Unequal Education for Latinx Students in Intensely Segregated Schools in Rhode Island
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Release
February 16, 2021
Contacts:
Elianne Ramos | Chief Communications Officer | [email protected] | 212.739.7513
Sarai Bejarano | Manager of Traditional & Digital Media | [email protected] | 212-739-7581
Unequal Education for Latinx Students in Intensely Segregated Schools in Rhode Island
LatinoJustice Provides Amicus Brief in A.C v. Raimondo
New York, NY - On February 1, 2021, LatinoJustice and pro bono co-counsel international law firm McDermott Will & Emery filed an amicus “friend of the court” brief in the Federal First Circuit Court of Appeals in A.C. v. Raimondo, which argues that the Rhode Island public school system fails to provide Latinx students a constitutionally adequate education that will prepare them for capable citizenship in our participatory democracy. Plaintiffs in A.C. v. Raimondo had challenged Rhode Island’s failure to afford civics education to low-income, disabled and students of color in violation of the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The amicus brief, filed on behalf of nine other national and Rhode Island-based organizations listed below, urges the First Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse the Federal District Court of Rhode Island’s decision dismissing plaintiffs’ constitutional claims.
LatinoJustice’s amicus brief amplifies horrendous academic achievement gaps that beset Latinx students, asserting that these gaps belie the promise of Plyler v. Doe, which guarantees immigrant students a right to public school education, and Brown v. Board of Education, which outlaws segregated schools. In Providence, the largest school district in Rhode Island, where Latinx and other students of color comprise over 90% of the student population, only 13% of Latinx 8th graders were proficient in English Language Arts/Literacy. The amicus brief also highlights patterns of school segregation, noting that many decades after segregated schools were deemed unconstitutional, Rhode Island ranks in the top five of the most segregated public school systems for Latinx students.
“The achievement gaps examined in the brief are atrocious. It is reprehensible that only 5% of Latinx 8th graders in the three most heavily Latinx school districts in Rhode Island scored at a proficient level in Math,” said Jose Perez, Deputy General Counsel at LatinoJustice. “The Rhode Island Department of Education must take corrective action to ensure that Latinx and other students of color receive a meaningful education that will prepare them for college and assure their growth as future leaders in our communities.”
“McDermott is proud to partner with LatinoJustice to advance its worthy cause of equal access to adequate education for all,” Carlos Ortiz, partner at McDermott Will & Emery and past president of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey, said. “Our firm is committed to combating racial inequality and helping knock down unfair barriers to success for Latinos and other minorities. LatinoJustice is a terrific organization, and we look forward to advancing important causes together.”
In supporting plaintiffs’ claim that public school students have a fundamental right to an education as a matter of substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment, LatinoJustice and amici emphasize the plight of Latinx students who, like African American students, have long endured segregated and unequal schooling. LatinoJustice’s amici partners are: Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities; U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute; the Latino Policy Institute at Rogers Williams University; Progreso Latino; Rhode Island Latino Political Action Committee; Parents Leading for Educational Equity; The Immigration Law Clinic at Roger Williams School of Law; Hispanic Federation; and the Lawyers for Civil Rights.
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About LatinoJustice
LatinoJustice PRLDEF works to create a more just society by using and challenging the rule of law to secure transformative, equitable and accessible justice, by empowering our community and by fostering leadership through advocacy and education. For more information about LatinoJustice, visit www.latinojustice.org