High school students promised free access to college courses may now have to pay

A last-minute change to the Montgomery County Public Schools budget could leave some of the district’s most academically motivated students on the hook for hundreds of dollars.

District leaders, confronted with a $36 million funding hole, cut $1.4 million from the dual enrollment program, which gives high schoolers access to college courses.

MCPS previously covered the tuition and fees for high school students who wanted to take certain classes at Montgomery College. This gave teenagers an extra challenge, as well as a leg up on higher education. Some could earn an associate’s degree at the same time as a high school diploma, saving them and their families thousands of dollars.

Now, the district will only cover these costs for students who are deemed “college and career ready,” based on a specific state definition that factors in GPA, course completion and standardized test scores.

“It comes out of pocket or it means a lower enrollment to dual enrollment, and that’s a terrible choice, and it is going to disproportionately impact Black and brown students,” Superintendent Thomas Taylor said after the budget vote earlier this month.

It’s not yet clear how many students will be impacted by the change. About 3,000 students take part in the county’s dual enrollment programs.

“While every eligible student in grades 9 through 12 will still have access to take these college courses, the reality is that the district can no longer cover the cost for anyone who hasn’t met those specific state benchmarks,” district spokeswoman Liliana López said in a statement.

Michael Sauter, who ran the Montgomery College Middle College program at Northwood High School, is worried about the roughly 70 sophomores who are expected to take their first community college course in the fall.

These rising 10th graders have not yet had the chance to hit the state’s readiness standard by scoring well on the PSAT or checking off other metrics.

Sauter’s program was marketed to students with an exciting, and unambiguous, promise: “FREE COLLEGE!!!”

Students look forward to enrolling in college-level music, sociology and health classes.

“To take that away now, or to limit it in such a manner, is going to have an impact,” Sauter said.

Sauter said his students suddenly face paying about $550 for a single three-credit course. These teenagers are representative of the school community’s broader population, in which the majority of families qualify for free or reduced-price meals.

For low-income families, the cost may not be possible to absorb.

López said that if a rising 10th grader wants to remain enrolled in a college course for the fall, but hasn’t hit the state benchmark yet, their family will have to cover the costs or apply for financial aid through Montgomery College.

To Sauter, the dual enrollment budget reduction seemed to come out of nowhere. For weeks, MCPS leaders sent updates to the district community outlining potential staffing cuts based on how much money Montgomery County Council members ultimately allocated to the district.

After major pushback, the school board restored some of the at-risk job positions.

“Lots of other people were able to advocate before the Board of Education,” Sauter said. “Dual enrollment students had not been told that it was even in jeopardy.”

Montgomery College spokesman Marcus Rosano said in a statement that officials will work closely with district leaders to understand the scope of the changes.

“Montgomery College is not planning changes to its dual enrollment tuition structure at this time,” Rosano said. “Students may also explore existing financial aid and dual enrollment grant opportunities for which they may qualify.”

Brigid Howe’s son is among the rising 10th graders at Northwood High who expects to take a Montgomery College course in the fall.

“There’s not a whole lot of time for families to figure this out,” said Howe, who also leads the Montgomery County Council of PTAs.

Howe said she understands that the district’s strained financial reality means hard decisions. But she wants more communication from school leaders about what happens next, especially for families who don’t have $500 to spare.

“The real issue with this, though, is that kids were promised one thing,” she said, “and now this is being dropped on them suddenly.”