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A major new lawsuit filed Tuesday could force fundamental changes in the way New York public school students are admitted to selective schools, and marked the latest front of a growing political, activist and now legal movement to fight inequalities in the country’s largest school system.
Even if the lawsuit, brought by civil rights attorneys and student plaintiffs in the Manhattan State Supreme Court, does not upend the city’s admissions system, it will likely prompt scrutiny of the school system in Manhattan. New York, considered one of the most racially and socio-economically segregated in the country. .
The lawsuit argues that the city’s school system reproduced and exacerbated racial inequalities by classifying children in different educational streams starting in kindergarten, and therefore denied many of its nearly one million students their right to a solid basic education. The accused include Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the new chancellor of schools, Meisha Porter.
If the plaintiffs are successful, the city could be forced to restructure or even eliminate current admissions policies for hundreds of selective schools, including gifted and talented programs and academically selective middle and high schools.
The lawsuit could also accelerate the pressure on Ms Porter to develop a school integration plan. The outgoing chancellor, Richard A. Carranza, has resigned from his post due to disagreements with the mayor over the aggressiveness of the continuation of desegregation.
And the crowded group of Democrats vying to become the next mayor will likely have to face the lawsuit claims about the school system. The primary elections that will almost certainly determine the next mayor are less than four months away.
“This is the first case in the country to seek a constitutional right to an anti-racist education,” said Mark Rosenbaum, one of the lawyers suing the city and state.
Mr Rosenbaum, director of Public Counsel Opportunity Under Law, a pro bono law firm based in Los Angeles, is joined on the case by prominent civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump, as well as by law firm Sidley Austin and IntegrateNYC, a youth-run company. integration group.
Danielle Filson, spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, defended the city’s record in terms of school desegregation. “This administration has taken bold and unprecedented steps to advance fairness in our admissions policies,” she said in a statement. “Our persevering work to promote fairness for families in New York City is ongoing, and we will consider the lawsuit.”
Mr Rosenbaum’s group has sued several states and school systems in recent years, primarily Detroit public schools, for failing to provide students with a constitutionally guaranteed basic education. The law firm also sued the state of California last year for failing to provide a solid basic education through distance learning.
In the Detroit case, a federal court ruled last year that the district had been so neglectful of the educational needs of students that children had been “denied access to literacy.” The court then ruled that public school students have a constitutional right to an adequate education. The plaintiffs later reached an agreement with Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan to fund more literacy programs in Detroit public schools.
The New York lawsuit highlights the shortage of non-white teachers compared to the student body, which is almost 70% black and Latin American, and the disproportionately high suspension rates for non-white students compared to their white classmates.
But it focuses primarily on the issue that propelled New York’s divided school district into the national spotlight: sorting students as young as 4 for selective classes. New York City relies more on academic prerequisites like test scores, grades, and attendance to place students in public schools than any other school district in America.
The city’s gifted and talented classes for elementary school students are roughly 75% Caucasian and Asian-American, and there are relatively few gifted programs located in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods. White students, who make up only 15% of the entire district, are significantly over-represented in selective middle and high schools.
About 40% of the city’s colleges use academic displays such as grades and test scores to determine which students to admit, and many high schools, including elite schools like Stuyvesant High School, sort students by ability. or require students to accept high-stakes entrance exam admissions.
In 2019, about three-quarters of black and Latino students attended schools with a student population of less than 10% white, and more than a third of white students attended schools with a predominantly white population, according to data collected. by the city council.
While New York City is unique among major city school districts due to its reliance on high-stakes admissions at all levels, the costume could be relevant in other districts. Some systems, including those in San Francisco, Boston, and Fairfax County, Va., Have recently altered admissions processes for some of their selective high schools, but racial and socio-economic segregation is still common in many. school districts across the country.
The New York State Constitution guarantees all students the right to a solid basic education, and other states have equivalent clauses, Public Council lawyer Amanda Savage told a news conference Tuesday.
“We absolutely believe that all students in the country have a right to an anti-racist education,” said Ms. Savage, noting that the extent of segregation in New York City made it “a particularly powerful place” to bring the lawsuit.
Decades of research have shown that mainstreaming can improve educational outcomes for non-white students, especially because desegregation leads to a more even distribution of money and other resources among schools.
“Almost every facet of New York City’s public education system functions not only to support, but also to affirmatively reproduce, the artificial racial hierarchies that have subordinated people of color for centuries in the United States.” , we read in the complaint.
Mr de Blasio has announced some changes in selective admissions in recent months, largely driven by the pandemic. He suspended college admissions for a year, with a permanent decision coming before he left office.
The mayor also created a new temporary admission system for 4-year-olds competing for places in gifted and talented classrooms. Rather than having these children sit for a highly criticized exam, they will be referred to gifted programs by their preschool teachers or be interviewed.
Integration activists have called it an interim measure that will do little to diversify schools. It is not yet clear how the city will admit students into gifted classes starting next year.
In 2018, the mayor tried unsuccessfully to push the state legislature to eliminate the entrance exam to the city’s so-called specialized high schools, including Stuyvesant High School. The entrance exam for these schools is largely controlled by Albany.
The plaintiff’s claim for redress includes the elimination of selective admission processes for all grade levels, which would be the most radical change to the city’s school system in decades.
“It would be the ugliest trial in New York history if the city and state insist on trying these practices,” Rosenbaum said, adding that he hopes the city will quickly change its admission policies. .
While a radical restructuring of the city’s selective admissions policies seems unlikely, a judge could require the city to change some of its admissions protocols or find other ways to ensure that selective schools are more representative of the city’s student population.
But even historic decisions in education do not always prompt clear change.
A New York judge ruled in 2001 that the state’s system for funding public schools was flawed and violated students’ rights to basic education. This decision, made more than a decade after the complaint was filed, quickly became a public awareness campaign on school funding issues. It is frequently cited by politicians and activists, but much of the money owed to schools has still not been distributed.
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