Gov. Phil Murphy's administration has begun mediation discussions with a coalition of New Jersey nonprofits that sued the state alleging pervasive de facto segregation across the state’s public schools.
No details were divulged on what the parties have discussed, but representatives from both sides expressed interest in resolving their differences in the talks, which are expected to extend into next year. It’s hardly clear what remedies for addressing the problem might be in the offing.
In their lawsuit, the coalition plaintiffs claimed that nearly half of New Jersey’s Black and Latino students attended public schools where 90% of their classmates were non-white. Their complaint cited a 2016 UCLA study, which also determined New Jersey is the sixth-most-segregated state in the country for Black students and the seventh-most-segregated state for Latinos.
In October, a Superior Court judge issued a mixed ruling in the landmark case, which has gone on for five years. Judge Robert Lougy said the plaintiffs had not proven that New Jersey’s educational system is segregated “across all districts.” But he also said the state had failed in its obligation to address segregation where it exists in the system.
The order did not set forth a clear path forward for the parties.
Larry Lustberg, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, including the Latino Action Network and the state NAACP, told Gothamist that the sides have held one mediation discussion and another is scheduled. He said he hopes they could reach a resolution by early next year.
Lustberg said that for any “set of remedies” for addressing segregation in the system to work, “there has to be a flow of students in both directions.”
“Urban students going to the suburbs pursuant to some choice program, and for suburban students to come to some inner cities perhaps attracted there by magnet schools or specialized charter schools or other mechanisms,” he said.
Cuqui Rivera, outreach director for the Latino Action Network, one of the plaintiffs in the case, told Gothamist that along with things like interdistrict school choice and higher quality magnet schools in urban districts, the advocates would like to see improvements in vocational-technical education and programs like English as a second language in schools.
Rivera agreed that mediation is the “better way to go” to reach a resolution in the case, adding that the advocates intend to be “aggressive” during the process.
“I want to see the same type of education [students] can get in Short Hills, they can get in Newark,” she said.
Lustberg said that so far both sides are engaging in “good faith” and “having open minded discussions” and he is confident that the mediation process will work out.
“There’s a lot of reason to believe that there’s people of real goodwill on both sides that are trying to reach common ground here,” Lustberg said.
“I’m very optimistic that this is going to work out well,” he added.
A spokesperson for the New Jersey attorney general’s office also said the state hopes to resolve “this complex and difficult matter” through mediation.
“The State is committed to providing a thorough and efficient education to every student, and recognizes the innumerable benefits of a diverse school environment,” said Michael Symons, the attorney general's press secretary.
By law, the mediation is confidential and neither side could comment on what was discussed during its first meeting.
The judge has asked for the sides to provide an update on their progress by the middle of the month.
