BALTIMORE – Baltimore City Public Schools is deeply disappointed by the Appellate Court of Maryland’s decision yesterday in Bradford v. Maryland State Board of Education. The Appellate Court ruled against the Bradford plaintiff families on a narrow technical issue, rather than considering the merits of the case, including the compelling evidence of constitutionally inadequate funding for City Schools and its students.
Nearly thirty years ago, a Maryland court found that the Baltimore City students were not receiving a constitutionally adequate education. A sweeping consent decree was put in place. In 2019, the ACLU and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, on behalf of the Bradford plaintiff families, filed a petition for further relief against the State. This petition spurred the General Assembly to enact, over Governor Hogan’s veto, landmark legislation known as the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future (or Kirwan).
While the Blueprint provides critical additional resources to City Schools, significant gaps remain, especially as this legislation is phased in. The Blueprint does not address the billions of dollars needed to bring all our school buildings up to minimally acceptable industry standards.
In a powerful dissent, Judge Andrea Leahy pointed out that “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. The studies and expert reports link the conditions in which children learn to their educational outcomes, and the overall conditions in Baltimore City public schools are exceptionally poor.”
According to the Appellate Court, the plaintiffs should have filed a new case rather than seeking relief under the long-standing consent decree. In dissent, Judge Leahy retorted: “I fail to see how requiring the Bradford Plaintiffs to file a new lawsuit will serve the best interests of the children, the City, the State, or judicial economy.”
We are exploring our legal options for moving forward. In the meantime, City Schools calls upon Governor Wes Moore and the General Assembly to act in the best interests of the children of Baltimore City by ensuring adequate state funding necessary for Maryland to live up to its constitutional obligations fully.