New York State Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to end New York City’s Gifted & Talented (G&T) programs for young children, which a racial justice advocacy group accused of exacerbating racial segregation in the city.
The March 2021 suit was brought against New York City in March 2021 by youth group IntegrateNYC on behalf of 13 students, who claimed to be victims of what they called a “caste system” reinforced by the city’s public education system.
The suing students wanted the court to eliminate the city’s G&T programs that offer accelerated education and additional resources for high-performing public school students in grades K through 5. They argued that the programs, while enrolling many white and Asian students, unfairly excluded their black and “Latinx” peers who didn’t perform so well in the high-stake entrance exams.
Among other demands were the ban on admission screenings to middle and high school, the adoption of critical race theory-inspired “culturally responsive-sustaining education,” and the implementation of racial hiring quotas.
In his May 24 decision, Justice Frank Nervo threw out the entire case, noting that it’s not the court’s job to set education policies.
“The petition improperly seeks, inter alia, this Court to make educational policy by directing respondents take certain actions regarding curriculum content, testing content, employment diversity, employment policies, admission policies, and disciplinary policies, among others,” Nervo wrote.
“The legislature, not the judiciary, is the proper branch of government to hear petitioners prayers,” he concluded.
The decision was applauded by parental rights and civil rights groups that advocate against racial discrimination in schools, including Parent Defending Education (PDE)—which intervened in the case as a defendant—and the Chinese American Citizens Alliance of Greater New York (CACAGNY).
“Judge Nervo found that the plaintiffs sought to force the courts to make education policy—which is a wholly inappropriate role for the judiciary,” said PDE president Nicole Neily. “We are pleased by the court’s decision, and hope that other activists realize that policy reform must occur through the legislative process—not by executive or judicial fiat.”
“Fearing that NYC and NYS may not defend themselves vigorously, woke administrations have engaged in sue-and-settle conspiracies with their activist allies increasingly often around the country,” the CACAGNY said, noting that the activists could still appeal the case to the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court.
The decision comes as tens of thousands of families in New York City prepare to apply for the newly expanded G&T programs, which will open applications on May 31.
In April, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that there would be another 100 kindergarten G&T seats added to the existing 2,400. The city will also add 1,000 seats in the G&T classes in grade 3, open to the top 10 percent of 2nd graders at each school based on teacher-given grades.
However, the entrance exam, which has phased out near the end of the Bill de Blasio era, will not come back. Instead, students will be admitted on the basis of teacher recommendations and teacher-given grades, and then will enter a lottery. The CACAGNY said this is a tactic used by “woke education bureaucrats” to pursue racial equity, or same outcome among different racial groups, at the expense of academic excellence.
“The woke use this one-two punch of debased initial qualifications followed by lotteries to nullify G&T programs, magnet schools, even AP courses around the country,” the CACAGNY warned.
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