Bias OK For Thee But Not For Me?

Bias For Thee But Not For Me?

After many years white and Asian people are finally addressing
unlawful discrimination in the public schools. (CHUCK BENNETT,"IN 'WRONG'
MINORITY,"
New York Post, November 19, 2007) But why are there still no questions why
persons with disabilities are excluded from such programs? Discrimination based
upon disability is as illegal as racial discrimination. But journalists, lawyers
and public schools continue this activity. Let me guess, it never entered their
minds.

Roy Bercaw, Editor ENOUGH ROOM

IN 'WRONG' MINORITY
New York Post
By CHUCK BENNETT

November 19, 2007 -- Three Chinese parents in Brooklyn are expected to file a
federal lawsuit today challenging a popular city-run tutoring program on the
grounds it discriminates against Asians, The Post has learned.

The Specialized High School Institute preps gifted but "underrepresented"
minorities to ace the competitive exam to get into top city high schools like
Stuyvesant or Brooklyn Tech.

But the parents say it is unfair - and illegal - for the Department of Education
to limit eligibility to blacks and Latinos.

"The program only selects certain kinds of minorities and unfortunately my
daughter didn't fall into that category," said Peggy Foo-Ching, 47, a mom from
Bensonhurst who said her 12-year-old daughter's application last year was
ignored.

The Specialized High School Institute was created to expand the population of
black and Latino students at the elite high schools, but the Department of
Education has always insisted anyone who qualifies for a free lunch could apply.

Foo-Ching's eldest daughter qualified for the institute in 2003 and is now a
student at Brooklyn Tech, but the mother believes guidelines were changed
barring her younger daughter from participating last March.

A Department of Education internal memo obtained by lawyers trying the case
indicated that eligibility criteria excludes whites and Asians.

"What this memo reveals is blatant and categorical discrimination by race. If
you are white or Asian, you're not supposed to get an application," said
Christopher Hajec, an attorney with the Center for Individual Rights, a
conservative advocacy group.

"It's not the business of the government of New York City to be counting up the
Asians or whites in, say, Stuyvesant High School and concluding there are too
many of them."

Andrew Jacob, a Department of Education spokesman, said the racial criteria has
been under review since summer, when a US Supreme Court ruling said ethnicity
could not be a factor in deciding which public schools students attend.

He could not comment on the suit, but said no policy will be changed before
March, when the next group of sixth-graders will be invited to apply to the
program.

The father who initiated the suit, Stanley Ng, said he understood how
controversial his challenge may be viewed.

"It's not something that I take lightly," he said. "There are many Asian and
white kids in this district who can't pay for tutoring. What is their recourse?"

cbennett@nypost.com