Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) will not cut middle school elective time this year. The district paused plans to expand daily core instruction after the state delayed a math mandate that had put Churchill and Wootton cluster schedules in question.
MCPS Chief Academic Officer Niki Porter told the Board of Education on Friday, Oct. 9, that the district is shelving its core content expansion until it gets clearer guidance from the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), as first reported by Bethesda Magazine.
"At this time we have decided to delay that decision until we hear further notice from [MSDE]; we'll also be talking with additional stakeholders about the implications and particularly how that might impact electives," Porter said.
The delay follows a state requirement, adopted last year, that all schools provide 60 minutes of daily math instruction for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Maryland's State Board of Education voted unanimously in August to push the compliance deadline to fall 2028, giving districts an extra year.
That state-level extension opened the door for MCPS to step back from two options its staff had presented to the board. Option one would have stretched math, English, social studies and science classes to 60 minutes each, shrinking time for health, physical education and other electives. Option two would have replaced individual schools' special elective offerings with a standardized set of core electives across all middle schools.
Parents pushed back on both proposals. Board President Grace Rivera-Oven said the board was "bombarded" with emails from community members worried about losing elective programs. She asked Porter to make clear that no schedule changes would happen this school year.
The concern extends beyond Montgomery County. Statewide, only 27 percent of students scored proficient in math on state tests, the figure that drove the mandate. But critics argued the rigid 60-minute rule could squeeze out arts, science and social studies. Rachel McGrain, executive director of Arts Education in Maryland Schools, told the state board in August that some students were already spending half their art classes on virtual math instruction to meet early compliance targets, according to WTOP.
Porter said the state is still targeting the 2028-2029 school year for full implementation. MCPS will use the added time to consult stakeholders on how the expansion would reshape middle school schedules. No date for the next board discussion or public comment window has been announced.
