ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Anne Arundel County Board of Education voted unanimously November 19, 2025, to adopt its final Phase 2 redistricting plan, Revised Board Recommendation 3 (Revised BR-3), affecting approximately 750 students starting with the 2026-2027 school year.
The decision caps a nine-month process that began in February 2025 with the appointment of a redistricting committee and included multiple public work sessions, two formal public hearings on the revised proposal November 13 and 17, and a final review November 5 when the board crafted the compromise plan.
Revised BR-3 adjusts attendance boundaries primarily in central and northern Anne Arundel County to alleviate overcrowding at several schools and better balance enrollment across the district’s 81 elementary, 19 middle, and 12 traditional high schools. The plan moves students from over-capacity schools including Shipley’s Choice Elementary, Severna Park area elementaries, and portions of the Old Mill and Meade high school clusters.
A detailed table listing every affected address and new school assignment appears on page 12 of the 28-page final report posted on the Anne Arundel County Public Schools Phase 2 redistricting webpage at aacps.org/redistrictingphase2. The document also includes interactive maps and a searchable address lookup tool launched earlier this fall.
Like the Phase 1 plan implemented for the current 2025-2026 year, Phase 2 contains a narrowly drawn legacy provision. Only rising seniors — students who will enter 12th grade in August 2026 — may request to remain at their current high school for one final year. No transportation will be provided for legacy students; families must arrange their own rides.
The online portal for rising seniors to apply for the legacy option opens December 1, 2025, and closes January 31, 2026. Students enrolled in countywide magnet programs such as the International Baccalaureate at Annapolis and Meade, Performing and Visual Arts at Annapolis, or STEM at North County and South River will continue at their current schools with district-provided transportation regardless of boundary changes.
Superintendent Mark Bedell told the board the revised recommendation reflects adjustments made after November hearings, including keeping certain neighborhoods together and minimizing splits at the elementary level where possible.
The redistricting process is driven by enrollment growth in the Jessup, Odenton, and Gambrills corridors, where new housing developments have pushed schools such as Manor View Elementary and Arundel Middle above 110 percent capacity in recent years. Meanwhile, older communities closer to Annapolis have seen declining enrollment, creating space at schools like Tyler Heights Elementary and Bates Middle.
Phase 2 follows Phase 1, which redrew southern county lines last year and moved roughly 1,100 students into the new Old Mill West High School that opened in August 2025. Combined, the two phases represent the most extensive boundary realignment in Anne Arundel County since 2007.
Families with questions about their specific address can contact the AACPS Planning Office at 410-439-5683 or use the online address verification tool. The district will mail official notification letters to affected households by mid-December 2025.
