Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today (BOOST) Program

Students are eligible if their family income does not exceed 100% of the federal Free and Reduced-Price Lunch program (FRL) ($57,720 for a family of four in 2024–2025). Renewing students who remain income-eligible are entitled to vouchers as long as funding is available with priority to siblings as well. _(Last updated July 18, 2024)_

Qualifying expenses include tuition and fees at qualifying private schools. _(Last updated July 18, 2024)_

The amount of money budgeted for scholarships in the 2024–2025 academic year is only $9 million, which is equivalent to only 0.76% of Maryland’s total K–12 expenditures, meaning roughly 3,000 students will be able to participate, or less than 1% of Maryland’s K–12 student population. The state also carries over any unused funds from the previous year. The Maryland legislature established the program as a budget item, and it is funded by appropriation. Of the appropriation, $700,000 was previously set aside for providing higher vouchers to students with special needs. The 2024 budget bill does not include that set aside, but the Maryland Department of Education appears to assume that the set aside still applies and that the omission was accidental. Each student’s voucher can be funded at the statewide average of the per-pupil expenditures by all local education agencies for the current school year, up to but not exceeding the amount of tuition at the private school. The program’s advisory board considers a student’s special needs when determining scholarship amounts and usually may fund these students with higher vouchers than the per-pupil average. This 2024 budget bill does not include language permitting higher scholarships for students with special needs, but the Maryland Department of Education appears to assume that the requirement still applies and that the omission was accidental. The scholarship amount is determined by a ranking system. The program requires the Maryland Department of Education to “compile and certify” a list of applicants and rank them by eligibility before sending to the BOOST advisory board. Though this was likely intended to provide the most aid to the most disadvantaged students, this policy creates unnecessary invasions of privacy and forces a ranking system for students already eligible for the program. _(Last updated July 18, 2024)_

On December 10, 2021, the U.S. District Court of Maryland in _Bethel Ministries, Inc. v. Salmon_ held that the state board administering the BOOST voucher program violated the First Amendment free speech rights of Bethel Christian Academy when it removed and excluded the school from the voucher program. The Court opined that the state violated the constitution when it “conditioned government funding on a viewpoint-based restriction of speech” and violated the Unconstitutional Conditions doctrine. Schools participating in the BOOST program are prohibited from discriminating against students in the admissions process based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Bethel did not violate this nondiscrimination law. The case began when the school was nonetheless disqualified due to statements in its parent/student handbook that marriage is “a covenant between one man and one woman,” and that gender is bestowed by God “at birth as male or female to reflect His image.” The Court declined to rule whether the BOOST program is constitutional. This case was not appealed by the state. _Bethel Ministries, Inc. v. Salmon_ , Civil Case No.: SAG-19-01853 (D. Md. 2021). _(Last Updated December 6, 2023)_