Legal Battles Continue in Fight for Equity in Maryland Higher Education: In an ongoing struggle to right past wrongs, lawyers, community activists and students are awaiting their chance in court to make all Maryland universities equal and to reverse policies they say serve to weaken historically Black universities.
At the heart of the case, The Coalition for Equity and Excellence in Maryland Higher Education v. Maryland Higher Education Commission, are allegations that the state failed to live up to a 2000 desegregation agreement designed to ensure that HBCUs achieve parity with Maryland’s traditionally White institutions by providing equitable funding. The state was to also avoid duplicating at TWIs academic programs already offered at HBCUs in order to preserve the Black colleges’ uniqueness and attractiveness to nontraditional students.
