BALTIMORE — Maryland joins 16 other states suing the Trump administration for blocking access to hundreds of millions of dollars in pandemic-era education funding.
On March 28, the Department of Education notified states that it was unilaterally ending access to hundreds of millions of dollars in grants from the American Rescue Plan Act and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act.
Previously, states were told they could access these funds through March 2026.
“The Trump Administration’s decision to cut this funding has thrown Maryland schools into turmoil and uncertainty and threatens valuable programs that help homeless and low-income students recover from the painful effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Attorney General Brown.
“This is a breathtakingly heartless action that threatens to change children’s futures for the worse, and our Office will not stand for it.”
Maryland is poised to lose upwards of $418 million in COVID-related funds, which the state Department of Education is calling "catastrophic."
Maryland's school system has already spent at least 73 percent of that funding - roughly $305 million - under the presumption that it would be paid back as agreed, said State School Board President Joshua Michael at a press conference last month.
Baltimore City Schools will not receive $48 million, forcing them to cancel pandemic recovery-funded tutoring and after-school care programs.
The lawsuit states that the Department of Education reversed its prior extensions of time without providing a sufficient explanation.
The states are seeking a preliminary and permanent court order to prevent the Department from arbitrarily altering its stance. The goal is to ensure the states can continue accessing these essential funds.
In the letter about canceling the funding, Education Secretary Linda McMahon says, "Extending deadlines for Covid-related grants.....years after the Covid pandemic ended is not consistent with the department’s priorities"
She says governments can still request extensions for specific projects if they can clearly demonstrate how the funding addresses ongoing pandemic-related educational challenges facing students.
In filing this lawsuit, Attorney General Brown joins the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‛i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Oregon, along with the Governor of Pennsylvania.
