Sheff v. O'Neill
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Sheff v. O'Neill, 238 Conn. 1, 678 A.2d 1267 (1996), is a Connecticut Supreme Court case that resulted in a landmark decision regarding civil rights and the right to education.
On April 18, 1989, eighteen school aged children from the metropolitan Hartford, Connecticut area, acting through their parents, commenced a civil action in the Hartford Superior Court. The suit named the State of Connecticut, constitutionally elected officials, and officials of various state commissions and agencies as defendants. The plaintiffs alleged significant constitutional violations under applicable sections of the State constitution which they believe constituted a denial of their fundamental rights to an education and rights to equal protection under the law.
On July 16, 1996, the Court ruled that based upon these constitutional claims, the state had an affirmative obligation to provide Connecticut's school children with a substantially equal educational opportunity. This constitutionally guaranteed right encompasses the access to a public education which is not substantially and materially impaired by racial and ethnic isolation. The Court further concluded that school districting based upon town and city boundary lines are unconstitutional.
