Abstract The Maryland State Board of Education had its beginnings with the Act of 1865, enacted by the General Assembly, and providing a “uniform system of free public schools for the State of Maryland.” The supervision and control of the first public system in Maryland was vested in a State Board of Education, consisting of high ranking political officials. New laws were enacted in the years 1868, 1870, 1904, and 1916, which shaped the organizational structure of the Board. The members of the Board...