IntegrateNYC, INC. v. The State of New York and Parents Defending Education

SUMMARY

The New York City Bar Association, through its Civil Rights Committee and Education and the Law Committee, submitted an amicus brief in the New York Appellate Division, First Department, in support of an appeal in the case known as “IntegrateNYC v. New York.” The appeal is of a lawsuit, dismissed last May, claiming that New York City’s school system exacerbates racial inequality and deprives a large number of students their constitutional right to a sound education by sorting students into disparate academic tracks as early as Kindergarten. The City Bar’s brief argues that the lower court failed to follow well-established precedents and erred in dismissing the case on the grounds that the Court lacks jurisdiction to hear the allegations. “Contrary to long-standing jurisprudence governing justiciability, the IAS Court reasoned that the remedies the plaintiffs sought were too diverse, potentially involving the judiciary to an excessive degree in the details of ‘educational policy,’ and therefore that a court’s involvement would trespass on the prerogative of the legislature. By erroneously focusing on the implications of possible remedies, the IAS Court mistakenly refused to consider the plaintiffs’ properly stated claims that the defendants had violated the constitutional rights of its schoolchildren,” states the brief.