Maryland saw a sharp decline in graduation rates for its Hispanic and multilingual learner populations in the spring of 2025, which education officials attributed to growing anxiety over immigration enforcement across the country.

The four-year graduation rate for multilingual learners overall fell the most, to 60.8% from 66.3% in 2024, while the graduation rate for Hispanic students dropped 4.4 percentage points. The rates for most other student populations stayed the same or saw slight increases year over year.

“These significant declines are notable. Heightened political tensions and fear around immigration enforcement erode students’ sense of safety and belonging, disrupting learning and pathways to graduation,” Joshua Michael, Maryland State Board of Education president, said during a news conference Tuesday.

“I’ve never seen a drop or gain that significant year over year in a relatively large subgroup at the state level. … So, it is for those of us who are looking at data like this, it raises significant alarm bells when you see that much movement in year over year.”

Overall, the state’s four-year graduation rate for all students was 86.4%, down from 87.55% the prior year. However, 2025 marked the first cohort whose education was uninterrupted by COVID-19, Assistant State Superintendent Timothy Guy said, contributing to a larger number of students in the system. Out of 72,702 students in the cohort, 62,842 received a high school diploma in four years.

Under federal guidelines for calculating graduation rates, students obtaining a General Education Development diploma or a certificate of completion aren’t counted. The adjusted cohort of students for the 2025 data included freshmen from the 2021-2022 school year, with students added and subtracted as they transferred in and out of schools.

‘This is serious’

State Superintendent Carey Wright said she’s heard from local superintendents with large immigrant populations that enrollment in their districts is declining. In Montgomery County, the school district’s international registration center has been working at less than half of its normal operation, Wright said.

The Hispanic student population, which accounts for 24% of Maryland schools’ population, also had the highest percentage of dropout students at 50.9%.

The Maryland State Department of Education is proactively providing information and updated guidance to local school systems as staff work to ensure students are safe, Wright said during the news conference. MSDE had a meeting with superintendents, school safety staff and the director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Office.

“I think the superintendents are very aware of what’s happening. I’m not sure that we’ve had a conversation about like, what do we do about it, because I think it’s hard when parents are not feeling, they’re reluctant, I guess, to send some of the students to school based on the kinds of things that are happening,” Wright said.

During public comment at Tuesday’s board meeting, Shannon Wilk, director of education for CASA, called on MSDE to collaborate in good faith to establish protocols rather than hold private meetings with ICE leadership. She urged the board to hold state leaders accountable, recognize the “crisis” in schools and act with the urgency and transparency needed.

Baltimore City Schools student Riley Ramos said during public comment that she carries the fear of ICE with her all day at school, choosing between whether to risk safety or her education. She asked the board to listen to student voices and take action to protect them.

“Families are torn apart and inconsistent school policies make it worse,” Ramos said. “Safety should never depend on where we live or who we know. It should be guaranteed to all students.”

The graduation rate for most school systems in the Baltimore region increased, even if only slightly. Baltimore City Schools’ graduation rate increased by 0.72 percentage points to 71.7%. Anne Arundel’s graduation rate increased to 88.9%, Harford’s rose to 92% and Carroll’s increased to 94.6%. The increases in all three counties were less than one percentage point.

“By focusing on ninth-grade support, expanding credit recovery, strengthening post-secondary planning, and prioritizing daily attendance, we are driving student achievement and opening doors to higher education, family-sustaining careers, and brighter futures,” Sonja Brookins Santelises, City Schools CEO, said in a news release.

Some school districts faced more significant declines. Baltimore County’s four-year graduation rate decreased by 1.54 percentage points to 84.3%, while Howard’s decreased to 91.3% and Montgomery’s to 88.8%. Howard saw a 2.24 percentage point decrease, while Montgomery dropped by 3.05 points. The data indicate that students’ needs have surpassed the support available for them, Montgomery County Public Schools said in a news release.

“To address these gaps, MCPS is implementing strategies designed to restore academic excellence and reinforce core foundations across the district, guided specifically by the Montgomery Board of Education’s Future Ready Strategic Plan,” the release reads.

The data raised concerns from board members, with Nick Greer saying it is “extremely unfortunate” that some multilingual learners and Hispanic students aren’t finishing 12 years of schooling, as the data indicate. About half of the gains made in previous years had been “wiped” out, which is important for the board to pay attention to, he said.

Board member Xiomara Medina urged officials to look beyond the data into how the state can address the causes.

“When we have conversations like this, when we’re only looking at numbers, it doesn’t give the same sense of urgency, right?” Medina said. “This is serious, and it’s right in front of our faces.”

Though the data released Tuesday highlights emerging trends, it only reflects the circumstances of the first half of the year, Michael said, reminding the board that it should expect more data in the future that could reflect the effects of rising political tensions and immigration enforcement in communities.

“This really is lagging data,” he said, “and so we’ve got a lot that’s happened since June.”

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