Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) has joined another lawsuit against the federal government, this time taking on the U.S. Department of Education for its attempt to rescind previously approved pandemic-era relief funding for schools.
It’s just the latest in a series of lawsuits that Maryland has joined, or led, against Trump administration efforts to slash federal jobs or programs.
Thursday’s suit, filed in New York with 15 other attorneys general and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), challenges the department’s “arbitrary and capricious” decision to cancel billions of dollars previously approved to the states last month.
The states claim that a March 28 letter from Education Secretary Linda McMahon announcing that a COVID-19-related program had ended at 5 p.m. that day, created “chaos for state education departments and local school districts.” A mass email was sent to all “chief state school officers” via email at 5:03 p.m.
Maryland and other states had requested and received approval from the Biden administration to extend how they drew down remaining pandemic-era funds. All the states, and the District of Columbia, which is also party to the suit, were given until March 2026 to spend the funds.
The money is used for various educational programs and school construction projects, ranging from tutoring and reading materials to installing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.
However, McMahon’s letter dismissed all approvals from the previous administration, saying it did not make sense for the department to be awarding COVID-19 grants “years after the COVID pandemic ended.” School districts should have known better than to count on the funds, she said.
Maryland education leaders said during an online March 31 news conference that the state stood to lose $418 million – $305.2 million that had already been spent but not reimbursed by the federal department, and another $112.8 million in “encumbered” funds not paid out by the state. That meant local school systems would have had to immediately stop any ongoing work on capital projects, or educational programs.
State Superintendent Carey Wright called the potential cuts “catastrophic” at the time, and that was echoed Thursday by the attorney general.
“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,” Brown said in a statement. “This is a breathtakingly heartless action that threatens to change children’s futures for the worse, and our Office will not stand for it.”
Most of the money in Maryland comes from the American Rescue Plan’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ARP ESSER, program. The suit highlights several affected projects such as Baltimore City Public Schools, which announced the cancellation of tutoring and after-school programs. The school system hasn’t been reimbursed $48 million.
A U.S. Department of Education spokesperson did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Thursday night. But Madi Biedermann had said in a statement last month that “COVID is over. It is past time for the money to be returned to the people’s bank account.”
Thursday’s suit notes part of McMahon’s letter justifies the sudden change of position from the previous administration doesn’t fit with the current department’s “priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion.”
“The government had already declared the COVID-19 emergency over when ED [U.S. Education Department] issued approvals of the extension requests,” according to the suit. “Thus, the rationale ED uses to support its abrupt change in policy is nonsensical.”
With this lawsuit, the coalition is seeking a preliminary and permanent court order to prevent the department from arbitrarily changing its position so the states can continue to access these essential funds.
As for Brown, the first lawsuit he joined against the U.S. Department of Education came March 6 when the department abruptly suspended $600 million in grants that states use to train teachers and place them in hard-to-staff schools.
On that same day, a federal workers lawsuit led by Brown was filed in U.S. District Court of Maryland that alleges the firings of tens of thousands of employees, including military veterans, were “unlawful.”
Exactly one week later, Brown announced he joined nearly two dozen attorneys general to sue the Trump administration from “dismantling the Department of Education” by reducing half of its workforce.
Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501(c)(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: scrane@marylandmatters.org. Follow Maryland Matters on Facebook and Twitter.