Civil Rights Groups Pleased by Supreme Court Decision Rejecting Challenge to Race-Neutral Admissions

WASHINGTON, D.C., December 11, 2024 - For a second time this year, the Supreme Court on Monday rejected a petition to take up a case that sought to undo public school districts' efforts to expand educational opportunity to Black and Latino students who are chronically under-identified and under-represented in the nation's highly selective publicly funded high schools.

The Court rejected the petition from a group of parents challenging Boston Public Schools' consideration of students' socioeconomic background and zip code in determining admission to its three exams schools. Earlier this year, the Court rejected a similar challenge to admissions criteria for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County School District in Virginia.

Civil rights groups involved in the case reacted to the decision.

"The Supreme Court's rejection of challenges to both the Boston Public Schools' and Fairfax County School District's admissions policies signals that school districts wanting to equalize educational opportunity for Black, Latino, and low-income Asian American students can take income and geography into account in making admissions decisions without offending the Equal Protection Clause," said Francisca Fajana, Director of Racial Justice Strategy at LatinoJustice PRDLEF. "The Court has twice rebuffed attempts by foes of educational opportunity to extend the SFFA decision ending race conscious decision-making to high school admission policies that do not consider race. The message is clear. School districts can advance socioeconomic, geographic, and racial diversity through race neutral measures."

"A growing number of courts have affirmed that Students for Fair Admission has left unaltered the ability of K-12 schools to pursue race-neutral efforts to promote diversity-including racial and socioeconomic diversity-within their student bodies. The Supreme Court has previously declined to hear a petition challenging a decision upholding such a policy, and it did that again yesterday," said Noah Baron, Assistant Director, Litigation at Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC. "This is the end of the line for those who argue that the Constitution prohibits us from addressing inequity at all. We cannot afford to stand by and hope the problem resolves itself. Advancing Justice - AAJC remains steadfast in our mission to advocate for policies that promote fairness, equity, and opportunity for all communities."

"The Supreme Court's rejection of the petition for certiorari underscores the need for, and positive outcomes that arise from, continued advocacy for providing equal access to high-quality education for all students, including Boston students from all backgrounds and parts of the city," said Melanie Burke, counsel at Brown Rudnick.

Background

Admission to Boston Public Schools' acclaimed exam schools-Boston Latin, Boston Latin Academy, and John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics and Science-was historically based solely on entrance exams. For decades, the exam schools under-identified and under-enrolled Black and Latino students, who make up 72% of the school-age population in Boston Public Schools. For example, Black and Latino students were 21% of the student population at Boston Latin in 2020.

When the COVID pandemic made administering entrance exams unworkable, Boston Public Schools switched to a plan that allocated seats to the exam schools based on a combination of GPA and zip codes, increasing the number of students from low-income zip codes and previously under-identified Black, Latino, and low-income Asian American students. The Boston Parents Coalition for Academic Excellence, a group opposed to the new admissions criteria, challenged the plan as a violation of the Equal Protection Clause claiming discrimination against white and Asian American students who live in high-income zip codes. The district court and the First Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the group's constitutional claim.

LatinoJustice PRLDEF, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-AAJC, and Brown Rudnick LLP, on behalf of more than a dozen organizations and civil rights groups filed amici (friend of the court) briefs in both the district court and the First Circuit Court of Appeals supporting the changes made by Boston Public Schools.

About LatinoJustice

LatinoJustice PRLDEF works to create a more just society by using and challenging the rule of law to secure transformative, equitable and accessible justice, by empowering our community and by fostering leadership through advocacy and education. For over 50 years, LatinoJustice PRLDEF has acted as an advocate against injustices throughout the country. To learn more about LatinoJustice, visit www.LatinoJustice.org

About Asian Americans Advancing Justice - AAJC

Asian Americans Advancing Justice - AAJC has a mission to advance the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and to build and promote a fair and equitable society for all.

Press Contact

LatinoJustice, PRLDF: [email protected]
Aleisha Flores, Asian Americans Advancing Justice - AAJC: [email protected]

About Brown Rudnick LLP

Brown Rudnick is a leading international law firm that provides exceptional, client-driven service in global litigation, crisis management (restructuring, investigations and special situations), brand and reputation management, life sciences and technology. We advise on high-profile cross-border matters while providing the kind of personal attention to clients that is typically found at boutiques. Our enterprising and tenacious lawyers serve our clients around the globe from offices in key financial centers in the U.S. and the U.K., and have been recognized by, among others, Chambers & Partners, Legal 500, Benchmark Litigation and Law360 for excellence in their fields.

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