Haitians Take The New York City Board of Education to Court

Contending that Haitian immigrant students with limited English proficiency are not given equal educational opportunities, the National Coalition for Haitian Rights (NCHR), the Haitian Centers Council (HCC), the League of Haitians Educators and Parents (ANMWE) and several parents of Haitian students enrolled in the the NYC public school system filed a class action lawsuit in Federal District Court in Brooklyn on December 19, 1996.

The lawsuit was brought against Chancellor Rudy Crew, the New York City Board of Education, the Community School Boards for District 17, 22, 18, 29, 20, 3, and 5, the Superintendents for Brooklyn and Queens High Schools, Commissioner Mills and the New York State Education Department.

The plaintiffs claim that the needs of Haitian students are neglected, resulting in the following:

• Lack of adequate, timely, and uniform identification and placement of Haitian limited English proficient students;
• Insufficient and inadequate Haitian Kreyòl books and materials for the Haitian bilingual programs;
• Placement of Haitian students of Limited English Proficiency in special education programs because of inadequate evaluations and the lack of appropriate native language programs in their schools.
• Inadequate support services and Kreyòl speaking special education instructors to provide services for Haitian students who need special education.
• Lack of full access to all other school programs and services such as School-to-Work and other vocational programs, gifted and talented, Title 1, guidance services, and access to computers and science labs for Haitian bilingual program students.
• Lack of trained and certified English as a Second Language and Haitian Kreyòl bilingual teachers and other personnel.
• Insufficient training, in the area of linguistic and cultural sensitivity, of teachers, decision-makers, and other personnel involved in delivering services to Haitian students.