Supreme Court takes up case that could change how schools select students for magnet programs

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving how magnet school admissions are determined in Montgomery County, Maryland, a diverse school district outside Washington, D.C. The case could potentially reshape how other districts, including large urban ones, decide which students gain access to advanced academic programs.

Montgomery County Public Schools changed its admissions process for magnet middle schools in 2017, in response to concerns that enrollment did not reflect the district's student population. They subsequently adopted a new system in 2020, which combines test scores, grades, and a lottery. This change was prompted by a lawsuit filed by the Association for Education Fairness, a group comprising mostly Asian American parents, who argued that Asian American representation had decreased in two magnet schools while increasing in two others.

The plaintiffs, represented by the conservative Pacific Legal Foundation, contend that the school board and district leaders were driven by concerns that Asian American students made up nearly half of the enrollment in the magnet middle school programs. They argue that the current admissions criteria, which include proxies for race such as neighborhood and family income, constitute racial discrimination despite the Supreme Court's 2007 decision, Parents Involved v. Seattle, which previously restricted the use of race in assigning students to K-12 schools.

The Supreme Court's decision to take up this case, following its earlier rulings that limited race-based admissions in college admissions, suggests that other justices might now be open to addressing the issue. The potential outcome of this case could have a significant impact on the educational opportunities available to students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds who are often overlooked in such admissions processes.