CREC magnet schools were created as a result of the landmark Sheff v. O’Neill civil rights claim made on behalf of school-aged residents in Hartford. On July 9, 1996, the Connecticut Supreme Court decided Sheff in favor of the plaintiffs and declared, “the uncontested evidence of the severe racial and ethnic isolation of Hartford’s schoolchildren demonstrates that the state has failed to fulfill its affirmative constitutional obligation to provide all of the state’s school children with a substantially equal educational opportunity.” 

How many Sheff magnet schools exist?
There are 16 CREC magnet schools, 21 Hartford host magnet schools, 2 magnet schools operated by LEARN/Goodwin College, 2 host magnet schools operated by Bloomfield Public Schools, and 1 host magnet school operated by East Hartford.