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The nearly seven-year public school segregation case will head back to the courts after New Jersey and a coalition of plaintiffs could not reach an agreement after 15 months of mediation.
The plaintiffs, a group of advocates and families, have until April 15 to file a motion that would begin the process of appealing a complex court ruling on the case from the fall of 2023.
In a joint status report filed on Tuesday to the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court, the parties stated that “it no longer appears likely that further mediation will be constructive.” They could not reach an agreement, which could have led to an overhaul of the state’s public school system.
The latest development comes as the Trump administration targets diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and practices in the education space, leaving questions as to how the state would encourage or enforce integration.
There are also shifts in political priorities looming in New Jersey, as Gov. Phil Murphy’s second term nears an end and a contentious gubernatorial primary in June heats up with four Republicans and six Democrats, including Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka, competing to be his successor.
The team of attorneys representing the plaintiffs said in a joint statement that they had aimed for an agreement “that would provide legal assurance that the state would take concrete steps” to offer all children “the opportunity to attend an integrated school that offers a high-quality education.” In addition, they also wanted the state to agree to “providing for the essential financial support and academic enhancement of all currently segregated school districts.”
“We are disappointed that an agreement could not be reached to settle the litigation in a manner that is consistent with these objectives,” wrote the team of attorneys in the statement issued Tuesday evening. Lawrence S. Lustberg and Ruth O’Herron of Gibbons law firm are the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs.
Mediation discussions were under strict confidentiality rules and representatives from both parties have been tight-lipped about progress. In reports filed last month, the attorneys said an end to mediation talks would be near, but then later submitted a request to continue negotiations.
“The state of New Jersey is deeply committed to providing the highest quality education for all students of every demographic background,” said Tyler Jones, Murphy’s spokesman, in an emailed statement Tuesday night. “While the parties return to the litigation, the state remains steadfast in its efforts to provide the most robust educational opportunities possible for all students and continues to be open to reaching a mutual resolution of the matter.”
New Jersey was ranked as having the sixth most segregated school system for Black students and seventh most segregated school system for Latino students in a 2017 report on the state’s segregated schools from The Civil Rights Project. Yet, most New Jersey voters were unaware of the lawsuit and few were even aware that the state has among the most segregated school systems in the country, a Fairleigh Dickinson University Poll from November showed.
The case stretches back to 2018. The Latino Action Network, NAACP New Jersey State Conference, and the Urban League of Essex County, among other groups, joined families of nine students who attended schools across New Jersey, including Newark, in a lawsuit against the state that claimed its segregated school system violates the state constitution, which is rare in its explicit ban on school segregation.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs highlighted state enrollment data that showed 30% of Latino students and 25% of Black students attend schools where the non-white student enrollment is between 90-99% — the measure used by researchers to identify segregated schools. They also specifically noted 23 districts with high percentages of Latino and Black students who qualified for free or reduced-price lunch, which included Newark and Irvington, among others.
In its defense, the state argued that segregation in a handful of districts didn’t establish a statewide violation.
Though not originally listed as defendants in the suit, representatives of charter schools and renaissance schools became intervenors on the case, meaning they have a stake in its outcome. In New Jersey, renaissance schools are a charter-district hybrid, run by a nonprofit but funded by the public school district at a greater rate than charter schools.
In the fall of 2023, after five years of litigation, a state Superior Court judge issued a lengthy ruling that avoided overwhelmingly favoring one side over the other and stopped short of answering key questions, including what the state should be required to do next.
Shortly after that ruling to avoid more years of expensive litigation, the parties agreed to enter a mediation phase, with former state Supreme Court Associate Justice Barry T. Albin leading those discussions. The parties explored possible ways to integrate the public school system.
Some possible remedies, such as creating new magnet schools that enroll students from multiple districts, could be expensive yet popular with families. Other potential measures, such as allowing students to transfer schools or redrawing district boundaries, have historically faced resistance from wealthy white parents and taxpayers in New Jersey who fear an influx of poor students of color will undermine their community’s schools and home values.
“A court judgment is now the surest way to achieve a remedy for this unacceptable reality, in which hundreds of thousands of the state’s children attend school in segregated settings,” the plaintiffs’ attorneys said in the statement.
“We are greatly disappointed with the collapse of the mediation,” said Javier Robles, president of the Latino Action Network. “We will continue to pursue every option to end the disgraceful legacy of segregation in New Jersey schools. This is a generational struggle, and we will do our part.”
Representatives from the other plaintiff advocacy groups also issued statements Tuesday night with similar disappointment and determination to continue the legal fight.
Harry Lee, president and CEO of the New Jersey Public Charter Schools Association, said in an emailed statement that charter schools, which can enroll students across municipal boundaries, could be “part of the solution to ensure that all New Jersey students have access to high quality, integrated public schools.”
Catherine Carrera is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Newark. Contact Catherine at ccarrera@chalkbeat.org.
