NYC Black and Hispanic teachers to receive massive payouts over 'culturally biased' licensing exam

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Approximately 5,200 Black and Hispanic former and aspiring teachers will receive part of a massive legal payout from New York City after court rulings determined their licensing exams violated civil rights.

According to the New York Post on Saturday, Manhattan federal court records showed that 225 people who failed the Liberal Arts and Sciences Test used for teacher licensing between 1994 to 2014 had received settlements of at least $1 million. This will be part of the city’s larger settlement amounting to more than $1.8 billion, New York City’s largest legal payout.

The lawsuit, originally filed by four teachers in 1996, claimed that the exam was "culturally biased" in favor of White applicants. According to the plaintiffs, more than 90% of White applicants passed the multiple-choice and essay test while Black applicants only passed 53% of the time. Hispanic applicants only received passing scores 50% of the time. 

New York City issued a $1.8 billion settlement, the largest in the city's history. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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A trial in 2003 originally ruled in favor of the city, but in 2012, a Manhattan federal judge found that the licensing exam violated the applicants’ civil rights because it did not assess "general knowledge, teaching skills, or competency in content areas" nor did it predict "competent job performance."

A federally appointed special master was later appointed following the ruling while the city continued to appeal the decision. However, by 2018, former Mayor Bill de Blasio began starting the settlement process by setting aside the $1.8 billion for payouts.

Lead lawyer Joshua Sohn blasted the city as it continued, "to use the test to deny a generation of Black and Latino teachers a fair opportunity to be considered for teaching positions and deprived a generation of students of receiving the benefit of having a more diverse teacher population."

A Manhattan judge ruled that the teacher licensing exam violated Black and Hispanic applicants' civil rights. (iStock)

While teachers applauded the decision, the settlement faced criticism for both the massive settlement and the devaluing of the standardized test.

"The standards are the standards," a Brooklyn principal said. "It shouldn’t be based on what would be easy for Blacks or Whites. To hire people who are not qualified and change the requirements because a certain group didn't pass the test is bulls–t."

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Law Department spokesperson Nicholas Paolucci lamented, "Over decades, we challenged court rulings holding the city liable for a teacher certification test created and mandated by the state. Unfortunately, the city did not prevail against these mistaken court decisions that unfairly burden city taxpayers with costly judgments."

Several teachers in the lawsuit have received over $1 million. (Ron Adar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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More than $750 million in judgments have already been doled out to 2,959 of the 5,200 plaintiffs with some individual settlements as low as several hundred dollars. Some payments also accounted for other compensations including back pay.