Equal protection in school admissions in front of High court

Supreme Court takes Maryland magnet-school fight over race in admissions

The Supreme Court agreed to hear a Maryland magnet-school admissions challenge that critics say elevates Black and Latino students over (Asians and Whites) others in violation of the 14th Amendment.

On Monday the justices took up an appeal from the Association for Education Fairness, which is trying to revive its lawsuit against the Montgomery County Board of Education over how students get into selective middle-school programs.

The case centers on STEM and humanities magnet offerings at four middle schools in Montgomery County, Maryland, a large and diverse suburb of Washington, D.C. Challengers argue the county’s lottery-based entry rules, and an earlier process the district later dropped, were built to raise Black and Latino enrollment and therefore violate equal protection.

NBC News reported that a federal judge in Maryland and the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals both sided with the school district. The high court is now stepping in on what is described as a narrower technical question: what evidence the challengers must show to keep their case alive. The justices are not immediately set to deliver a broad constitutional ruling on the merits.

The county’s magnet seats are limited and competitive. When a public school system designs admissions to reshape racial outcomes, families who believe their children are disadvantaged have a direct stake.

Asian parents and students have repeatedly been on the losing end of these “diversity” adjustments in elite K-12 programs across the country. This Maryland fight fits that pattern, even if the immediate question before the justices is procedural.

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