Adequacy in Baltimore City Schools: Why the Consent Decree in Bradford v. Maryland is Right

Timothy Ayers

Georgetown University Law Center; Class of 1998

The City of Baltimore, along with a group of parents and their children, brought suit against the state of Maryland in 1994 for failing to provide a "thorough and efficient education" as provided for under the Maryland Constitution. The parties settled before getting to trial and a construction of the "thorough and efficient" was never reached. A proper construction of this language is needed in order to assist with educational guidelines throughout the state of Maryland, as well as helping to determine the proper remedy for such cases.

Baltimore's schools consistently rated as "low performing" and were out-performed by the schools in other Maryland counties. The state of poverty in Baltimore was one of the main reasons for this difference. The average state expenditure per pupil in Baltimore was over $2000 less than for students in other counties. This, combined with the limited finances Baltimore had to spend on teacher salaries and school resources, led to a decrease in the quality of education the students in Baltimore received.

The City of Baltimore sought a construction of the phrase 'thorough and efficient education" which would remedy the disparity between its schools and those of other counties. In looking at the intent of the framers of Maryland's constitution, the phrase meant adequacy and equality of opportunity, including the wise use of funds towards education. Other states construed similar meaning from the "thorough and efficient" language. West Virginia believed it made education a fundamental constitutional right and New Jersey found the language to mean providing an education that allows students to become full participants in society where they could successfully compete with any other student for good jobs in the same market. All these constructions led to the strong inference that Baltimore's schools were not providing a "thorough and efficient education."

While there may be other effective remedies, the $254 million settlement will allow Baltimore the ability to spend more money on education resources as well as raise teacher salaries. Both of these in turn should help give the students a quality education on par with the rest of Maryland's counties.

Vol. V, No. 1, p. 77 (1997)

 

 

Revised July 17, 2003 (MD)