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Case 1:25-cv-02990-ER Document 21 Filed 04/11/25 Page 1 of 4
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
STATE OF NEW YORK; et al.,
Plaintiffs,
v. C.A. No.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; and
LINDA McMAHON, in her official capacity as
Secretary of the Department of Education,
Defendants.
DECLARATION OF CAREY M. WRIGHT
I, Carey M. Wright, declare as follows:
1. I am a resident of the State of Maryland. I am over the age of 18 and I am
currently employed by the Maryland State Board of Education as State Superintendent of
Schools of the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE).
2. As the State Superintendent of Schools, I have personal knowledge of the matters
set forth below or have knowledge of the matters based on my review of information and records
gathered by my staff. If called as a witness, I could and would testify competently to the matters
set forth below.
3. The Department is responsible for ensuring a rigorous and world-class
educational experience for every Maryland student, in every neighborhood, that prepares each to
be college and career ready.
4. On March 28, 2025, United States Secretary of Education Linda McMahon
rescinded previously approved extensions of the time period to liquidate obligations under the
Education Stabilization Fund (ESF). This decision impacts all programs funded by the
Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSA) and the American
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Rescue Plan Act (ARP). Secretary McMahon’s letter set a new liquidation deadline of 5:00 p.m.
on March 28, but the letter was attached to an email sent after 5:00 p.m., meaning that MSDE
only received notice of the modification after it had taken effect.
5. Secretary McMahon’s letter takes the position that “[e]xtending deadlines for
COVID related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended
is not consistent with the Department [of Education]’s priorities.” But, as the Department of
Education (USED) previously found, these extensions were necessary in the face of widely
reported shipping delays, supply shortages, and construction backlogs to ensure effective support
for Maryland’s educational needs following the COVID pandemic.
6. Maryland has unliquidated obligations funded by three ESF programs,
Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER), Emergency Assistance to Non-
Public Schools (EANS), and Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY). These federal funds
have been dedicated to programs vital for addressing student learning gaps (especially those
exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic), such as reading and math initiatives, tutoring, after-
school activities, summer programs, wraparound supports, case management, mental health
services, and transportation to early childhood programs.
7. Consistent with USED guidance, see, e.g., Ex. A—Letter from USED Office of
State and Grantee Relations to CRRSA and ARP Grantees (Dec. 5, 2024), MSDE requested and
received extensions to the liquidation period for CRRSA funding through March 31, 2025, and
for ARP funding through March 28, 2026. Ex. B—Md. ARP-HCY Liquidation Extension (Jan.
7, 2025); Ex. C—Md. ARP ESSER Liquidation Extension (Jan. 22, 2025); Ex. D—Md. ARP
EANS Liquidation Extension (Jan. 22, 2025); Ex. E—CRRSA ESSER Liquidation Extension
(Mar. 17, 2025); Ex. F—Md. CRRSA EANS Liquidation Extension (Mar. 17, 2025). Two of
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those extensions were approved by Acting Assistant Secretary Hayley B. Sanon as recently as
three weeks ago. Acting Assistant Secretary Sanon determined that “Maryland’s request[s]
provide[d] sufficient justification and documentation for an extension to the period of
liquidation.” Exs. E & F. Nothing has changed since USED approved MSDE’s extension
requests to justify this sudden and unforeseen departure from the previous extensions to the
period of liquidation.
8. In Maryland, the recission of approval immediately impacts upwards of $245
million, much of which has already been spent and awaits reimbursement by USED:
Amount
Program Name Grant Award # Remaining to Request Date Approval Date
Be Liquidated
CRRSA EANS S425R210006 $3,325,422.73 01/26/2025 03/17/2025
CRRSA ESSER S425D210005 $79,919,204.78 01/26/2025 03/17/2025
ARP-HCY S425W210021 $1,814,520.13 12/18/2024 01/07/2025
ARP EANS S425V210006 $312,277.00 12/11/2024 01/22/2025
ARP ESSER S425U210005 $160,505,073.59 01/14/2024 01/22/2025
9. USED’s sudden change in policy has caused chaos and confusion and threatens
the financial stability of ongoing educational programs and initiatives in Maryland Secretary
McMahon’s action deprives Maryland of funds that USED committed to pay through March 31,
2025 (for the CRRSA funds) or March 28, 2026 (for the ARP funds). Maryland and its local
school systems reasonably relied on USED’s commitment and require those funds to meet the
educational needs of their student populations. If this critical funding is not restored, Maryland
school systems will be unable to satisfy obligations to public and private partners or provide
essential public education services to residents.
10. Under the extensions USED approved, Maryland reasonably anticipated upwards
of $245 million in ESF funds would be available to pay existing obligations. Indeed, MSDE has
drawdown requests pending. Additional funding was dedicated to projects that currently are in
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progress. If USED reneges on its commitments, the impact on Maryland’s schools and students
will be catastrophic.
11. Hardest hit will be Maryland’s school systems with the highest concentrations of
poverty, such as Baltimore City Public Schools and Prince George’s County Public Schools. In
Baltimore City Public Schools, pandemic recovery-funded tutoring and after-school programs
already are being wound down. The last day of tutoring programs was Tuesday, April 8. The last
day for after-school programming at 44 sites and one virtual program will be Friday, April 11.
In Prince George’s County Public Schools, numerous programs are now in jeopardy, including
Science of Reading training and resources, educator training on mitigating learning loss from
COVID, community schools wrap-around services, mental health clinicians and immunization
services, and technology devices. The loss of these programs in Maryland’s highest-poverty
school systems will only widen the academic achievement gap
12. The sudden withdrawal of expected funds places immediate pressure on Maryland
and local school system budgets. Local school systems are already facing financial shortfalls,
and the rescission of the approved funding likely will lead to further staff layoffs, increased class
sizes, and reduced resources for students.
I declare under the penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed on April 8, 2025, at Baltimore, Maryland.
_____________________________________
Carey M. Wright, Ed.D.
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