Judge Say Md. Colleges Have 'Segregative Effects'

BALTIMORE (AP) -- A federal judge has ruled that Maryland has shortchanged the state's four historically black colleges by unnecessarily duplicating their programs at nearby predominantly white institutions.

In a ruling issued Monday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Judge Catherine Blake wrote that the duplication of academic programs was part of an earlier dual system of higher education in the state. She said the practice puts the black schools at a competitive disadvantage and has "segregative effects."

The ruling comes after a six-week trial early this year. The Coalition for Equity and Excellence in Higher Education sued the Maryland Higher Education Commission in 2006.

Blake deferred judgment and recommended that the parties begin mediation to remedy the situation.

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