On May 25, 2022, Parents Defending Education (PDE) won in IntegrateNYC v. City of New York when the New York State Supreme Court, the state’s trial-level court, threw out the case entirely.
A group of activists filed the case in March 2021. They claimed New York City’s specialized school program was racist and asked the court to bring race into every part of the program in the name of “equity.” The court allowed PDE to join the case on behalf of six members with children in the system. PDE gave the court a view it would not otherwise have heard: that of families who opposed the plaintiffs’ race-based demands.
The court ruled that courts “protect rights.” They do not “make policy.”
“Judge Nervo found that the plaintiffs sought to force the courts to make education policy – which is a wholly inappropriate role for the judiciary,” said PDE president Nicole Neily. “We are pleased by the court’s decision, and hope that other activists realize that policy reform must occur through the legislative process – not by executive or judicial fiat.”
Read the court’s decision below:
