About the Coalition The Maryland Nonpublic Schools Legislative Coalition represents nonpublic schools in Maryland who are interested in becoming actively involved in legislative efforts to secure equitable benefits for our students, teachers and families.   Thanks to the active participation of many of our members, the Coalition was successful during the 2008 session of the Maryland General Assembly in increasing funding for the Nonpublic Schools Textbook/Technology program to $4.6 million, and in making great progress on the BOAST Maryland tax credit.  We also hosted our third annual Legislative Reception in Annapolis, at which students and other school representatives visited with their legislators, and joined them for a lunch reception in the Miller Senate Office Building.  The efforts of the Coalition are critically important not only to protecting funding for the Textbook/Technology program, but also to securing increased benefits in other areas, and in monitoring issues, such as school health regulations, that impact our schools.  How to Join the Coalition Because we all benefit from the efforts of the Coalition, we urge you to lend your support in the following ways: Complete a registration form for your school, so that we can be sure we have your correct contact information – especially an accurate email address – in order to keep you informed about legislative issues affecting our school community. Click here to print out and mail the form; click here to register online. If you are able to do so, please forward the requested $100 annual fee – or any amount you can afford – to help cover the cost of hosting our website and email advocacy network and our legislative reception in Annapolis.  All contributing members will be listed with a link to your school’s website on the Coalition’s main website – a great way to advertise your school to prospective school families! Please be sure to inform your school parents, teachers, and others of our online Legislative Action Center on our website at www.mdnonpubs.org.  Click here to download a flier about the service to distribute to your school community. Please also pass on this information to other nonpublic schools who might be interested in this effort.  If you have any questions, contact Mary Ellen Russell, our legislative coordinator, at 410-919-8816.