LEGAL CASE UPDATE
On November 12, the Appellate Court of Maryland dismissed the Bradford vs. Maryland State Board of Education lawsuit brought on behalf of families with children in Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPSS) challenging the State’s chronic failure to provide sufficient funding to ensure the city’s students receive an adequate education. In a 2-1 decision, the court vacated a previous ruling by a lower court and concluded that an earlier agreement (called a consent decree) had been satisfied and should end.
Importantly, the court's decision to dismiss the lawsuit vacated the lower court ruling that had applied the wrong legal standard and found there was no constitutional violation by the State Board of Education. The majority held that the plaintiffs’ constitutional claims would need to be raised in a new lawsuit, even though, as the dissent noted, “The voluminous record and the briefs present staggering evidence in support of the Bradford Plaintiffs’ contention that children who attend many Baltimore City public schools do not receive an education that is adequate by contemporary standards.” Despite the recent ruling, plaintiffs and advocates remain committed to ensuring improved conditions and fair funding for BCPSS.
Read the response press release to the Appellate Court decision
Privacy statement. This embed will serve content from youtube-nocookie.com.
Learn more about the case in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section below.
HISTORY
The Bradford lawsuit, based on a claim under Maryland's constitution, is still open and remains under the authority of the State's Circuit Court. It was filed in 1994 by the ACLU against the state of Maryland on behalf of school children and their parents/guardians in Baltimore City. Baltimore City schools had received over $2 billion in increased state funding from the Bradford consent decree and subsequent “Thornton” education funding formula in 2002. However, since the recession in 2008, Maryland stopped adjusting the Thornton formula for inflation leading to millions lost funds for districts like Baltimore City.
Case Timeline Frequently Asked Questions
On March 7, 2019, a group of concerned parents, joined by the ACLU of Maryland and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., returned to court to file a petition for further relief in the historic Bradford vs. Maryland State Board of Education lawsuit. This lawsuit seeks to ensure that another generation of Black and Brown students in Baltimore City are not held back from realizing their dreams because of unconstitutional and inequitable education funding.
The request filed in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City seeks further relief in the ongoing historic Bradford lawsuit that ordered a revamping of the state’s education funding formula. It would also hold the State accountable for its failure to provide the necessary funding to both provide a quality education and to address the abysmal physical conditions of school facilities that disrupt students’ ability to learn.
- Read the Bradford Plaintiffs' Letter to the Kirwan Commission (Oct 15, 2019)
- Read Letter to Governor Hogan, House Speaker Jones, and Senate President Ferguson (Dec 16, 2020)
Press Releases and Case Documents
MORE VIDEOS
Hear Directly from Students – Bradford v. Maryland State Board of Education
Privacy statement. This embed will serve content from youtube-nocookie.com.
TOWN HALL – Baltimore City Education Town Hall (December 8, 2022)
Privacy statement. This embed will serve content from youtube-nocookie.com.
TOWN HALL – Are Baltimore City schools on a path towards equity? (November 17, 2020)
Privacy statement. This embed will serve content from youtube-nocookie.com.
TOWN HALL – Baltimore City: Our Children’s Education Matters Town hall (June 18, 2020)
Privacy statement. This embed will serve content from youtube-nocookie.com.
Deshawna Bryant, Senior at City College High School in Baltimore City
Privacy statement. This embed will serve content from youtube-nocookie.com.
(Video by Six Point Pictures)
Michael Boyd, Parent of Children in Two Baltimore City Public Schools
Privacy statement. This embed will serve content from youtube-nocookie.com.
(Video by Six Point Pictures)
Schools that Baltimore City Students Deserve
Privacy statement. This embed will serve content from youtube-nocookie.com.
(Video by Six Point Pictures)
TIMELINE
ACLU’s Fight for Adequate School Funding in Maryland
Read the full timeline of the Bradford v. Maryland State Board of Education lawsuit.
Information about Senate Bill 795 from the 1997 General Assembly:
- Established a "parternship agreement" between the city, state, and ACLU.
- Changed the governing structure of the Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS); made it a separate entity governed by a newly created Board of School Commissioners, which would in turn hire a Chief Executive Officer.
A RIGHT WITHOUT A REMEDY?
By Alaizah Koorji, LDF assistant counsel
Maryland Must Finally Ensure Baltimore City Schoolchildren Have the Funding Necessary to Obtain an Adequate Education
As each school year starts anew, thousands of students attending Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS) set out to pursue their passions, further their studies, and ultimately obtain their high school diplomas. Yet for generations of BCPS children, obtaining an adequate education remains out of reach, despite the Maryland Constitution’s guarantee that each student has a right to a “thorough and efficient” public education. As another generation of BCPS students endures compounding consequences from educational funding deficits, the onus is urgently on the state’s legislature and judiciary to decide whether this constitutional right is only a hollow promise.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ACLU PRESS RELEASES
- 1994: December 6
- 1996: November 12
- 2003: July 9
- 2004: August 20, August 25
- 2005: January 24, March 7, June 7
- 2019: January 22, March 7, September 20, October 15
- 2020: January 21, December 16
- 2022: August 15
- 2023: March 15, November 20
