US Supreme Court to hear dispute over admissions to Maryland magnet programs — The Hill
The US Supreme Court will hear a lawsuit over the rules for selecting students for high school magnet programs in Montgomery County, Maryland. The lawsuit was filed by the Association for Fairness in Education, a group of parents of Asian American students, The Hill reports.
Program selection rules
The county introduced a new admissions system during the COVID-19 pandemic for magnet programs focused on STEM subjects and the humanities. Students continue to be assessed based on academic performance and test scores, but at the second stage, places in the programs are allocated through a lottery.
The association argues that this policy violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection. Lower courts rejected its claims. Representatives of the organization say the courts applied the wrong legal standard and ask the Supreme Court to establish nationwide evidentiary requirements for finding a race-neutral policy discriminatory.
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Case context
The case will be heard during the current term of the US Supreme Court. Oral arguments will likely take place next year, with a decision expected by summer. The Hill calls it a test of the court's approach following its 2023 ruling that found the practice of affirmative action in higher education admissions unlawful.
The Montgomery County school board told the court that the case is insignificant and unsuitable for setting evidentiary standards. In the board's view, the dispute concerns a race-neutral lottery introduced in response to a global pandemic.
In 2024, the Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to updated admissions rules at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas publicly supported hearing that case at the time and later also disagreed with the court's refusal to intervene in a dispute over admissions rules at Boston's prestigious exam schools.
