Maryland HBCUs awarded $577M from state in settlement

By Alyssa Wilson Published: March 18, 2021

Maryland HBCUs awarded $577M from state in settlement

Gov. Larry Hogan, R-Md., speaks at a news conference, Friday, April 3, 2020, in Annapolis, Md. Authorities are searching for the daughter and a grandson of former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend after a canoe they were paddling in the Chesapeake Bay didn’t return to shore. Hogan on Friday identified the missing relatives as Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean and McKean’s 8-year-old son, Gideon Joseph Kennedy McKean. (AP Photo/Brian Witte)

Maryland lawmakers approved a measure to pay $577 million over 10 years to settle a federal lawsuit involving the state’s four HBCUs.

After a 120-14 vote in the House and a 47-0 vote in the Senate, the measure will now move to Governor Larry Hogan, who vetoed a similar bill last year.

The lawsuit, originating back to 2006, involves Bowie State University, Coppin State University, Morgan State University and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

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It alleges that the state underfunded the institutions while developing programs at predominately white schools that directly competed with and drained prospective students away from the four HBCUs.

According to the Associated Press, in 2013, a judge found that Maryland maintained “a dual and segregated education system” that violated the constitution.

In 2019, a fourth attempt at mediation was made, but it remained unresolved.

The funds from the settlement will be used for scholarships, financial aid services and faculty recruitment.

Payments will begin in the 2023 fiscal year to account for financial impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.