Education

ACLU of Maryland's education work focuses on funding, school climate, facilities, and student achievement.

The ACLU of Maryland works to ensure that all public schoolchildren in Maryland have an equitable opportunity to attend healthy and safe schools that provide high quality education. Our aims include securing equitable and adequate public school funding, ensuring that facilities are conducive to learning, and providing a positive school climate where children can thrive.


BRADFORD VS. STATE OF MARYLAND

Our education work is rooted in the Bradford v. Maryland State Board of Education adequacy lawsuit, brought on behalf of Baltimore parents and students in 1994. We work to impact policy and laws by educating and lobbying elected officials, working in coalition, using legal strategies, and supporting parents and communities to bring their voices to Annapolis and other forums.

The General Assembly, at its First Session after the adoption of this Constitution, shall by Law establish throughout the State a thorough and efficient System of Free Public Schools; and shall provide by taxation, or otherwise, for their maintenance.

—Article VIII, Maryland State Constitution


Find past issues of our Education Advocate newsletter here.

The Latest

Resource
Blueprint for Maryland's Future - #FocusTheFormula; yellow background with red and blue stack of books

BLUEPRINT FOR MARYLAND’S FUTURE – FOCUS THE FORMULA

News & Commentary

Change Starts with Our Children

2020 kicked off to a hopeful start for children, teachers, and leaders in Baltimore, as yet another three new 21st Century Schools opened. By 2022, the 21st Century Schools initiative is pushing to replace school buildings in poor conditions by adding 28 new schools. 
News & Commentary

Schools Must Have Additional Funds To Create the Supportive Learning Environments Children Need

Black and Brown students in Baltimore City deserve to reach their dreams without bearing the burden of inequitable education funding. Many of these students already are burdened by a long history of systemic racism, housing segregation, and economic discrimination that have fostered high rates of poverty, violence, and associated trauma in their communities. The State of Maryland must be held accountable for its failure to provide the necessary funding to deliver a quality education to all students.
Event | In-person
Teacher with students

Kirwan 2020: Race & Wealth Equity in Maryland Schools

Dec 17, 2019 | 5:30 PM
Court Case
Jan 23, 2012

Bradford v. Maryland State Board of Education

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.
Court Case
Jun 25, 2025

Mahmoud v. McKnight

Court Case
Jun 25, 2025

Y.A. v. Padilla

Court Case
Jun 13, 2019

Rozon v. Prince George's County School Board