Jump to  
  << PREVIOUS  NEXT >>


This web site is presented for reference purposes under the doctrine of fair use. When this material is used, in whole or in part, proper citation and credit must be attributed to the Maryland State Archives. PLEASE NOTE: The site may contain material from other sources which may be under copyright. Rights assessment, and full originating source citation, is the responsibility of the user.


Tell Us What You Think About the Maryland State Archives Website!



An Archives of Maryland electronic publication.
For information contact mdlegal@mdarchives.state.md.us.

©Copyright  October 06, 2023
Maryland State Archives