Integrated and Equal: Fulfilling the Promise of Brown v. Board in NYC Public Schools 

By Ilana Cohen

August 3, 2026

Despite its widespread reputation as a global “melting pot” – boasting one of the most diverse populations not merely in the country, but in the world – New York City continues to have a profoundly segregated school system.1See Most Diverse City in the World, World Population Review, https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-city-rankings/most-diverse-city-in-the-world [https://perma.cc/Z7XU-P9MV] (last visited March 23, 2026).  As of 2018, almost 77% of Black and Hispanic students in the City attended schools that were “intensely segregated” (meaning 90-100% non-white), while only 27% of white and Asian students attended such schools.2Danielle Cohen, NYC School Segregation: A Report Card from the UCLA Civil Rights Project, UCLA Civil Rights Projects (June 2021) https://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/NYC_6-09-final-for-post.pdf [https://perma.cc/5GMN-4QSJ].   Meanwhile, as of just last year, Black and Hispanic students received only 3% and 7% of spots in the City’s eight elite “specialized” schools, despite comprising over 44% of all test-takers seeking admission.3Troy Closson, Most Diverse City in the World, N.Y. Times (July 31, 2025), https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/nyregion/specialized-high-schools-black-students-stuyvesant.html [https://perma.cc/7R6F-NR5B].  

This stark reality fails to align with the human and New York State Constitutional right to education for the City’s children.4See The Right to Education in New York City, Ctr. for Econ. & Soc. Rts., https://cesr.org/sites/default/files/1aEducation_1.pdf [https://perma.cc/S7TQ-YAMW] (last visited on March 23, 2026); N.Y. Const. art. XI, § 1; N.Y. Human Rights Law § 296(4) (McKinney 2026).   It also undermines the core promise of the landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, in which the Court struck down “separate but equal” facilities as inherently unequal and held that racially segregated public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment.5Brown v. Bd. of Educ., 347 U.S. 483, 495 (1954).   The reality also persists despite continued public demands for school integration, as highlighted by a years-long lawsuit by the former youth-led organization IntegrateNYC, which was dismissed by the New York Court of Appeals – notably, in part because the court deemed educational policy a legislative matter.6See Christina Veiga, Turning Up the Pressure for Integration, NYC Students Plan Citywide School Boycott, Chalkbeat N.Y. (Feb. 5, 2020), https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2020/2/5/21178556/turning-up-the-pressure-for-integration-nyc-students-plan-citywide-school-boycott/ [https://perma.cc/76ZF-G9DL]; IntegrateNYC, Inc. v. State of New York, 45 N.Y.3d 176, 185-186 (2025).  Today, school segregation remains a fundamental issue of human and civil rights, equity, and economic and racial justice in the City, as well as a crucial test case of electoral accountability, democratic legitimacy, and public trust for the City’s leadership. 

Concerted policy action is critical for addressing this issue. Already, newly-elected New York City Mayor Mamdani has made strides toward improving and equalizing public education, including working to launch universal childcare, establishing a commission focused on expanding and improving after-school programming, and appointing a schools chancellor who has promoted integration.7See Troy Closson, Mamdani Chooses a Veteran N.Y.C. Education Leader as Schools Chancellor, N.Y. Times (Dec. 30, 2025), https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/nyregion/mamdani-schools-chancellor.html [https://perma.cc/8ECQ-WFHQ]; N.Y.C. Exec. Order No, 2 (Jan. 1, 2026), https://www.nyc.gov/mayors-office/news/2026/01/executive-order-02 [https://perma.cc/2VML-PUDE]. It is worth noting that at the time this article was written, news of the investigation into possible corruption by current Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels had not yet been made public. In light of this investigation, Mayor Mamdani seems poised to replace Chancellor Samuels. See Matthew Haag, New York City Schools Chancellor Being Investigated Over No-Bid Contract, N.Y. Times (June 9, 2026), https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/09/nyregion/nyc-chancellor-contract-investigation.html [https://perma.cc/4U79-LVVW].  Yet further and significant action is required to combat the systemic inequity baked into the City’s school system, and enable all students to reap the benefits of integrated schools, which include cognitive, social, and emotional educational benefits.8See Century Found., How Racially Diverse Schools and Classrooms Can Benefit All Students (2016), https://tcf.org/content/report/how-racially-diverse-schools-and-classrooms-can-benefit-all-students/.   Mamdani can and must take comprehensive action to accelerate the movement for school integration, ensuring that every child in the City has the opportunity to enjoy a quality public education, regardless of their race, socioeconomic status, or background. 

A comprehensive policy initiative on school integration would involve multi-faceted action, including both executive action and legislation. In pursuing school integration, the Mayor should initially focus on three main goals: eliminating the middle school screening process, establishing a dedicated School Integration Task Force, and supporting the creation of a School Diversity Monitor. I focus on these goals because of their prospective impact and political feasibility, compared with other initiatives that might prove less readily achievable, over the course of Mamdani’s leadership.  

Eliminating the Middle School Screening Process 

First and most significantly, Mamdani should champion the continued elimination of screening in middle school admissions, as piloted by District 15 in Brooklyn starting in 2019.9See Christina Veiga, Brooklyn Middle Schools Eliminate ‘Screening’ as New York City Expands Integration Efforts, Chalkbeat N.Y. (Sept. 20, 2018), https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2018/9/20/21105759/brooklyn-middle-schools-eliminate-screening-as-new-york-city-expands-integration-efforts/ [https://perma.cc/4AAY-SZXG].  Although the idea seemed novel when District 15 acted, many middle schools that previously fully or partially screened students eliminated these screens amid the Covid-19 pandemic, given the effects on student learning.10See Testimony to the City Council Education Committee on the NYC Department of Education’s Admissions Processes and the Path to Achieving a Less Segregated NYC School System (Jan. 25, 2023) (testimony of Comptroller Lander), https://comptroller.nyc.gov/newsroom/testimony-to-the-city-council-education-committee-on-the-nyc-department-of-educations-admissions-processes-and-the-path-to-achieving-a-less-segregated-nyc-school-system/ [https://perma.cc/K8B4-M8Q8] [hereinafter Testimony to the City Council Education Committee].  As of 2023, only 78 of over 470 (roughly 14%) of middle schools used screens, as compared to 40% pre-pandemic.11Id. See Veiga, supra note 9.  Despite some efforts to bring screens back, this dramatic change has primed the moment for eliminating screens, ensuring a more equitable admissions process, rather than one that magnifies pre-existing inequities from students’ elementary school, early childhood, and household educations.12See Julian Shen-Berro, As NYC Middle School Applications Open, Selective Programs Surge in One Brooklyn District, Chalkbeat N.Y. (Oct. 11, 2023), https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2023/10/11/23913634/nyc-middle-school-admissions-academic-screen-selective-application-integration/ [https://perma.cc/LU3Q-BV3W]. 

When District 15 middle schools decided to eliminate “screening” or selective admissions criteria, including reviewing report cards and test scores, they instituted “a lottery that gives extra weight to students who come from low-income families, are learning English as a new language, or are homeless,” while preserving significant family choice in ranking schools for the lottery and adding advanced math and science classes.13Veiga, supra note 9. See also Testimony to the City Council Education Committee, supra note 10.  As a consequence of this shift, a 2024 report by the William T. Grant Foundation found, “public school students in District 15 attended middle schools that were 30% less economically segregated and 13% less racially segregated.”14Amanda Schmidt, Talia Gerstle & Clemence Idoux, Reducing Segregation in New York City: Examining the Effects of Two District Policies on School Integration, William T. Grant Found. (Nov. 11, 2024), https://wtgrantfoundation.org/reducing-segregation-in-new-york-city-examining-the-effects-of-two-district-policies-on-school-integration [https://perma.cc/6NWT-CECC].  Meanwhile, the district’s average scores on statewide tests for both English language arts and mathematics among middle school students in the latest 2024-25 academic year were several percentage points higher than the 2018-19 academic year (pre-screening elimination).15See NYC Geog Dist #15 – Brooklyn Data, N.Y. Educ. Dep’t https://data.nysed.gov/profile.php?instid=800000045191 [https://perma.cc/GZ8A-V8WC] (last visited March 25, 2026). 

Although Mamdani could not simply order or enact the elimination of “screening” processes overnight, he could seek necessary support from the Schools Chancellor, who sets and approves modifications to school admissions policies. Getting to make this appointment represents a significant advantage for Mamdani in the school integration effort, and one he should consider in choosing a replacement for the current chancellor. Furthermore, Mamdani has a chance to appoint a slate of new members to the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP), which votes on significant educational regulatory changes – including any deemed “significant changes” in school utilization.16See Alex Zimmerman, Zohran Mamdani Must Work With Eric Adams’ School Board, at Least for Now, Chalkbeat N.Y. (Jan. 27, 2026), https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2026/01/27/zohran-mamdani-eric-adams-school-board-members-mayoral-control-nyc-schools/ [https://perma.cc/HPJ6-3SY8].  PEP’s support for a comprehensive measure to scrap middle school screens could prove essential for both the implementation and perceived legitimacy of the move. Mamdani thus has an opening to sway the panel toward favoring bold school integration efforts through strategic appointments.  

Mamdani’s power to select more of the PEP board depends on his retaining mayoral control over the City’s school system, which the recently formalized New York State budget deal extended through June 2028.17See Alex Zimmerman, Albany Budget Deal Gives Mamdani 2-Year Mayoral Control Extension, Boosts Funding for Needy Student, Chalkbeat N.Y. (May 20, 2026), https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2026/05/20/ny-budget-deal-mayoral-control-school-funding-foundation-aid-mamdani-2026/ [https://perma.cc/PU3K-7F79].  This extension came with the backing of Governor Kathy Hochul, but despite some calls by school advocates for greater board independence.18See id.  With this latest development, Mamdani has a more robust ability to influence the PEP and further the desegregation of City middle schools. Most immediately, he can act to fill two mayoral appointee seats on the PEP left vacant by former New York City Mayor Eric Adams and work with the existing PEP, as reporting has indicated that pushback from the current panel seems unlikely, until he makes more appointments.19See Zimmerman, supra note 16.  Mamdani can and should take advantage of these channels to further years of mounting momentum around eliminating middle school screens. 

To ensure that any effort to eliminate middle school screening proves effective while also preventing potential backlash from skeptics, both the Mayor and the Chancellor would likely want to mirror some of the successful design features of the District 15 program, such as preserving some family choice and increasing advanced course options. They must also ensure sufficient levels of local political will in the districts where screens would be eliminated. They could do so by first focusing on more politically progressive districts, particularly those with city council members and school boards that have been increasingly vocal about the need for integration or otherwise indicated support.20See Christina Veiga, Entrenched Positions and Pleas for Change: NYC Council Debates School Integration, Chalkbeat N.Y. (May 1, 2019), https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2019/5/1/21108082/entrenched-positions-and-pleas-for-change-nyc-council-debates-school-integration/ [https://perma.cc/C3AZ-WNMA].  They should also partner with non-profit organizations focused on school integration to help forge strong working relationships with local partners in targeted districts, including supportive teachers and parents, as well as connect with Community Boards. These relationships are not only crucial for enabling a smooth implementation of school desegregation, but also for continuing, refining, and bolstering this initiative over time. Finally, the Mayor must recognize that eliminating middle school screens is no panacea and, accordingly, have the Chancellor and the City’s Department of Education devote resources to resolving lingering issues with this shift, including addressing the potential flight of whiter and wealthier students from the public school system.21See Schmidt, Gerstle & Idoux, supra note 14 (stating that white and higher-income students were 6-8% more likely to leave the public school system in Districts 3 and 15 following admissions reform).   They must also ensure that sufficient opportunities for students to excel exist across public middle schools.

Reviving a School Integration Task Force 

In the past, New York City has charged task forces with addressing school segregation. The School Diversity Advisory Group (SDAG) under the De Blasio Administration, for instance, made numerous recommendations on increasing school diversity.22See Alex Zimmerman, An NYC Taskforce Released a New School Diversity Report. Here Are 4 Questions We’re  Asking About the City’s Plans, Chalkbeat N.Y. (Feb. 12, 2019), https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2019/2/12/21106805/an-nyc-task-force-released-a-new-school-diversity-report-here-are-4-questionsZi-we-re-asking-about-thereadily/ [https://perma.cc/UKX6-V22M].   Reinvigorating this group, which essentially concluded its mandate at the De Blasio Administration’s end and no longer remains active, and/or establishing a similar model would represent a critical engine in driving school integration efforts.23Two former members of the SDAG confirmed that the group is no longer active. The group’s last report came out in 2019. For purposes of this section, I will refer to this proposed group as the School Integration Task Force (SITF).

Unlike other relevant bodies like PEP and the New York City Council Committee on Civil and Human Rights, the SITF would cut across societal sectors and devote its resources purely to school integration efforts.24For more information on PEP, see Panel for Educational Policy, N.Y.C. Dep’t of Educ., https://www.schools.nyc.gov/get-involved/families/panel-for-education-policy [https://perma.cc/NEP8-28RF] (last visited March 23, 2026). For more information on the New York City Council Committee on Civil and Human Rights, see Committee on Civil and Human Rights, N.Y.C. Council, https://council.nyc.gov/committees/civil-and-human-rights/ [https://perma.cc/K6T3-WUGR] (last visited March 23, 2026).   As with the School Diversity Advisory Group, the SITF would include city experts, such as relevant stakeholders in the Department of Education; public school teachers and leaders; representatives of relevant non-profit organizations; and selected student and parent advocates.25See School Diversity Advisory Group, N.Y.C. Dep’t of Educ., https://www.schools.nyc.gov/about-us/vision-and-mission/diversity-in-our-schools/school-diversity-advisory-group [https://perma.cc/VM9T-M87G] (last visited March 23, 2026).  The SITF would periodically produce reports and recommendations on progress to advance school integration efforts, including the measures mentioned above.  

The SITF would also consider broader issues affecting school diversity that I have not focused on, including but not limited to, whether and at what grade level there should be sorting into gifted and talented programs in public elementary schools, the existence of the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT), and the existence and nature of screening processes for non-specialized public high schools, which, as the SITF would need to consider, may also offer important opportunities to students of color despite also, at times, disadvantage these same student groups.26See Clara Hemphill et al., New Sch. Ctr. for N.Y.C. Affairs, Screened Schools: How to Broaden Access and Diversity (2019), https://www.centernyc.org/screened-schools [https://perma.cc/NNT2-EF67].  Given the fiercely contested nature of some of these issues, I have not focused on them here, as any action on these fronts, while certainly possible, could prove less readily achievable for Mamdani and face more organized pushback.27 See e.g., Letters: Should New York City Change the Admissions Process for Its Specialized High Schools?, The Atlantic The (May 26, 2019), https://www.theatlantic.com/letters/archive/2019/05/nyc-shsat-debate-atlantic-readers-weigh-in/590251/ [permalink]

Creating a School Diversity Monitor 

Although Mamdani could merely rely on the Schools Chancellor to head the SITF and spearhead integration efforts, a post dedicated to these efforts could enhance their efficacy. Just this February, Members of the City Council introduced a legislative proposal that would create a School Diversity Monitor within the City’s Human Rights Commission.28Proposed Int. No. 519, N.Y.C. Council (2026).  Similar to the “Chief Integration Officer” role recommended for creation by the SDAG in a 2019 report, this role could help hold the City’s Department of Education accountable through oversight.29See School Diversity Advisory Grp., Making the Grade: The Path to Real Integration and Equity for NYC Public School Students (2019), https://cdn.givingcompass.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/22123200/1c478c_4de7a85cae884c53a8d48750e0858172.pdf [https://perma.cc/7HYM-CCTA].   In theory, the role could also involve work to implement more of the still unrealized recommendations made by the SDAG during its tenure. The role could further function as a liaison between relevant government actors and community stakeholders. Thus, the proposed School Diversity Monitor could provide the ideal leadership for the SITF. For this reason, Mamdani should consider urging City Council members to enact this local law. 

Alongside taking the above actions to further school integration, Mamdani must pursue complementary policy changes that will enhance these measures’ efficacy. These changes include addressing the continued impacts of historical redlining on low-income communities and communities of color, and the need for fair housing, which affects what options for public school students have available to them and the composition of local public schools.30See New York City Env’t & Health Data Portal, A Brief History of Redlining, N.Y.C. Gov’t (Jan. 6, 2021), https://a816-dohbesp.nyc.gov/IndicatorPublic/data-stories/redlining/ [https://perma.cc/622W-LGHF]; Press Release, Governor Kathy Hochul, Governor Hochul Releases Fair Housing Report Revealing Segregated Housing Patterns and Obstacles to Housing Opportunities Across New York (May 5, 2023), https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-releases-fair-housing-report-revealing-segregated-housing-patterns-and [https://perma.cc/7D39-ZSMU].  The Mayor must also look beyond housing patterns to broader trends in school attendance;31See Clara Hemphill & Nicole Mader, Segregated Schools in Integrated Neighborhoods: The City’s Schools Are Even More Divided Than Our Housing, New Sch. Ctr. for N.Y.C. Affairs (2026), https://www.centernyc.org/segregatedschools [https://perma.cc/26B5-PDHZ].  continue progressing on expanding universal access to child care and early education, including pre-K, which can have lasting benefits as students continue their education and could provide additional forums for encouraging integration;32See Priska Neely, Benefits of Early Childhood Education Persist Into High School, Study Says, L.A. List (Nov. 16, 2017), https://laist.com/news/kpcc-archive/study-benefits-of-early-childhood-education-persists [https://perma.cc/6FL4-Q7ZA].  and deliver on his promise to ensure that the City’s public schools “go green” and can deliver adequate education amid the harrowing effects of the climate crisis, which likewise has disparate impacts on the same communities disadvantaged by school integration.33See Gabriel Hetland, Zohran Mamdani Tackles Climate Change and New York City s’ Cost-of-Living Crisis, The Nation (April 22, 2025), https://www.thenation.com/article/environment/zohran-mamdani-green-schools-plan-climate [https://perma.cc/5AZY-Z9TP]; Annie McDonough, About Half of New York City Has Been Harmed by Environment Inequities, City & State N.Y. (April 13, 2024), https://www.cityandstateny.com/personality/2024/04/about-half-new-york-city-has-been-harmed-environment-inequities/395719/ [https://perma.cc/UCM2-333U].   Particularly amid federal attacks on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, specifically in the realm of education, pursuing these actions may prove more risky in terms of sustaining federal funding, but also all the more important to compensate for a lack of adequate federal policy action to further equal education.34See Natalie Schwartz, Trump Secures Legal Victory on Anti-DEI Directives, Higher Ed Dive (Feb. 10, 2026), https://www.highereddive.com/news/trump-secures-legal-victory-anti-dei-directives-higher-ed/811885/ [https://perma.cc/2ZNF-EWAZ].

Ultimately, Mamdani has a unique opportunity to start transforming New York City into a leader, rather than a laggard, on school integration. More than 70 years after the Supreme Court’s decision, policy action can help realize the promise of Brown v. Board for all City students.  

Ilana Cohen, J.D. Class of 2027, N.Y.U. School of Law.

Suggested Citation: Ilana Cohen, Integrated and Equal: Fulfilling the Promise of Brown v. Board in NYC Public Schools, N.Y.U. J. Legis. & Pub. Pol’y Quorum (2026).