“It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas
Many of the rights that students have in school today are the result of advocacy in the judicial system. With each victory, there is greater protection for students’ rights to free speech and association, education, due process, equality, and privacy. Learning is best accomplished in an environment that respects students’ rights and promotes equality.
Under the New Jersey Constitution, students who attend public school have the right to equal protection of the laws and the right to a thorough and efficient education.Together with co-counsel, our attorneys filed a lawsuit against the state of New Jersey on behalf of a coalition of civil rights groups and nine children of various racial backgrounds claiming that persistent racial segregation in New Jersey’s public schools has violated the constitutional rights of hundreds of thousands of New Jersey students. The lawsuit contends that “because educational opportunity is, as a result, undermined for students in schools that are often characterized by intense poverty and social isolation in numerous, well-documented ways, these segregative state laws, policies, and practices deny an alarming number of Black and Latino students the benefits of a thorough and efficient education." The lawsuit reflects a groundbreaking effort that may prove to be among the most important social justice reforms of our time.
In a currently pending case, we filed a First Amendment lawsuit, together with a partner organization, on behalf of two students whose free speech rights were violated after they were suspended from school for simply posting nonthreatening pictures of firearms to private social media accounts on the weekend, during their private time.
Significant Cases
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Latino Action Network et al. v. The State of New Jersey et al. (filed May 17, 2018)
Lawsuit challenging racial segregation in New Jersey's public schools more...
Press Releases
- The Plaintiffs in the pending school segregation case against the State of New Jersey filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment today on the issue of liability, asking the Superior Court in Mercer County to rule based on undisputed facts that the existing levels of racial segregation in New Jersey's public schools violate provisions of the New Jersey Constitution and New Jersey Statutes as a matter of law, eliminating the necessity of a trial on the question of liability. more...
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Lawsuit Seeks Statewide Remedies for New Jersey's Segregated Public School System | March 17, 2018
On the 64th anniversary of the landmark U.S Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, which ruled government-mandated segregation of students unconstitutional, Pashman Stein Walder Hayden and Gibbons a coalition of civil rights groups, filed a complaint in Mercer County Superior Court against the state of New Jersey claiming that persistent segregation has violated the constitutional rights of hundreds of thousands of New Jersey's students. more...
News Coverage
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Justice Gary S. Stein Public Interest Center Releases its 2020 Year in Review.
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State judge allows school segregation lawsuit to proceed | NJTV News | January 10, 2020
Latino Action Network et al. v. The State of New Jersey et al. (filed May 17, 2018) more... - Latino Action Network et al. v. The State of New Jersey et al. (filed May 17, 2018) more...
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School Segregation Suit Seeking Big Changes | NorthJersey.com | October 30, 2019
Latino Action Network et al. v. The State of New Jersey et al. (filed May 17, 2018) more... -
Lawsuit: NJ Schools are Illegally Segregated | NewJersey101.5 | October 13, 2019
Latino Action Network et al. v. The State of New Jersey et al. (filed May 17, 2018) more... -
N.J. schools among 'most segregated' in nation, suit says | The Philadelphia Inquirer | May 17, 2018
Latino Action Network et al. v. The State of New Jersey et al. (filed May 17, 2018) more... - Latino Action Network et al. v. The State of New Jersey et al. (filed May 17, 2018) more...
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Group Sues New Jersey to Desegregate Schools | The Observer | May 17, 2018
Latino Action Network et al. v. The State of New Jersey et al. (filed May 17, 2018) more... - Latino Action Network et al. v. The State of New Jersey et al. (filed May 17, 2018) more...
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Suit Aimed at Ending NJ School Segregation Targets Role of Charter Schools | Law.com | May 17, 2018
Latino Action Network et al. v. The State of New Jersey et al. (filed May 17, 2018) more... -
Lawsuit Seeks to Better Integrate New Jersey Schools | The Wall Street Journal | May 17, 2018
Latino Action Network et al. v. The State of New Jersey et al. (filed May 17, 2018) more... -
New Jersey Law Codifies School Segregation, Suit Says | New York Times | May 17, 2018
Latino Action Network et al. v. The State of New Jersey et al. (filed May 17, 2018) more...