The highest court of the land has once again stirred the waters of educational equity, with the US Supreme Court opting not to hear out a case challenging the temporary admissions policy of three esteemed Boston public high schools—Boston Latin School, Boston Latin Academy, and John D. O'Bryant School. This policy, devised as an interim solution amidst the torrid times of the pandemic, swapped standardized test scores for a combination of student grades and ZIP codes, according to the Boston Globe.
Despite dissent from Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and a voiced concern from Justice Neil Gorsuch, the Supreme Court's refusal to take up the appeal effectively leaves intact the lower courts' rulings that had favored this temporary zip code and grade-based admissions system. The policy, which was only active for the 2021 entering classes during the pandemic's disruption, intended to ensure continuity in the admissions process at a time when administering entrance exams in person was deemed unsafe. However, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had previously stated that these changes did not violate the Constitution. Even in light of the June 2023 Supreme Court ruling that struck down race-conscious admissions in colleges, this approach has not been without its critics, who feel it went against the spirit of that 2023 verdict.
A coalition representing fourteen Asian-American and White students brought forth the complaint, arguing that the committee's decision to adopt the new policy was an attempt at achieving racial balancing, pitting the concept of neighborhood fairness against the fractures of race. As reported by AP News, Alito, joined by Thomas, was quite forthright in his dissent, noting that it's evident to him that race was "front and center" when the committee reinvented the admissions policy.
Yet the 1st Circuit's Judge William Kayatta offered a different angle and opined that treating students differently based on their zip codes is a step removed from any direct consideration of skin color, stating, "Treating students differently based on the zip codes in which they reside was not like treating them differently because of their skin color," as noted by the Boston Globe. While the Supreme Court's declination does not establish any new precedent in educational policy, it leaves the current state of affairs unchanged. The Boston School Committee, for its part, has reverted to an admissions policy that includes standardized tests, which, to date, has remained unchallenged.
