State Says Sheff Goals More Than
Met; Lawyer For Plaintiffs Not So ... Sure
State Says 67
Percent Of Hartford
Minority Students Seeking School Choice Options Got Them This Year
http://www.ctnow.com/news/breaking/hc-sheff-desegregation-progress-1122-20111121,0,663274.story
By KATHLEEN MEGAN, kmegan@courant.com
The Hartford Courant
9:51 a.m. EST, November 22, 2011
The state reported Monday that it exceeded the 2011 goal set
by the Sheff v. O'Neill desegregation case, but a
lawyer for the plaintiffs said further analysis of the figures is needed.
Mark Linabury, spokesman for the
state Department of Education, said a 2008 court stipulation required that the
state meet 65 percent of the demand by Hartford
minority students for school choice options in 2011.
He said the state has met the demand of 66.92 percent of
those students this year.
"We are pleased with our performance," Linabury said. "We look forward to working with our
partners to achieve further progress as time goes by."
Martha Stone, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs in the
case, said further analysis must be done on the numbers.
"We have some questions around the counting,"
Stone said.
If the percentage is accurate, the state will still have a
way to go before meeting the Sheff goal for October
2012.
By then, the state must meet 80 percent of the demand by Hartford students for school choice programs or must
enroll at least 41 percent of Hartford
minority students in integrated schools.
According to the figures released Monday, 32 percent of Hartford minority
students are enrolled in integrated schools this school year.
A statement from Linabury said the
"state will work with our partners to exceed" the 80 percent goal by
October 2012.