Advocacy Groups Want To Reopen Landmark School Funding Case
BALTIMORE (AP) — Two civil rights organizations are petitioning to reopen a landmark case in an effort to force the state of Maryland to increase funding for Baltimore city public schools.
News outlets report the ACLU of Maryland, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and a group of parents say the state isn't abiding by a consent decree established two decades ago that provided more funding for city schools, many of which are deteriorating.
A 1996 ruling in Bradford v. State of Maryland found students weren't receiving a constitutionally adequate education. The case was followed by the 2002 law governing funding called the "Thornton formula." The filing asserts that Maryland stopped adjusting the formula for inflation in 2008, costing Baltimore hundreds of millions and disproportionately affecting low-income families.
State officials declined comment.
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