State Board Hears Parents’ Appeal Over Stuart Hill Closure; Decision Later

The Maryland State Board of Education heard oral arguments on March 1 in an appeal brought by parents seeking to overturn the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners’ decision to close Stuart Hill Academic Academy at the end of the 2022–23 school year. Appellants’ counsel Teresa Concepcion told the board the closure is “entirely unreasonable” given recent events that highlighted Stuart Hill’s ongoing utility to the district and argued the City Board’s decision failed to account for community safety and reliance.

Concepcion said the school provided key services to neighborhood families, noting that Franklin Square students had recently been bused to Stuart Hill during an evacuation and asking whether those students would have had safe alternatives if Stuart Hill had already closed. She described Stuart Hill as a community school that offers intensive emotional supports and before‑and‑after care, and said many parents lack cars or bus passes and that young children should not be required to walk farther distances without safe transportation.

Counsel for the Baltimore City Board, Claude Devasti Jones, told the state board the city followed COMAR and Board policy FCA in its deliberations and that the closure was justified by long‑term enrollment decline, facility condition assessments and financial considerations. Jones said the district considered transportation policy and community feedback and that the administrative record supported the Baltimore City Board’s judgment.

Board members asked clarifying questions about whether Baltimore City made efforts to increase enrollment or perform repairs and about the city’s policies on notice and safety. Concepcion urged the state board to consider whether the city applied its updated portfolio process fairly and whether exceptions to walk‑zone rules could apply in high‑risk neighborhoods.

President Crawford and other board officials did not issue a decision at the hearing; the board took the case under advisement and later issued a written ruling. The written opinion announced at this meeting affirmed the administrative law judge’s recommended decision upholding the Baltimore City Board’s closure determination.