Appellate court hears N.J. school segregation case, ruling expected in several months

A panel of three appellate court judges recently heard claims from defendants and plaintiffs in the eight-year lawsuit challenging segregation in N.J.’s public schools. The court is expected to take several months to make its ruling.

The case began in 2018 when Latino Action Network, NAACP N.J. State Conference, and the Urban League of Essex County joined families of nine N.J. public school students in a lawsuit claiming segregation in N.J. schools violates the state constitution and deprives students of their right to a quality education. Mediation, or negotiations between legal parties, began in 2023 after a state Superior Court judge found racial segregation in N.J. schools, but said the plaintiffs failed to show that segregation is widespread across every district.

In N.J., students must attend schools in the municipality where they live, which results in segregated schools because of residential segregation and discriminatory housing laws and practices, according to the lawsuit and a 2017 study from the UCLA Civil Rights Project. Possible solutions include creating new magnet schools that enroll students from multiple districts, allowing students to transfer schools, and redrawing district boundaries.

From Gothamist.