Key facts
- The Supreme Court will review a lower court's decision that rejected a lawsuit against Montgomery County's school admissions policy.
- The lawsuit alleges the policy uses proxies like socioeconomic status to achieve race-based results in pursuit of diversity.
- A 2023 Supreme Court ruling rejected race-conscious college and university admissions policies.
- The parents' coalition is represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation.
The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case concerning a Maryland county's lottery admissions policy for four public middle schools, which parents argue unlawfully discriminates against Asian American applicants. The lawsuit challenges the entrance policies for Montgomery County's selective "magnet" schools, which offer enrichment programs for high-achieving students. This case is the latest legal challenge to selective school entrance policies criticized for pursuing "racial balancing" to boost diversity, following the Supreme Court's 2023 landmark ruling against race-conscious college admissions. Plaintiffs contend that while the policies appear race-neutral, they use proxies like socioeconomic status to achieve discriminatory results. The legal challenges align with policies against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. The core issue is whether claims of intentional racial discrimination can be dismissed if a policy has not disproportionately harmed a specific racial group, in this instance, Asian American students. A lower court had dismissed the case, finding no disproportionate burden or discriminatory intent, a decision upheld by an appeals court.