The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal from Boston parents challenging a temporary admissions policy for the city’s elite high schools, which they claimed discriminated against white and Asian-American students.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Boston School Committee suspended entrance exams for Boston Latin School, Boston Latin Academy, and the O’Bryant School of Math and Science, citing safety concerns.
Instead, the committee used a combination of student performance and ZIP codes to determine admissions.
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Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented from the court’s decision to uphold lower court rulings in favor of the policy, which was implemented only once during the pandemic. Justice Neil Gorsuch also expressed concerns about the approach.
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previously ruled that Boston’s temporary policy did not violate the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision striking down race-conscious college admissions programs.
Alito, joined by Thomas, criticized the lower court’s ruling, calling it a “glaring constitutional error” and arguing that the policy placed race “front and center” in admissions decisions.
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