A ruling from a Baltimore City Circuit judge has preserved a decades old lawsuit that had pushed the state to provide millions more for Baltimore’s schools,
The Baltimore Sun reports that the decision eventually could have far-reaching consequences for state funding of public schools in Maryland.
The ACLU of Maryland and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund went to court last March to reopen a case filed in 1994. They argued the the state is not living up to its obligation — spelled out in a consent decree two decades ago — to provide enough funding for city schools.
[Related: Civil rights groups want Baltimore school funding lawsuit revisited ]
The ACLU and NAACP say the state should be spending $200 million to $300 million more each year to rebuild deteriorating facilities and provide a better education. If they were to succeed, Maryland would face pressure to spend far more on schools throughout the state as well.
The state had asked a judge to dismiss the case, saying that funding of public schools is not in the jurisdiction of the courts, but should be decided by the legislative process. In addition, the state said there was a statute of limitations on the case.
Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Audrey J.S. Carrion ruled in favor of the civil rights organizations.
The school funding case is running parallel to activity in the Maryland General Assembly, which will consider a $4 billion increase in funding for schools by 2030.
Civil rights groups contend that since 2008, Maryland stopped adjusting the formula for inflation and allowed funding for Baltimore to fall far below the level required to provide an adequate education.
“It is beyond time that Maryland meet its constitutional obligation to provide all students – including the thousands of African-American children in Baltimore – the education they need and deserve,” says Ajmel Quereshi, senior counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
