By Jacqueline Rabe Thomas
Connecticut has run out of time to comply with a court order to reduce the inequities caused by the segregation of Hartford’s largely black and Hispanic school population.
The state Department of Education today reported that 37 percent of Hartford students are now attending integrated schools—4 percent shy of the number the state agreed to reach in a settlement five years ago.
The shortfall means the state will have to negotiate a new settlement with the plaintiffs.
“We are extremely disappointed. They have had years to reach this requirement. It was a reasonable and achievable goal,” said Martha Stone, a lawyer for the plaintiffs in the 1996 Sheff v. O’Neill case that led to the Connecticut Supreme Court’s ordering the state to desegregate Hartford schools.
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