On October 24, 2025, Defending Education prevailed in Integrate NYC v. City of New York et al., bringing an end to a four-year journey through the state court system. The Court of Appeals decision found that the role of the judiciary is not to make education policy, and that no cause of action existed under the state’s Education Article, Equal Protection Clause, or New York State Human Rights Law.

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In 2021, Defending Education intervened in IntegrateNYC v. The State of New York et al., alongside the city and state of New York to defend the city’s specialized school program from activists who sought to use the courts to inject race into all aspects of the city’s education system – a remedy that would be a clear violation of both state and federal Equal Protection Clauses. Plaintiffs claimed that the city’s school system is discriminatory because, in their eyes, not enough students from their preferred races are admitted to the city’s selective academic programs. In the words of the New York Times, the lawsuit sought “to establish the right to an antiracist education.”

Defending Education was granted intervention in the case on behalf of 6 members with children in the system, providing a perspective to this case that the court would not otherwise have heard – that of families with children in the system who opposed the Plaintiffs’ proposed race-based relief.

Children should be judged based on their individual merit, not defined as members of a racial group or blamed for the collective sins of others. The best way to achieve equality is to treat children equally, regardless of skin color, and to fix the parts of the City’s schools that are broken – not by focusing on race and breaking the parts of the City’s schools that are working. 

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Defending Education’s Founder and President, Nicole Neily, praised the long-awaited victory:

“This victory is a win not only for New York City’s specialized schools program – the crown jewel of the American public education system – but also for meritocracy writ large. As Chief Justice Roberts famously said, ‘the way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race,’ and we are gratified that the court recognized the folly of this activist campaign.”

Defending Education’s Vice President, Sarah Parshall Perry, added:

“The New York appellate court reached the right conclusion in determining that questions about the quality or sufficiency of education are not those for the judiciary to resolve. Quizzically, the challengers to New York’s gifted and talented program had demanded consideration of race in order to prevent race discrimination. That argument isn’t just illogical, it’s unconstitutional.  We’re incredibly gratified by today’s result and looking forward to continuing our work securing color blind meritocracy in American schools across the country.”

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Read the final ruling below: