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.
Watch Videos Read Brief History
On January 22, 2019, the ACLU of Maryland and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. sent a letter to Governor Larry Hogan on behalf of concerned parents and families. The letter expressed grave concern that the State was not addressing either the massive gap between current and constitutionally adequate educational funding or the immediate infrastructure needs of Baltimore City’s aging school buildings, which disproportionately harms students of color. The letter calls on the State to address this pivotal racial equity issue and ensure the State of Maryland fulfills its constitutional duty to students in Baltimore City.
Read Letter Read Press Release
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
VIDEOS
TOWN Hall – Baltimore City Education Town Hall (December 8, 2022)
This embed will serve content from youtube-nocookie.com.
Privacy info.
TOWN Hall – Are Baltimore City schools on a path towards equity? (November 17, 2020)
This embed will serve content from youtube-nocookie.com.
Privacy info.
TOWN Hall – Baltimore City: Our Children’s Education Matters Town hall (June 18, 2020)
This embed will serve content from youtube-nocookie.com.
Privacy info.
Deshawna Bryant, Senior at City College High School in Baltimore City
This embed will serve content from youtube-nocookie.com.
Privacy info.
(Video by Six Point Pictures)
Michael Boyd, Parent of Children in Two Baltimore City Public Schools
This embed will serve content from youtube-nocookie.com.
Privacy info.
(Video by Six Point Pictures)
Schools that Baltimore City Students Deserve
This embed will serve content from youtube-nocookie.com.
Privacy info.
(Video by Six Point Pictures)
TIMELINE
ACLU’s Fight for Adequate School Funding in Maryland
(Check back soon for timeline updates.)
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.
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
