Sponsors (21)
The bill recognizes and affiliates the restored Thurgood Marshall School with the National Park System—keeping local ownership and increasing federal technical support and public access—while relying on cooperative agreements and unspecified funding that could leave preservation costs and oversight uncertainty with the nonprofit and taxpayers.
The local nonprofit (Beloved Community Services Corporation) keeps ownership and day-to-day control of the restored Thurgood Marshall School while gaining federal recognition and affiliation, preserving local stewardship.
The Secretary of the Interior is identified as the federal steward and the bill authorizes NPS technical and financial assistance for marketing, interpretation, and preservation, giving clearer federal support without transfer of ownership.
Visitors, schools, and the public will gain improved access to interpretive resources about Thurgood Marshall and civil rights history through NPS affiliation and support, enhancing local educational opportunities.
Federal designation and affiliation could impose new preservation requirements and oversight that increase administrative burden and restrict the nonprofit's flexibility in managing the property.
The site may face additional compliance, maintenance, and preservation costs while the bill prohibits NPS acquisition and overall financial responsibility, leaving long-term funding burdens on the nonprofit or local governments.
Affiliated-area status offers fewer protections and less direct federal management than full NPS ownership, increasing reliance on variable grants and partnerships and risking uneven preservation over time.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Establishes the Thurgood Marshall elementary school in Baltimore as a National Park Service affiliated historic site while keeping ownership with a local nonprofit and authorizing federal assistance.
Official title: To establish the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site in the State of Maryland and provide for its administration as an affiliated area of the National Park System, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 27, 2025 by Kweisi Mfume · Last progress February 27, 2025
Creates the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site by designating the elementary school building at 1315 Division Street in Baltimore as an affiliated area of the National Park System. The bill leaves ownership, operation, and day-to-day management with the local nonprofit (Beloved Community Services Corporation), requires a formal agreement between the Secretary of the Interior and the nonprofit, allows the Interior Department to provide technical and limited financial assistance, and authorizes unspecified federal funding to carry out the Act.