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Nearly 300 MCPS families may be on the hook for dual enrollment costs

After a $1.4 million reduction in funds for dual enrollment classes in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), roughly 9% of MCPS students enrolled in the college classes may need to pay hundreds of dollars in tuition and fees for the courses....

Dan Murphy • •3 min read
Nearly 300 MCPS families may be on the hook for dual enrollment costs
Family & Education

Nearly 300 MCPS families may be on the hook for dual enrollment costs

By

Ashlyn Campbell

July 14, 2026 11:32 a.m.

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    An empty classroom. - Image Credit: Elia Griffin

    After a $1.4 million reduction in funds for dual enrollment classes in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), roughly 9% of MCPS students enrolled in the college classes may need to pay hundreds of dollars in tuition and fees for the courses. 

    Monday afternoon, MCPS sent 289 letters to families detailing the potential costs and options for students, according to MCPS spokesperson Liliana Lopez. Enrollment is ongoing, and 3,159 students are enrolled in dual enrollment classes at Montgomery College as of Friday afternoon, according to the community college’s spokesperson Vanessa Zambrano.  

    “Students who are eligible to participate in dual enrollment through Montgomery College’s (MC) placement process but do not meet the [College and Career Readiness] designation may have initial access and still enroll in college courses; however, they will be responsible for tuition, fees, instructional materials, textbooks, and other college course-related costs,” MCPS said in a frequently asked questions page about the change.  

    The messages to families was sent out after parents raised concerns about the communication of the changes.  

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    “It’s not fair to have families in limbo,” Brigid Howe, president of the Montgomery County Council of PTAs and a parent of a student taking dual enrollment courses, told Bethesda Today on Thursday before messages went out to families on Monday. “It is known that this is a possibility, and for it to be July and payments are due in August is really unfair to parents.”   

    Dual enrollment courses are classes that allow high school students to take Montgomery College courses while completing high school. Typically, MCPS would cover the costs associated with the college classes including tuition, fees and textbooks for enrolled MCPS high school students.   

    Superintendent Thomas Taylor told reporters in May after the budget was passed that the district will be reducing the number of students it will cover the tuition for due to a $1.4 million decrease in funds for the program.  

    The reductions came after the county school board voted 7-1 in May to approve the fiscal year 2027 budget. The emotionally fraught deliberations followed the County Council’s May adoption of a $7.9 billion county operating budget that had a $36 million shortfall between the district’s expenses and its approved funding.     

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    The new budget will now reflect the state’s definition for College and Career Readiness, a metric students can meet through a mix of taking assessments such as the SAT and earning certain grades in courses. Now, instead of paying for the costs of all dual enrollment students, MCPS will only cover the costs for students who meet the College and Career Readiness standard.  

    According to the Blueprint website, the state aims to have all students meet the standard by the end of their 10th grade year. 

    In a Thursday statement to Bethesda Today, Lopez said the budget cuts apply to all students who do not meet the college and career standards regardless of grade, however most of the standards are geared toward 11th and 12th graders.   

    In a Friday statement, Zambrano said while the cost of a three-credit course for a county resident is $553. While students taking dual enrollment courses aren’t eligible for federal financial aid, the college offers a limited, need-based “dual enrollment grant on a first-come, first-served basis for eligible families with an adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less.” 

    According to the frequently asked page, the cuts may also impact dual enrollment programs in other ways, including “a limitation on the number and types of classes available in the MCPS high schools.”  

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    “Because students are already enrolled in classes scheduled for Fall 2026, if an alternative model is not developed, this change will be implemented in Spring 2027,” the page said.  “Expect to see reductions in what and where courses will be available in Spring 2027 and future years. More specific information about these changes will be shared once decisions are final.” 

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    Originally published at Bethesdamagazine