Attorney General Anthony G. Brown and two other attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education to stop unlawful cuts to congressionally approved funding for Full Service Community School (FSCS) programs.
FSCS projects focus critical resources on elementary and secondary schools that need them most, offering students and their families additional support to meet academic, health, and social challenges. The Department of Education awards FSCS grants for five-year project periods and makes yearly decisions to continue each grant’s funding. Regulations require the Department of Education to decide whether to continue a grantee’s funding based solely on “relevant information regarding grantee performance.”
However, in mid-December, the Department of Education sent generic notices to numerous grantees, claiming that their programs conflicted with the Trump administration’s priorities and funding would be immediately discontinued. The Department’s non-continuation decision means that Maryland students, and those across the country, will lose FSCS programs, removing vital academic, financial, and community support.
“The Department of Education’s unlawful decision to abruptly cut funding for FSCS programs will strip hundreds of Maryland students and families of essential support for food, housing, and educational resources,” said Attorney General Brown. “We’re taking legal action because these programs are lifelines for Maryland families, and our students’ futures cannot be jeopardized.”
In 2022, the University of Maryland at Baltimore (UMB) was awarded an intended five-year grant, totaling approximately $1.9 million, to implement FSCS programs at two Baltimore City Public High Schools: Renaissance Academy and Augusta Fells Savage Institute of Visual Arts. Since then, both schools have seen increased attendance, and hundreds of students across both schools have received food distribution, housing support, and utility fee assistance, all through UMB’s program. Yet just two weeks before the holidays, the Department of Education informed UMB that its program would be cancelled effective at the end of the month, citing two mentions of “anti-racism” in the approved 2022 program application. This discontinuation represents a loss of approximately $800,000 in funding over the next two years and will cause significant harm to students and families that depend on the program for academic, social, and financial support.
Attorney General Brown and the coalition filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. The complaint alleges that the Department of Education’s decisions violate the Administrative Procedure Act. The attorneys general ask the federal court to rule that the discontinuances are unlawful and seek an injunction rescinding the Department’s decisions.
Joining Attorney General Brown in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of North Carolina and the District of Columbia.
