On April 13, the Maryland General Assembly approved House Bill 70 — the 2015-16 budget — and concluded its regular session. Total statewide general fund appropriations will total $16.4 billion for 2015-16, a 2.1 percent increase over the originally adopted 2014-15 budget. Total state aid for primary and secondary education from all sources will total nearly $5.5 billion, up 2.7 percent.

Education legislation approved during the session includes: Senate Bill 595, the Public Charter School Improvement Act of 2015; House Bill 298, the Student Data Privacy Act of 2015; House Bill 672 and Senate Bill 496, the Maryland College Export Act of 2015; House Bill 923 and Senate Bill 490, which establish the Capital Grant Program for Local School Systems With Significant Enrollment Growth or Relocatable Classrooms; and House Bill 452 and Senate Bill 497, which establish the Commission to Review Maryland’s Use of Assessments and Testing in Public Schools.