The New York State Supreme Court on the 23rd rejected a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in New York City’s gifted education program, ruling that the plaintiffs failed to prove they were deprived of their “fundamental right to education” and did not sufficiently demonstrate discriminatory intent in the city’s design of admissions policies. The case involved the Gifted & Talented program, which is supported by many Chinese parents in New York City. The parent advocacy group PLACE NYC praised the ruling as a “victory for parents and students,” emphasizing the importance of fair competition and hard work.
The New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, overturned the decision of the lower court on Thursday by a majority of 5-2, stating that the plaintiffs’ allegations were “vague and lacked specific basis” and did not prove a causal relationship between the admissions process of the gifted program and the poor conditions of non-selective schools.
The lawsuit was initially filed in 2021 by the youth-led racial justice organization IntegrateNYC Inc., two parent groups, and some current and former students.
The plaintiffs sought to terminate the selective admissions mechanism for the gifted program. Under the current system, students are required to pass tests and interviews from kindergarten to enter the gifted program. The plaintiffs believe that this system favors wealthier families with better access to information and tutoring services, creating a “pathway to advancement for white and Asian students,” allowing them to enter schools with better resources while Black and Hispanic students are more likely to be assigned to lower-quality schools.
The lawsuit particularly pointed out that this structural inequality ultimately results in a very low representation of Black and Hispanic students in top specialized high schools such as Stuyvesant High School and Bronx High School of Science nationally.
In the New York City school district, Black students make up nearly 20% of the total public school population but receive only 3% of the slots in specialized high schools; Hispanic students, accounting for over 42% of the student body, only receive 7% of the admission slots.
The parent group PLACE NYC, which supports gifted education programs in public schools, welcomed the court’s dismissal of the lawsuit. Julie Zou, a co-founder of PLACE NYC, stated in a release that the ruling “reaffirms the fairness of a merit-based, selective education.”
The gifted education program has long been a subject of controversy. Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic mayoral candidate who is currently leading in polls, has publicly stated that if elected, he will cancel the K-3 grade gifted education program, citing similar reasons to those raised in the above lawsuit.
In the 2025 mayoral race, different candidates have divergent views on the Gifted & Talented program: Mamdani advocates for shutting down the G&T program for grades K-3 and starting participation at a later stage, while Republican candidate Sliva and independent candidate Kummer both advocate for expanding such gifted education programs.