On Dec. 13, 2023, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that racial
imbalances in Twin Cities schools do not violate Minnesota's
Constitution, a decision which largely upheld an earlier ruling
from the Minnesota Appeals Court. Yesterday's ruling in the
long-running Cruz-Guzman lawsuit against the
state sets the legal parameters for the case in Hennepin County
District Court.
“We hold that racial imbalances in Minneapolis and Saint
Paul public schools, standing alone, are not sufficient to
establish a violation of the Education Clause,” Associate
Justice Margaret Chutich wrote in the majority opinion. The
plaintiffs don't have to prove the state caused the
segregation, but “they must prove that racially imbalanced
schools are a substantial factor in causing their children to
receive an inadequate education.”
