About Sheff v. O'Neill

In 1989, when her son, Milo, was a fourth grade student at Annie Fisher Elementary School in Hartford, Elizabeth Horton Sheff joined with others and began a long and arduous journey to redress the inequity between the level of education provided to students in Hartford public schools and that available to children in surrounding suburban districts.

This journey has become known around the State of Connecticut, and throughout the United States as Sheff vs. O'Neill, a landmark civil rights lawsuit that seeks to prepare all children to live and prosper in a growing racial/ethic, economically globally connected world. The plaintiffs in this case continue to advocate for the State of Connecticut to uphold the constitutional rights of children in Hartford schools.

The Sheff Case Timeline

April 27, 1989: Elizabeth Horton Sheff and other parents file a lawsuit on behalf of their children against then-Gov. William A. O'Neill, charging that Connecticut's system of separate city and suburban school districts led to racially segregated schools and a violation of their children's rights to equal opportunity.

April 12, 1995: After an 11 week-long trial in 1992, Superior Court Judge Harry Hammer finally rejects claims that officials are obligated to correct educational inequities no matter how they came to be.

July 9, 1996: The State Supreme Court overrules Hammer in favor of the Sheff plaintiffs, ruling that the racial and socioeconomic isolation of Hartford school children violates state law. The court sets no goal, remedy, and timetable to resolve the problem, saying that's the legislature's and governor's responsibility. Read the decision

Feb. 25, 2003: The House of Representatives votes 87-60 to approve an out-of-court settlement in the Sheff vs. O'Neill case, an agreement that includes plans for eight new integrated magnet schools in Hartford over the next four years.

Aug. 3, 2004: The Sheff plaintiffs return to court, arguing that the State violated the settlement agreement by neglecting to fill new magnet schools to capacity, thereby stalling progress toward the integration goal. The State responds that it has complied with the settlement by opening two magnet schools per year, while phasing in grade levels as planned.

June 2007: Although 22 interdistrict magnet schools have been created and more than 1,000 minority Hartford schoolchildren attend suburban schools, these efforts failed to meet the goal of 30 percent of Hartford minority children attending integrated schools. A proposed new agreement between the plaintiffs and state education officials failed to make it before the state legislature for a hearing, and the plaintiffs returned to court in the fall of 2007.

In early 2008, the state and plaintiffs agreed to a new settlement that calls for expanded regional magnet schools and use of Project Choice to provide a quality, integrated education to all children. The settlement calls for greater coordination of regional magnets and choice programs, and includes the goal that 80% of Hartford parents seeking to send their children to an integrated school will be accommodated. Read the full settlement here.