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Education activists are expressing disappointment with a judge鈥檚 long-awaited ruling that found a racial imbalance in numerous New Jersey school districts, but not widespread segregation statewide.

Retired Supreme Court Justice Gary Stein, chairman of the New Jersey Coalition for Diverse and Inclusive Schools, which launched the , called Friday鈥檚 ruling 鈥渉ard to understand.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 like saying to a patient, you have cancer in your lungs, but not the rest of your body, so we鈥檙e not going to do anything about it,鈥� Stein told the New Jersey Monitor.

Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Lougy鈥檚  agrees with the plaintiffs 鈥� a coalition of students, school districts, and organizations including the NAACP and Latino Action Network 鈥� that they 鈥渄emonstrated marked and persistent racial imbalance鈥� in schools across the state that the state has failed to remedy. But he also found that they 鈥渇ail to prove the state鈥檚 entire education system is unconstitutionally segregated because of race or ethnicity.鈥�

The plaintiffs sought to have Lougy rule before trial that the state was liable for school segregation. The defendants, which include the state Board of Education, asked him to dismiss the case. He largely declined both requests.

Larry Lustberg, attorney for Latino Action Network, said in a statement to the New Jersey Monitor that the matter might be set for trial, but it鈥檚 unclear what facts would be tried because the court rejected most of the state鈥檚 defenses.

He said there are four options: a trial, a settlement discussion, either party could file a motion for reconsideration, or either party could file a motion to have an appeal heard.

鈥淲e are trying to sort that through,鈥� he said.

The state Attorney General鈥檚 Office, which argued the case on behalf of the defendants, said it is still reviewing the decision and declined to comment further.

The lawsuit hinges on the accusation that because of a state requirement mandating children attend the schools in towns where they live, schools in New Jersey are heavily segregated. The plaintiffs cite examples like Paterson, where the public schools are nearly 70% Latino and 20% Black, and West Milford, where students of color make up less than 15% of the school population.

In the 674 public school districts serving 1.3 million students, about 585,000 Black and Latino students attend public schools with student populations that are more than 75% non-white, the lawsuit says, citing 2017 data. More than half of those students attend schools that are more than 90% non-white.

Julie Borst is the executive director of Save Our Schools, a nonprofit school advocacy organization that was not involved in the lawsuit but supports its mission. She said she was disappointed but not surprised by Lougy鈥檚 opinion.

She argued that a trial could be good for the public to better understand this issue. Potential remedies to school segregation 鈥� like busing students to other districts or specialized magnet schools 鈥� are complicated, and could confuse parents, she said.

鈥淢aybe this ends up being better because now it becomes more public. People will get to learn about it,鈥� Borst said. 鈥淢aybe that hopefully spurs more discussion about what this looks like and what resources are really needed.鈥�

Stein criticized the lengthy process it took to arrive at an opinion that does not plainly lay out what the next steps are. He called the delays 鈥渧ery difficult to understand.鈥�

The case was first filed in 2018 following a  that alleged New Jersey鈥檚 public schools are among the most segregated in the nation. Oral arguments did not begin until March 2022, and the judge released his opinion 18 months later. New Jersey鈥檚 courts dealt with a backlog throughout the pandemic and continue to face a shortage of judges across the state, contributing to some delays in cases like this.

鈥淚 believe that the New Jersey Judiciary has to move much more quickly than it has been on this very, very significant issue for our state鈥檚 African American and Latino students,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ome of the students in this case have graduated from high school and moved on.鈥�

And now that this may go to trial, it could drag on for months or years. Borst worries about what this means for another generation of students attending segregated schools. She doesn鈥檛 think the state will seek out a solution or overhaul school residency requirements without an order from a judge.

鈥淚 feel like we鈥檙e in the status quo. They鈥檝e been safe and very comfortable not doing anything for all this time, so I can鈥檛 imagine that this decision is going to move the needle on that at all,鈥� she said.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. New Jersey Monitor maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Terrence McDonald for questions: [email protected]. Follow New Jersey Monitor on and .

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