News from Attorney General Eric T.

Schneiderman
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 18, 2015
New York City Press Office / 212-416-8060
Albany Press Office / 518-776-2427
nyag.pressoffice@ag.ny.gov
Twitter: AGSchneiderman

A.G. SCHNEIDERMAN FILES CIVIL RIGHTS

LAWSUIT AGAINST UTICA CITY SCHOOL
DISTRICT REGARDING ENROLLMENT
BARRIERS FACED BY IMMIGRANT AND
REFUGEE STUDENTS
The Utica City School District Deliberately Excluded Immigrants Between The Ages of
17-20 From Enrolling In The Local High School
Schneiderman: Access to Equal Educational Opportunities Is Fundamental To the
American Dream
UTICA Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the filing of a civil
rights lawsuit against the Utica City School District (District) alleging that the District
discriminated against immigrant students by denying them access to equal educational
opportunities. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, the
lawsuit specifically alleges that, since at least 2007, the District has diverted immigrant
students above the age of 16 away from the local high school, Proctor High School, and
into alternative programs that were academic dead-ends. The Districts practices have
effectively deprived many in Uticas diverse community of refugees and immigrants
opportunity to obtain meaningful education and a high school diploma.
Every New Yorker under the age of twenty-one has a right to attend public school in the
District in which they reside, regardless of immigration status or national origin,
said Attorney General Schneiderman. Access to a quality education is the
foundation of the American Dream. School districts cannot place arbitrary
impediments and barriers in the way of immigrants and refugees who have struggled to
achieve a better life for themselves and their families.
The lawsuit alleges that the District for years engaged in a pattern of conduct designed
to prevent immigrant students above the age of 16 from enrolling in Proctor High
School. Specifically, the District required any student it perceived to be limited English
proficient to provide immigration documents as proof of age. The District would then
review those documents, and divert students over the age of 16 into alternative
education services separate and apart from the general program offered at Proctor High

School. The Districts practices pushed out not only recently arrived refugees, but also
individuals who had spent several years in U.S. high schools in other states and who had
only recently transferred to Utica.
The lawsuit also alleges that the District funneled these immigrant students into
alternative programs that were effectively roads to nowhere. The programs offered to
immigrant students above the age of sixteen did not provide an opportunity to obtain
credits towards a high school diploma, and did not adequately prepare students to take
the high school equivalency exam. Instead, the programs were academic dead-ends,
leading some students to spend upwards of two years learning little more than skills in
basic English. Students that sought to transition from these programs into Proctor were
denied that opportunity by District officials and were often left to age out or drop out.
The lawsuit further alleges that these alternative educational programs resulted in the
segregation of immigrant students from non-immigrant students. Immigrant students
above the age of 16 were instructed in buildings that were physically separate from nonimmigrant students; they ate lunch separate from non-immigrant students; they did not
attend gym, art, or music classes with non-immigrant students did not participate in
extra-curricular activities with non-immigrant students; and even required to ride buses
separate and apart from non-immigrant students.
In October 2014, the OAG and the New York State Education Department (SED)
issued guidance to all school districts in the state on their enrollement obligations under
the Supreme Courts nondiscrimination mandate in Plyler v. Doe. Specifically, the
guidance required that all school districts refrain from inquiring into the immigration
status of any prospective student so as to avoid the effect of chilling enrollment of any
eligible prospective student. After issuing this guidance, SED issued an emergency
amendment to Commissioners Regulation 100.2(y) which made clear the kinds of
inquiries school districts were permitted to make when conducting residency
determinations. Following this, the OAG entered into agreements with over twenty
school districts across the state to amend their enrollment materials and policies to
ensure that individuals were not being discriminated against on the basis of their
national origin or citizenship/immigration status.
The lawsuit alleges violations of the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974, 20
U.S.C. 1703, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq., the New
York State Education Law, New York Education Law 3202(1) and New York Education
Law 3201, the New York State Constitution and the United States Constitution.
This matter is being handled by Assistant Attorneys General Justin Deabler, Diane
Lucas, and Ajay Saini of the Attorney Generals Civil Rights Bureau, which is led by
Bureau Chief Kristen Clarke. Executive Deputy Attorney General for Social Justice is
Alvin Bragg.
The Attorney General's Office is committed to protecting all New Yorkers from unlawful
discrimination. To file a civil rights complaint, contact the Attorney Generals Office at
(212) 416-8250, civil.rights@ag.ny.gov or visit www.ag.ny.gov.

A copy of today's complaint can be read here.