Latino Action Network et al v. State of New Jersey
TIP’s work intersects with the case Latino Action Network, et al. v. State of New Jersey, which was filed in New Jersey state court on May 17, 2018 (the 64th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education). Latino Action Network claims that segregation by race and poverty in the state’s public schools and charter schools violates New Jersey’s constitution. TIP’s founder and director, Elise Boddie played a key role in facilitating the case. For additional information, please see https://www.inclusiveschoolsnj.org/.
Read the New Jersey’s Segregated Schools: Trends and Paths Forward report here.
See the key documents filed in the case here:
- Plaintiffs’ Amended complaint
- Defendants’ Answer to Amended Complaint
- Plaintiffs’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment & Brief in Support
- Defendants’ Cross Motion for Dismissal
- Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Defendants’ Cross Motion to Dismiss
- Defendant’s Reply Brief in Support of Defendants’ Cross Motion to Dismiss Amended Complaint
- Transcript of Court Proceedings’ on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Dismissal
- State’s Cross Motion for Summary Judgment
- Plaintiffs’ Response to Charter Intervenor-Defendants’ Statement of Undisputed Facts
- Plaintiffs’ Consolidated Opposition & Reply Brief
See New Jersey-specific resources here:
- Paul Tractenberg, et al., A School Integration Plan for New Jersey
- UCLA Civil Rights Project Report on Segregation in New Jersey
See research on the benefits of integration here:
- Linda R. Tropp & Suchi Suchena, “Reweaving the Social Fabric through Integrated Schools: How Intergroup Contact Prepares Youth to Thrive in an Integrated Society,” National Coalition on School Diversity Research Brief (May 2018)
- Roslyn Mickelson, “School Integration and K-12 Outcomes: An Updated Quick Synthesis of the Social Science Evidence,” National Coalition on School Diversity Research Brief, (October 2016)
- “Pro Social Behavior in Rats as determined by phenotype”
See legislative outreach here:
- On March 19, 2019, Elise Boddie testified about the harms of school segregation before the New Jersey State Legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Schools. The testimony, available here, was carried on NJTV news.
See media outreach here:
In January 2020, TIP organized over 50 New Jersey-based civic leaders, educators, faith leaders, social justice advocates, researchers, and policy experts, along with twenty national leaders and organizations, to sign an “Open Letter to the People of New Jersey” calling on the state of New Jersey to address school segregation.
Today, May 17, 2022 marks the 68th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling which declared that separate is inherently unequal.
But in the state of New Jersey, racial and socioeconomic segregation is alive and well in public school classrooms. New Jersey is still the sixth-most segregated state for Black students and it’s the seventh-most segregated for Latino students. And despite the urging of students, parents and legal guardians, educators, and communities across the state, Governor Phil Murphy has refused to do anything about it.
Now, thanks to a lawsuit filed four years ago today, New Jersey students have a path toward a fairer, more diverse education. While a judge weighs a decision in the case, our organizations will continue empowering community members to dismantle segregated schooling and push lawmakers to deliver a comprehensive plan to #IntegrateNJ.
