Black and Hispanic children in Hartford, Connecticut are lined up in waiting lists hundreds deep for an opportunity to go to the city’s world-class magnet schools. The schools consistently rank higher in academic achievement and graduation rates than the city’s failing neighborhood schools, but many of these Black and Hispanic children are turned away—despite the fact that the schools have empty seats and would love to offer these children a spot. The reason is a state-wide racial quota imposed on magnet schools: schools must maintain a ratio of 25% white and Asian students or risk losing state funding.Pacific Legal Foundation recently filed a case, Robinson v. Wentzell, challenging the state’s racial quota regulations and the racially-rigged lottery system that the City relies on when admitting students in its attempts at achieving racial balance within Hartford magnet schools. The suit alleges that Connecticut and Hartford are discriminating on the basis of race in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The parties have just completed briefing on motions for judgment on the pleadings brought by the defendants, with oral argument scheduled for October.
Featuring:
Joshua Thompson, Senior Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation
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